Crocs Facing Bankruptcy, Hoorah!

by Blaine Metzgar | July 17, 2009 at 10:24 am

2329 views | 0 Recommendations | 10 comments

The dreaded Crocs, favoured by overweight mid-westerners on the brink of mid-life crises and naive children, is facing bankruptcy. Even after selling over 100 million pairs of the comfortable-yet-embarrassing abomination of shoes the company faces bankruptcy unless they pay back their debts by September.

After a drastic reversal that saw a £100 million profit in 2007 sink to a £112 million loss in 2008, the company has had to sack a third of its 6,000 workforce.

But it seems the clogs have also been a victim of their own hardiness as their virtual indestructibility meant that aficionados never needed to buy another pair.

As the shoes became a hit across the globe, the manufacturer churned out new variants and dreamed up accessories such as trinkets that could be fitted into the ventilating holes. But it appears the firm substantially overestimated the clog's potential sales as it boosted output.

It is now sitting on a warehouse full of unsold shoes and a dwindling number of feet willing to squeeze into them. Few in the retail industry appear to believe the company will survive.

Fear not, even if Crocs go under you can always fall back on Tevas.

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Gabi Butcher

at 15:07 on July 17th, 2009

This was taken after the Radiohead concert in São Paulo Brazil... a wondeful night... these shoes witnessed history being made :)

Gabi Butcher has contributed a photo to this story.

Pics for Pedro

at 16:38 on July 17th, 2009

Croc found next to Lake Wylie in SC

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cynthiamarz15

at 22:11 on July 17th, 2009

Well all i know is i've seen this store before but the first time i went in i saw that all the walls were covered in ton and tons of crocs. It was like i was inside a rainbow crazy! But i took this shot because i wanted to get a contrast in different colors. =]

cynthiamarz15 has contributed a photo to this story.

Lovemy4

at 07:44 on July 18th, 2009

my daughters favorite shoes with bow jibbits I made for her... She loved them because they are easy to put on for a toddler and can get wet, dirty, and trampled, and still hold up. I have to say, I'm a fan for the convenience of the shoes.

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Pythiian1

at 11:21 on July 19th, 2009

At the risk of debunking the author's stereo-typed comment above about "overweight mid-westerners", I have seen plenty of extremely thin New Yorkers, men and women who wear these same crocs in a variety of colors walking around the city.

france charest

at 17:34 on July 19th, 2009

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Birdy V

at 07:07 on July 24th, 2009

When our dog was a puppy it was next to impossible to keep him from eating my crocs. Well, any crocs. Thankfully, now he has left them to be (we had to get new ones). That being said, they made great safe puppy chew toys. We just took them away when they were not safe/loosing bits. The first to go was that strap thingy.

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mico saavedra (not verified)

at 18:21 on August 2nd, 2009

i work for the company and can't believe that they might file bankruptcy. i sell at least 50 pairs in a weekend. we make at least $2,000-2,500 in a weekend. we're not going outta business, maybe closing locations but as of now, thats it. New and more"tastefull" styles are being made and sold everyday. they've come a long way from the originals

KSinc (not verified)

at 09:03 on August 4th, 2009

This makes me saddened

"he dreaded Crocs, favoured by overweight mid-westerners on the brink of mid-life crises and naive children, is facing bankruptcy. Even after selling over 100 million pairs of the comfortable-yet-embarrassing abomination of shoes"

that someone would even to begin to describe these shoes that way. I have gone through three pairs of crocs and wear them daily. I have never been embarassed to wear them because I know how HARD it is for me to find shoes that I like or are even comfortable. It sucks that they are facing bankruptcy but I happily invest in those shoes about every six months.

For the record, I am from Florida, a college student. I slave part time for the man and am 22 years old. My fiancee, who is 35 years old, is a full-time college student, works part time slaving for the man and ENJOYS the crap out of his crocs. So much so, that he has gone through several pairs.

This statement: "victim of their own hardiness as their virtual indestructibility meant that aficionados never needed to buy another pair." Must have been written by people who have bought but never actually worn the shoes. They are destructible. We've put holes in the soles - not where they are supposed to be - broken straps and worn the treads completely off the crocs from everyday day-to-day use.