Topo Athletic, the manufacturer of running and outdoor shoes owned by DSW parent Designer Brands (DBI), is on a roll, with sales up 84 percent in the first quarter, following growth of nearly 80 percent in 2024. DBI acquired the brand in December 2022 and Founder Tony Post stayed on to steer the business to success.
Designer Brands acquired a 79.4 percent ownership interest in Topo Athletic for $15.1 million. Post has maintained his stake in his brand.
Before founding Topo Athletic in 2012, Post was president and CEO of Vibram USA through the birth of the Vibram FiveFingers movement. His prior footwear industry experience includes 15 years in senior executive roles at Rockport.
Here, SGB Executive talks with Post about the brand’s momentum, recent product wins, the brand’s partnership with DBI, tariff turmoil, and future opportunities.
SGB Executive: Topo appears to have entered a new growth phase in its 12th year. What’s driving that increase?
Tony Post: Our growth has been pretty steady in the last few years. I think we’re just reaching a scale where it’s more noticeable now. What’s interesting is that it’s not really driven by one gender, one model, one category, or one channel. We’re seeing steady growth in women’s and men’s, U.S. wholesale, our own website sales, and international markets. The only part of our business that has been below plan are closeouts, which have been averaging less than 1.5 percent of total sales volume. Not the worst problem to have.
SGB Executive: Topo had over 1,200 points of domestic distribution by the end of Q4 2024, representing a 43 percent increase from Q1 2024. Where is the brand finding new distribution?
Post: We had a few existing dealers take us to more doors last year; for example, REI expanded Topo’s presence from about 50 doors to all 190 doors for both men and women. We also acquired new accounts, such as Fit2Run and Scheels. However, virtually all of our distribution is specialty, targeting retailers that offer a sit-and-fit experience focused on product education and providing a full-service experience to customers. With 30 independent sales reps in the field, we’ve opened a lot of premium independent run specialty and outdoor specialty shops in the last year.
SGB Executive: Are there notable changes that have helped Topo gain shelf space with existing accounts?
Post: Topo is growing virtually everywhere it is placed. We just returned from the GOA show in Reno, where many existing specialty outdoor dealers commented on our strong sell-through and increasing demand. Several dealers told us we might be the best-kept secret in the footwear industry today. Retailers have praised the evolution of our product and our distribution strategy, and they appreciate the high margins we maintain for their business.
SGB Executive: Topo doesn’t sell at DSW, although other running brands are there. Why not?
Post: DSW does an amazing job offering a wide selection of great brands; we respect the business they have built. But it’s not a fit for our distribution strategy. We thrive in a sit-and-fit, full-service retail environment. The same is true for Shoe Carnival, Famous Footwear, and many others — all powerful, successful retailers — but they’re just not a fit for us. We thrive in specialty sit-and-fit retail.
DBI has been incredibly supportive of our distribution strategy to the board level, and they love having a brand that diversifies their retail portfolio with functional footwear sold in premium specialty retailers. Our dealers love that we offer a quality product that’s more specialty-focused; it helps them differentiate themselves from other big-box stores or large chains.
SGB Executive: I thought one advantage of joining the parent of DSW is that Topo would have an easier path to clear old product.
Post: You don’t see Topo on sale much anywhere. I’m proud to say that in the nearly 12 years we’ve been in business, we’ve never once run a sale on our website. We may have a closeout from time to time, but we’ve never run a sale and never compete on price, even when our retailers are off-MAP. The Topo website is always full price.
SGB Executive: Why has the DBI merger worked?
Post: At the time of the sale, we had several options, including multiple offers from private equity firms. But we liked the team at DBI; they understood our business, respected what we were building, and, most importantly, they outright offered us the autonomy to run the business in the way we thought best. They even wrote into the sale agreement that, as long as I lead the company and we remain profitable, we can make all our own strategic business decisions, including the products we manufacture, how we price, how we market and sell, where we source, and where we distribute, among others.
But beyond that, DBI has also offered great support in many areas, including HR and HR compliance, legal, finance, market research, and more. By enrolling in the DBI FedEx program, we were able to significantly reduce some of our shipping costs and pass those savings along to our retail customers. The management team at DBI and the company board have been very supportive of our strategy and have given us the freedom to operate the company. I couldn’t have asked for a better fit.
SGB Executive: Can you highlight some recent run or trail launch products?
Post: We recently launched the new Phantom 4 for road training. The team found a way to improve this best-selling road shoe, delivering enhanced performance, increased comfort and a better aesthetic. The Ultraventure 4 has been another breakthrough; it’s our top-selling trail shoe where the product team found a way to make it lighter and more comfortable than before. The female winner of the Cocodonna 250, one of the most prestigious and challenging trail races in the world, wore the shoe. We’re a product-driven company at heart, so there is an emphasis on improving our product every season and year.
