Sole Survivor: How I Built a Global Shoe Brand

The memoir of a British shoe dog ‘A thoroughly entertaining read and valuable insight into building a business’ Touker Suleyman, entrepreneur, BBC Dragon’s Den This is the story of how one man spent 50 years in the trade he loves – and built a global brand. Born into a long line of cobblers from Russia, Daniel ignored his father’s advice to stay out of shoes. Instead, after a spell manufacturing and importing, he launched his own brand, Dune in 1992. While countless British shoemakers and retailers disappeared from our high streets, Daniel innovated and evolved. Dune London is now a renowned footwear and accessories brand, sold in over 200 stores worldwide. For the first time, Britain’s veteran shoe dog reveals how he set up Dune on the King’s Road in London and overcame manufacturing disasters, tech upheaval and market crashes to thrive – finally – in a cut-throat industry characterised by falling margins and broken dreams.   Sole Survivor not only gives lovers of high heels, courts and sandals the inside track to the shoe industry. It reveals the reasons for commercial failure and success in the UK and internationally – which can be applied to any business – and the personal virtues needed to make your mark. Reviews  Rubin shares how he built Dune London from its modest beginnings into a global brand, weaving in fascinating history about his family’s shoemaking heritage. His passion for shoes leaps off the page, but so too does his honesty about the challenges of entrepreneurship. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a shoe enthusiast, or simply someone drawn to tales of resilience, Sole Survivor is a captivating read.  - Darla-Jane Gilroy - Associate Dean, University of the Arts London and author of The Little Book of Christian Louboutin Daniel’s journey from factory floors to building a global brand is an extraordinary story of resilience, creativity and determination. What has always stood out to me is his generosity of spirit. - Richard Shetliffe, Chief Executive Officer, The British Footwear Association  A thoroughly entertaining read and a valuable insight into building a business… [and] how hard work and passion can achieve amazing results. - Touker Suleyman, Chairman of Hawes & Curtis, a serial entrepreneur, and a dragon on BBC’s Dragon’s Den An open and honest absorbing read of one person’s life story, with some great takeaways on the lessons learned from someone who really has been there and done it - Lord Leigh of Hurley, Senior Partner, Cavendish The highs and lows of his 50-year career chart the very tapestry of British footwear. What Rubin doesn’t know about the shoe trade isn’t worth knowing. - Jill Geoghegan, Editor, Drapers

Table of Contents:
Introduction, p9 1. Origins, 13 2. Early Years, 21 3. Being an Accountant, 31 4. Becoming a shoemaker, 37 5. Challenges of making shoes, 47 6. Importing from India, 55 7. Next stop Italy and Brazil, 67 8. First trip to the Far East, 77 9. Start Browning and commit to importing, 87 10. Funding the business, 99 11. Far East travels, 105 12. China opens up, 117 13. Production moves to Vietnam, 125 14. Building a team, 131 15. First attempt at retail, 139 16. Dune is born, 145 17. First stores, 151 18. Browning struggles, 159 19. Becoming a multiple retailer, 169 20. Dune grows, 177 21. Going international, 181 22. Buy Shoe Studio and triple in size, 189 23. Banking problems, 199 24. Marketing the brand, 205 25. Building the Dune team, 211 26. Painful lessons, 217 27. International expansion, 225 28. Pandemic pain, 231 29. Smaller and sharper, 243 30. Today, 251 What I have learnt in business, 257 Acknowledgements, 263 Timeline, 267  

About the Author :
Daniel Rubin is the founder and chairman of Dune London, a global shoe and accessories brand. He has been in the footwear industry for 50 years as manufacturer, importer, wholesaler and retailer. Born into a long line of Jewish cobblers and entrepreneurs dating back to 19th Century Russia, he began his career in shoes working with his father in his women’s fashion shoe factory in east London. Initially he took his father’s advice and resisted the pull of the family footwear business and qualified as a chartered accountant. After a spell in finance and industry he succumbed to the lure of footwear and ran two London factories making women's fashion shoes, before competition from abroad undercut margins. Faced with this threat, he set up an import and wholesale business which he ran for 20 years, designing and sourcing shoes from factories in Asia and Europe and selling them to multiple retailers. In 1992, he founded the fashion footwear and accessories brand, Dune London, which has over 200 concessions and stores around the world, including in the US, Middle East, Europe and Asia. During his long career, he has visited factories in over 20 countries. His phone has thousands of photos of shoes and his cupboard has over 100 pairs. After 50 years in the industry, he can reliably be called a shoe dog. He remains obsessed with shoes, fascinated by the product, some of which he considers to be works of art. He remains involved in the Dune business, in particular in the design and development of the ranges. Sole Survivor: How I Built a Global Shoe Brand is his first non-fiction book.

Review :
Reviews  Rubin shares how he built Dune London from its modest beginnings into a global brand, weaving in fascinating history about his family’s shoemaking heritage. His passion for shoes leaps off the page, but so too does his honesty about the challenges of entrepreneurship. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a shoe enthusiast, or simply someone drawn to tales of resilience, Sole Survivor is a captivating read.  - Darla-Jane Gilroy - Associate Dean, University of the Arts London and author of The Little Book of Christian Louboutin Daniel’s journey from factory floors to building a global brand is an extraordinary story of resilience, creativity and determination. What has always stood out to me is his generosity of spirit. - Richard Shetliffe, Chief Executive Officer, The British Footwear Association  A thoroughly entertaining read and a valuable insight into building a business… [and] how hard work and passion can achieve amazing results. - Touker Suleyman, Chairman of Hawes & Curtis, a serial entrepreneur, and a dragon on BBC’s Dragon’s Den An open and honest absorbing read of one person’s life story, with some great takeaways on the lessons learned from someone who really has been there and done it - Lord Leigh of Hurley, Senior Partner, Cavendish The highs and lows of his 50-year career chart the very tapestry of British footwear. What Rubin doesn’t know about the shoe trade isn’t worth knowing. - Jill Geoghegan, Editor, Drapers