Gotta Love Those Crocs!

by Lisa Crago

You can see them coming from a mile away. At first you aren’t very sure what you see coming at you, but then, to your relief (or not), they’re just a pair of Crocs. It seems that everyone is wearing them these days. You can find them at just about any store, including obvious carriers, such as The Bon Ton, and some not-so-obvious retailers, such as your local drug store. These shoes have been seen gracing the feet of even our beloved president, George W. Bush. The Croc itself has a simple design. A clog-like shoe that has holes in it to let the foot breathe, the Croc is made of Croslite, which is a non-plastic resin formula. Crocs are light as a feather, and have non-slip soles. They originally appealed to a crowd of gardeners and boaters, and, until the past several years, stayed amongst consumers wanting them for these purposes. However, within the past few years, “Crocs-mania” has swept over the American culture. In 2002, Crocs made a mere gross profit of $1,000. In just four years, they grossed a total of over 2 million in profits. Because Crocs obviously lack any fashion appeal, what really makes people go crazy over this shoe?

The answer is very good marketing. Crocs made licensing deals with the likes of Disney and NASCAR which allowed them to manufacture shoes that would appeal to a consumer’s personal likes. By making this move, Crocs greatly increased profits, shown by the results of the first quarter in 2007. Profits made by Crocs increased by 217% and were made in over 40 different countries. The increase across the board is impressive for these clown-like shoes that barely made a significant profit in the past. Crocs also targeted children, coming out with removable charms that fit into the openings on the top of the shoe. These charms are sold separately, and added on to the millions the company made in profits.

Unfortunately, “Crocs mania”, like all good things, must come to an end. Recently, the company has been experiencing some hard times. In June, fifty percent of the Crocs Company’s shares were sold by short-seller investors because they predict that the company’s stock will experience a downward fall in the near future. In response to this development, the company has created a new fall line featuring clothes and different styles of shoes, which will run anywhere from $70 to $100. It is apparent that the demand for these shoes has rapidly declined and has caused the company to move away from its original design to something newer (and hopefully more fashionable), but why?

One possible answer to this question may be that people have realized that there are actually shoes out there that are both comfortable and fashionable, but a more likely reason for the decrease in demand is the recent lawsuits against the Crocs company. In several similar incidents, shoes worn by consumers (children in particular) have gotten their shoes caught in escalators. In one case, a child’s shoe was mangled by the escalator, and “severely and permanently” damaged his foot. The child’s family is suing for $2 million. Crocs have also been deemed unsafe because hospitals warn that when employees such as doctors and nurses wear them, patients and the employees themselves are at risk for bacteria and infections. For this reason, many hospitals have banned the wearing of Crocs by their employees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/crocs
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080910/escalator_accidents
http://www.slate.com/id/2170301/