SGB Executive: Where are the opportunities in hike and recovery footwear?
Post: Hike evolved from our trail run business. We saw a lot of thru-hikers using our trail runners for hiking, and we thought, with a few tweaks to the product, we could deliver an even better experience. We listened to feedback during testing, kept much of what testers loved about Topo (fit, traction, comfort), but made it more tuned for hiking, for pack weight and made it more durable while trying to stay lightweight. Recovery remains an opportunity we hope to leverage in the future; it’s a product I wear often, but there is much more we can do there. It’s another growth source for the future.
SGB Executive: Topo was launched as a minimalist shoe in 2013 when minimalism was a trending style, but it has now branched out into maximalist offerings. Can you discuss how Topo’s design approach has evolved over the years?
Post: I came from 11 years at Vibram, where I launched Vibram FiveFingers, so a lot of folks thought Topo would be a minimalist brand. However, even from the beginning, I always said we wanted to deliver a more natural experience through our fit and low drop-in in a variety of stack heights.
Twelve years ago, I didn’t think we would be making 40mm stack heights, but that’s just how the market evolved. Customers decided they wanted more cushion, and we needed to accommodate some of that demand while still delivering on our fit and low heel-to-toe drop. At the same time, this season, we’re launching a new minimal shoe, the Connect, with a total stack height of 10.5mm. The shoe features a fully finished stable board, allowing you to remove the Ortholite footbed, gain a little more volume, and reduce the stack height to just 5.5mm underfoot. I’m one of those athletes who have always liked the idea of mixing stack heights, using different muscles in the feet and lower legs, or accommodating varying training needs. I never wanted Topo to be pigeonholed as minimalist or maximalist. I always wanted to make shoes that delivered a healthy, comfortable fit.
SGB Executive:DBI noted on its Q4 analyst call that Topo was seeing an “increasing investment in marketing to establish key franchise items, drive volume and overall build a brand.” Can you elaborate on what that involves?
Post: As our business has grown, we now have the opportunity to reinvest some of our gains in additional marketing and inventory. Here is another area where DBI has been a great partner; although we’ve been growing and profitable for a long time now, we said that we might be able to increase the business more quickly if we could take some of the profit and reinvest in more marketing and inventory. We still deliver a good EBITDA to the corporation, but they’ve supported our decision to double our marketing spend to raise awareness and drive attraction.
The running footwear industry is incredibly competitive, where creativity, innovation, and marketing thrive, so it’s exciting to be able to invest more in marketing that helps tell our story. That showcases our advantages and benefits,, and hopefully, we create marketing that inspires new consumers to discover the brand and get outside.
SGB Executive: How are tariffs affecting Topo’s business?
Post: Like many businesses, this has been a challenge to manage our way through, mostly because of ongoing changes and uncertainty. At Topo, we have a strong sourcing and production team in Asia. We manufacture products in multiple countries, cross-train factories across models to optimize sourcing flexibility and have a growing international business that also helps hedge U.S. tariff risk.
We continue to deliver good value for the feature set and use branded componentry that also adds value. For example, all of our trail shoes use Vibram outsoles, which sends a strong brand message to the consumer that we’re focused on quality and performance, regardless of where we make the shoes.
SGB Executive: What else is helping Topo gain traction in the competitive footwear channel?
Post: I would like to take this opportunity to thank our retail customers and our team for their trust and support. No individual, no brand can do this alone; without great retail partnerships, our success would not be possible.
We’re far from perfect. I know I’ve made my share of mistakes, but we take feedback really well. We listen to our customers’ needs (both end consumers and retail customers), we stay light and nimble, and we try to improve every season while staying authentic to our brand mission.
Many aspects of our business model set us apart from our competitors. Of course, our fit and feel are key, but our distribution strategy, focus on retailer success, commitment to our employees, and commitment to our suppliers all work collectively to make this brand stronger.
SGB Executive: What’s the next big opportunity for Topo?
Post: I’ve worked in this industry for 40 years, long enough to know there’s always opportunity. Opportunity to make something better, the opportunity to collaborate and build stronger partnerships, the opportunity to see team members grow and contribute new ideas. I love that we get the opportunity to help make people’s lives better and healthier or help them achieve their fitness goals.
Although Topo is nearly 12 years old, in many ways, we’re just getting started. I’m inspired by the young talent on our team, their growth and development, their dedication and contributions, and how they approach this business with excitement and growing confidence. It makes me wish I had another 40 years!
Images courtesy Topo Athletic
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See below for additional SGB Media coverage of Topo Athletic.
EXEC: Topo Leads Parent’s Brands Portfolio on Strong Q1 Growth; DBI’s Brands DTC Fell
EXEC: Inside Topo Athletic’s Sale To DBI With Topo CEO Tony Post
