Crocs US
Men, Women & Children
About Crocs
(from their website and Wikipedia)
Discover comfortable and casual shoe styles for the entire family for any occasion at Crocs! Get a little glamorous with women’s high heels and trendy wedges, women’s dress flats, and women’s boots. Don’t forget to check out our new seasonal styles for women. And find great discounted prices in our women’s footwear sale section — updated often! Whether you need to dress up or down, we have all the best styles of comfortable footwear for all the kiddos, too. Our men’s casual shoes, slip-ons, clogs and sneakers are lightweight and comfy too. Find the perfect pair for everyone, no matter the occasion, at Crocs!
Crocs, Inc. is an American company based in Broomfield, Colorado that manufactures and markets the Crocs brand of foam clogs.
The company has since established a considerable following with American middle school and high school students, with many opting for Crocs to use as school shoes for the school day.
History
Crocs was founded by Lyndon “Duke” Hanson, and George Boedecker Jr. to produce and distribute a foam clog, whose design they acquired from Foam Creations, Inc. of Quebec City. The shoe was originally developed as a boating shoe. The first model produced by Crocs, the Beach, was unveiled in 2001 at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show in Florida, and the 200 pairs that they had produced were all sold. Crocs has since sold 300 million pairs of shoes. In June 2020, Crocs moved the headquarters from Niwot, Colorado to Broomfield.
Products
Crocs are made in a variety of styles and colors. The Classic styles are available in more than 20 colors; most other styles are produced in a palette of four to six colors or two-color combinations. Thus there are different styles for each season. A pair of adult Classic style Crocs normally cost $49.99.
The Crocs company also sells other fashion accessories. Jibbitz are decorations that can be clipped to the ventilation holes in the shoes. These include designs, mainly aimed at children, which feature Disney characters. Jibbitz normally cost $4.99 for a single clip or $16.99 – $19.99 for multipacks. The company has also released a line of purses in a variety of colors.
A “Fuzz Collection” with removable woolly liners extend the brand’s range to winter wear. A pair of adult Crocs from the “Fuzz Collection” normally cost $59.99 – $64.99.
In 2008, the company entered the golf shoe marketplace by acquiring the golf shoe manufacturer Bite Footwear and introducing a Croc-styled pair of golf shoes, the Ace.
In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company launched “A Free Pair for Healthcare” offering healthcare workers a free pair of their shoes. Crocs also sent 100,000 pairs of shoes to hospitals to be distributed to staff.
Influence on Fashion and Culture
Starting in 2006, sales of Crocs increased dramatically, with first-quarterly sales roughly tripling from 2006 to 2007, according to The New York Times. An article in The Washington Post described the phenomenon: “Nor is the fashion world enamored of Crocs. Though their maker touts their ‘ultra-hip Italian styling,’ lots of folks find them hideous.” Tim Gunn, fashion consultant, told Time magazine, “… the Croc – it looks like a plastic hoof. How can you take that seriously?” A 2008 anti-Crocs essay by Steve Tuttle in Newsweek generated much response from readers who both agreed and disagreed with it.
In 2007, then-President George W. Bush wore black Crocs with socks publicly. In August 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama was spotted wearing Crocs with her daughter. On June 14, 2015, 23-month-old Prince George, son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, was photographed at a charity event wearing navy blue Crocs. After one week, this had created a 1,500 percent increase of sales, according to a spokesperson for Amazon.com.
Crocs was the title sponsor of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour from 2006 through the 2009 season.