• cecil-tires

Cecil Tong Sandal

0 reviews
0 out of 5

£ 30.00

THE STORY BEHIND

The Cecil is the first product manufactured in our factory.

In the streets of Douala, we had noticed that the majority of women worn sandals made of plastic. Those of a certain age or weight complained of back pain. The obvious solution was to produce a sandal with an ergonomic design, orthopedic style.

The first batches of production were a failure. The sandal was not comfortable because the technicians did not know how to sand the insoles without altering the shape!

It took months of training to get the perfect ergonomic shape. Another few months to learn which types of tires could be recycled for our purpose and how. And more time to find the right finishing products to protect the wood from the tropical rain.

During this time we had to deal with returns and angry customers. Investors run away. We almost shut down. Making shoes in Africa was more difficult than anticipated. The business plan was useless.

How many free shoes we gave away to appease customers is now part of the legend (there was this woman whose Cecil broke into 3 pieces as she left the church. How she managed to do it, we never knew, but she was so upset that Victor went to her house on Sunday night at 11:00pm to offer her free shoes of her choice).

We persisted and little by little we improved. For any season and for any road, for any size and weight of the customer, the sandal was engineered to last.

The name of her first customer was Cecile. The first client for the first product ever made in the first African clog factory. We named the sandal after her, without the “e”.

Exchanges & Returns

Because each pair of shoes is made to order just for you, returns are authorised only as part of our 3-year guarantee policy .

Our shoes have a 3-year guarantee. Read the policy.

You may also like…