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Colorful Crocs in big demand
The Clarion Ledger Business, Jul 13, 2005
Miriam Revette and her mother-in-law, Bonnie Revette, marched into Buffalo Peak Outfitters in Highland Village on Tuesday on a mission.
The two women from Morton went straight to the display of Crocs, cloglike shoes originally designed for boaters and kayakers to wear, and debated which color to buy.
Miriam Revette went for the gusto: orange. Bonnie Revette chose an equally perky hue: lime green.
“They make your feel feel like you’re walking on a cushion. They’re more comfortable than flip-flops and will last forever,” said Miriam Revette, who wore a pink pair of Croc knock-offs from Pay Less Shoe Source that matched her pink T-shirt.
Miriam and Bonnie Revette each had a pair of Crocs at home in their closets, and Miriam Revette’s twin daughter and son, age 4, each have Crocs to fit their tiny feet.
The shoes appear to be among the summer’s hits with the vivid colors drawing some consumers and comfort the greatest selling point for others. The most popular styles, known as the “Beach” and the “Cayman,” sell for $29.99 for all sizes from children’s to men.
Dave Edmonson, footwear buyer at Buffalo Peak, said he first got inkling of how hot the shoes that have been around since November 2002 would become when the store sold out of its stock at last year’s Mistletoe Marketplace in Jackson.
“I don’t know when we’ve had any kind of footwear this hot,” he said. “When we get a new shipment, the mothers and teens will get on their cell phones and call people and tell them about the new colors.”
Edmonson said he’s sold Crocs to physicians, nurses and restaurant employees who wear them to work, teen-agers who find the neon colors fashion statements, gardeners who like being able to hose off the shoes when they’re dirty and even grandmothers. The shoes are named Crocs because crocodiles are good in land and water and live for a long time.
Blayne Bolton, an assistant manager at Shoe Station in Jackson, said the store receives Crocs in shipments of 14,000-22,000 pairs and sells 300 pairs of Crocs a day on weekends.
“We sell 2,000 to 2,500 pairs a week,” she said. “It’s crazy. When you come in our store on weekends, you’ll see people wearing Crocs buying more Crocs.”
TC’s Uniforms in Jackson began stocking Crocs in March and has already sold more than 500 pairs, said Susan Iupe, receptionist at the store. “We can’t keep them in stock,” she said.
Pam May, owner of Spring Dings shoe store in Brandon, said she sold 400 pairs of Crocs in 15 hours last month when word got out the store had a new shipment.
“It’s kind of like the Beanie Baby craze with the search and the hunt,” she said. “The demand is so great we can’t always get them.”
Allece Cummins of Jackson bought a khaki pair to wear when she volunteers at a Jackson hospital. “They’re really comfortable,” she said of the shoes made of resin that mold to one’s foot.
Riley Rodgers of Jackson, 12, bought a navy blue pair to wear to school. “I like these because they’ll match my uniform for Jackson Prep,” she said.
The neon colors of Crocs and fashion in general – lime green, orange and fuchsia, to name just a few – are a reliable economic indicator, said Bob Allsbrook, senior vice president and chief economist at AmSouth Bank.
“They’re good indicators of consumer confidence,” he said. “What’s important for today is the choice in bright colors is expanding and growing, and it has not diminished.”
Sales of Crocs show consumers aren’t afraid to spend money on something they may tire of quickly, he said. And he believes that’s more reliable than any consumer confidence index. “I keep watching for black, brown, beige and earth tones to come back,” Allsbrook said. “The last time we had those was during the last recession.”
Nell Luter Floyd
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