Today (6 February) the Mayor of London visited a pioneering south London small business on the verge of a global expansion that specialises in a product more often found on the beach than on the streets of the capital. Gandys flip-flops was founded two years ago in a small flat in Brixton but today its product is stocked in 400 stores in the UK and its owners plan to export their fashion forward footwear around the world.
This year Gandys flip-flops will be exported to 30 countries including USA, Spain, Brazil and Australia. The Mayor wants more companies to be able to follow Gandys example and is supporting a two-year programme with UK Trade and Investment that aims to increase the number of small businesses trading overseas.
Gandys is a unique charity footwear brand founded by two young entrepreneurs, Paul and Rob Forkan, who were orphaned by the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 aged just 15 and 17. They donate 10 per cent of the profits from every sale of a pair of their flip-flops to fund children’s homes across the world in honour of their parents. The company already employs a team of 10 young Londoners and plans to triple its workforce in the next two years.
By the end of 2014, Gandys are on target to have sold 230,000 pairs of flip flops, which will make it possible to mark the 10th anniversary of the Tsunami by opening the first Gandys children’s home in the memory of their parents.
Small and medium sized businesses like Gandys are essential for London’s economy, with approximately 800,000 of them providing around 50 per cent of the jobs in the capital and creating £430bn of turnover each year. The Mayor is working with the London Enterprise Panel to help these small, fast-growing businesses to flourish. Initiatives include £25m of funding, which has been allocated to provide small businesses with access to vital equity finance as well as a scheme to help them identify affordable work space. The Mayor also has an export programme that is providing practical advice and assistance to small businesses hoping to expand overseas.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Gandys are leading the way for the capital’s start-ups and providing inspiration to young Londoners who are thinking of starting businesses of their own. They prove that with a great idea and lot of hard work you can be a big success. Small and medium sized businesses are the lifeblood of our city creating a significant number of jobs and I will be doing everything I can to help them to thrive in London.”
Gandys are part of a fashion industry that is flourishing in the capital. The industry generates billions of pounds for the UK economy and with many big fashion names based in the capital, and London Fashion Week drawing crowds from across the world, London gives brands like Gandys a ready-made marketplace and infrastructure to get started and to thrive.
Rob Forkan said; “We're thrilled to have the support of our Mayor Boris Johnson - so much so that we have renamed our blue flip flops Boris Blue! Since Boris bikes have been such a success, now we have something for all those keen walkers who like to walk to work too."
Paul Forkan said; "We've always been really proud of our London identity so we're really happy to have the Mayor come support us. It's a really exciting time for Gandys - we are bringing out loads of new products and are preparing for our global launch so we're looking to hire a load of new graduates or young people very soon."