Despite being criticized by many as ugly and voted by Time as one of the "worst inventions" because of its uselessness, Crocs still earns billions of dollars every year.
Throughout the history of fashion , controversial trends are not uncommon. But few footwear has been as polarizing as Crocs. For more than 20 years, the block-of-cheese-like shoes have attracted legions of devoted fans and haters.
But regardless, Crocs remains a modern fashion phenomenon and a profitable business. Last year alone, the brand earned a record $3.6 billion in sales. But how did they become so successful?
Sell ugly shoes but in high demand
Crocs was born in 2002, after a sea trip in Mexico by the three co-founders Scott Seamans, Lyndon Hanson and George Boedbecker Jr. At that time, Seamens introduced to his two companions the rowing shoes he developed with the company Foam Creations (Canada).
The shoes were made from Croslite, a new, lightweight, odor-resistant plastic. Initially criticized as ugly, the shoes sold because of their dual function of being easy to wear both on land and in water, like the crocodile that inspired the brand, the English word "crocodile".
A Crocs shoe model. Photo: X Crocs
The shoes have become a favorite of chefs, gardeners, nurses, and children, but are quickly catching on with celebrities like Jennifer Garner, Oprah, and Michelle Obama. Despite taking the footwear industry by storm, Crocs are still considered by some to be ridiculous footwear.
Idiocracy (2006) director Mike Judge said costume designer Debra McGuire decided to give the characters Crocs because they were "terrible plastic shoes" that no one in their right mind would buy, making them the perfect choice for a film about a stupid dystopian society.
In 2010, Time magazine listed Crocs as one of the 50 worst inventions. Elizabeth Semmelhack, Director and Senior Curator at the Bata Shoe Museum, said Crocs were "not seen as a hot new fashion trend, but welcomed as a truly unique and interesting shoe."
Today, celebrities like Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, and Kendall Jenner all wear Crocs. The brand has also partnered with Hilton and Lohan, who, again, has never been seen wearing them. On TikTok, the hashtag #crocs has more than 9.6 billion views.
There are two reasons why designer shoes, even if they aren't pretty, are seen as fun and cool to buy, according to Lucy Thornley, Crocs' global vice president of trends, consumers, design and products. First, Thornley points out that younger consumers are embracing Crocs, especially college and high school students who are on sports teams or school clubs. "This emerging trend reflects the growing popularity of Crocs as an expressive statement rather than just a shoe," she says.
The second is design success. In 2017, Christopher Kane became the brand’s first designer collaboration, marking a “defining moment” in Crocs’s move toward mass appeal. “Christopher wanted to make something ordinary extraordinary,” Thornley says.
Christopher Kane has taken the classic Crocs design from utilitarian to more fashionable, giving the brand a point of interest that appeals to a wider audience. Crocs have gone from being a rubber beach clog to a more versatile style that includes platform shoes, loafers, and even ballet flats. “The change gives people the opportunity to express themselves while knowing they can be trendy and comfortable at the same time,” Thornley says.
Justin Beiber poses for a photo in Crocs. Photo: Justin Beiber's Instagram
After collaborating with Christopher Kane, Balenciaga took Crocs to the next level, literally, by releasing designer pairs for $850. Since then, the company has collaborated with designers and stylists like Liberty London, Vivienne Tam, Takashi Murakami, Justin Beiber, SZA, Bad Bunny, Post Malone, Diplo, Wu-Tang Clan.
The company has also forged countless brand partnerships, including KFC, MSCHF, Lisa Frank, Barbie, Benefit Cosmetics, Hidden Valley Ranch, General Mills, and Clueless. In 2021, former Versace designer Salehe Bembury joined forces to put Crocs on the fashion map.
But it hasn’t always been easy for Crocs. Like many companies, it struggled during the 2008 recession, but then recovered, until it did again in 2012, when overseas sales were lower than expected.
Another challenge is that the company has a large base of haters. To keep its “haters” from hurting its business, Crocs launched a campaign in 2017 to combat those who bully the company. They hired spokespeople like Drew Barrymore and John Cena to talk about their personal experiences with bullying. In many ways, the brand was calling its detractors bullies at a time when many organizations, from Cartoon Network to the U.S. government, were launching anti-bullying campaigns.
The strategy worked. After several years of losses, Crocs grew 6% in 2018 and 13% the following year. “Yes, we’re ugly!” says Heidi Cooley, Crocs’ CMO. “But the important thing is that we’re unique. We realized that’s exactly what resonated with our fans, that they see themselves as unique,” she says.
Crocs has been doing better in recent years. The company’s annual sales have increased 200% since 2019, thanks in part to the pandemic, according to the New York Times . Crocs aren’t the only “ugly” shoes seeing a sales boost. Customers are looking for more leisurewear, stay-at-home-friendly fashion, which has helped Crocs and other comfortable footwear like Uggs, Tevas, and Birkenstocks boom.
And it was during that period that Crocs had a golden opportunity to win over people who had previously hated them. Content creator Tina Estrella decided to buy her first pair of orange Crocs. “I thought, ‘I’ll wear them around the house.’ And pretty soon, you’ll be wearing them to the grocery store, pairing them with dresses,” she says.
Personalized "weapons"
Besides flexibility and comfort, one of the reasons Crocs are so popular is that the wearer can easily decorate them themselves to express their style and personality, unlike the possibility of customers having to "bump into" the design of traditional shoes.
In 2005, Crocs sold 6 million pairs. That same year, a woman named Sheri Schmelzer came up with the idea of button-shaped accessories that fit into the holes of her children's shoes, creating Jibbitz. Seeing the prospect, Crocs bought Jibbitz for $ 10 million just the following year. Today, Jibbitz accessories are a powerful "weapon" of the company.
Crocs shoes with Jibbitz. Photo: Crocs
Crocs wearers don't necessarily have to buy the original Jibbitz, either; the holes in the shoes allow them to be decorated with whatever they like to personalize their shoes. Marisa Ravel, founder and creative director of fashion accessories brand Laser Kitten, said she scoffed at Crocs when they first came out. "I thought they were the ugliest shoes I'd ever seen," she said. Now she owns three pairs, many with homemade embellishments.
One Halloween, content creator Tina Estrella decided to decorate her Crocs with this theme. She attached spooky Jibbitz, a chain, and spikes to the shoes. Estrella’s DIY video went viral on TikTok, racking up more than half a million views. “I feel like a lot of young people are more willing to express themselves, and Crocs are the shoe that was made for that,” she says.
Crocs have won over more people during the pandemic. But the truth is, there are still plenty of haters. Celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Dua Lipa, and Lil' Kim have all publicly denounced the shoes. And Zoe Kravitz convinced Channing Tatum to stop wearing them.
But for all its fans and haters, Crocs is still on a good growth path. Its second quarter 2023 financial report forecasts full-year revenue could reach $4 billion at current prices, up 12.5-14.5% from 2022.
Phien An ( summary )
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