The story of Slappa’s Thongs is one of an accidental entrepreneur, making mistakes along the way, enjoying good timing, putting in the hard yards and having a fair bit of self-belief. 

Former Business Banker Denise Dunn started the iconic footwear brand because of peer group pressure. 

“I’m a sucker for taking on a challenge,” she said. 

“Back in 2008, I was selling another brand of thongs for a friend at Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, and someone actually said: ‘Nice thongs, but no arch support’. 

“I said to my friend: ‘Who has arch support in their thongs?’ And she said: ‘You do’. And I said: “I just told you, the thongs I sell don’t have arch support.” She goes, ‘Yeah, but you’re gonna make them’. 

“My daughter Kaylee was only a baby and I was still feeding her. But once the kids went to bed, I was on the internet trying to find a manufacturer. I went to Hong Kong, went to a trade fair, signed 

up with a company and next minute, 2009, we’re making Slappas. 

“I had six months to do it — to get them ready for the next Mindil Markets, which is really a ridiculous thing, because most people making footwear take a few years before they do it. 

“I just thought nobody else is really doing it. There were only the orthopaedic, chunky, heavy, very unattractive, not stylish thongs, which I actually wore when I was pregnant. 

“They were just a disaster for my feet. That’s why I knew Slappas was going to work. 

“It was all accidental, so I call myself the accidental entrepreneur.” 

Denise created Slappa’s Thongs with the help of a podiatrist in Sydney and a physio in Darwin. 

In November 2013, the Slappas website was launched. Within three minutes, Denise had an order, consolidating her belief that Slappas was a sought-after product. 

From there, the business grew quickly. 

“Too quickly,” Denise said. 

“The kids were really young, I was doing this by myself, I didn’t have investors or the right people helping me. I did get to the stage that I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. 

“I kept going and then I found out that I was doing the right thing because the competitors started coming through.” 

Slappas were the first female-founded, Australian designed, arch support thongs made through a process called closed cell injection, meaning they are all one piece. So, no glues, no plugs no blowouts. 

“We own the moulds we make Slappas in, unlike a lot of competitors who just use a generic mould or use moulds without permission. 

“I’ve had a competitor make their website and social posts look very similar to Slappas to confuse our customers. And the annoying part is, these days because I’m the smaller brand, people assume I’m the copycat. 

“A marketing team that I was using said: ‘Denise, just look at it as a compliment. 

“I remind myself: I was here first and if people are mimicking me, it’s because what I created was worth copying. 

“At Slappas, we’ve chosen to build a business based on value, not volume. 

“Slappas are made to mould to your feet, provide support and comfort. They are practical, durable and many customers have Slappas for over 5 years or longer.” 

With so many competitors around, Denise knows Slappas stands out through quality and genuine customer service. Her husband Roger has now joined the business, and when customers reach out, they speak directly to one of them — not bots, not call centres, just the people who actually run the brand. 

The Slappas brand name came from one of Denise’s six brothers-in-law. 

“We thought there might be a little bit of controversy around that name. We told a lot of people about it. There were a few other names but everyone said Slappas, that’s the one.” 

Slappa’s Thongs have featured on the catwalk including Australian Fashion Week and last year’s Melbourne Fashion Festival, which made international headlines, as part of renowned fashion label, Alpha60. 

Instead of strutting down the runway in stilettos or chunky platforms, models rocked the catwalk in Slappa’s Thongs, proving their versatility as footwear for every day or as a fashion piece. 

After 15 years of business, Denise has faced tough competitors, running a footwear business from Darwin, COVID, manufacturing challenges in China and nearly losing her 16-year-old son, Bernie in an accident. Yet she’s never stopped learning or pushing forward. 

With her business savvy, stubborn determination and unwavering belief in what she’s building, this “accidental entrepreneur” is anything but accidental now. She is driving real change in her own way. TQ