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Crazy for Crocs: Popular rubber clogs can be seen anywhere
The Enterprise Journal, Nov 4, 2005
We have been invaded by Crocs. They haven’t come to us from the swamp, but from Boulder, Colo. Evidence of the invasion is on the feet of men, women and children and signs declaring “Crocs are here!”
These Crocs aren’t reptilian, they’re rubber. The comfortable and bacteria- and odor-resistant shoes weigh just ounces.
“They’ve become a phenomenon,” said Bella Douglas, marketing and public relations manager for Thrift Home Care in McComb and Brookhaven.
“We’ll get 10 to 12 cases, hundreds of shoes, and we have to inventory them and get them on the floor before we can even let people know that we have them,” Douglas said.
Barry Tyson of W.H.Tyson in Bude said keeping the shoes in stock has taken a lot of effort.
“People would literally buy Crocs out of the boxes before we could get them on the shelf,” said Tyson, whose store has been dubbed “Croc City” by his customers. “Our first shipment of more than a hundred pairs sold out in two days,” he said.
Douglas credits the rubber shoe’s popularity with comfort.
“They’re just incredibly comfortable. They mold to your feet and the surface that you are walking on,” she said.
Tyson agrees the comfort and support of the shoes make them irresistible. Tyson said if they can get someone to try on Crocs, they generally don’t leave the store without a pair.
“They’re easy to wear when it’s rainy and muddy,” said 11-year-old Mallory Maples. “A lot of people at school have them, like a bunch of them. One of my friends has five pairs.” Maples has a red pair and a light pink pair and is hoping to add lime green to her growing collection.
As with any craze, otherwise rational people have done remarkable things to get their hands, or feet, on a pair of the rainbow-colored shoes, which retail for $30 to $40.
“People followed a FedEx truck from Brookhaven to our store in Bude just to buy the shoes,” said Tyson. “Women have wanted the same pair and I’ve just backed up and let them decide who would get them,” he said.
It seems that having one pair of Crocs is never enough. With 17 colors and eight styles to choose from people are buying multiple pairs.
“One lady bought 12 pairs at one time. She said she was scared that people were going to run out of them and that she wouldn’t be able to get them,” said Douglas. She said that often people buy four or five pairs at a time and mothers will buy them for their entire family.
Tyson, who owns three pairs himself, said his store has sold more than 2,000 pairs of Crocs since April.
“For a town of 600 people, that’s a lot of shoes,” he said, adding that people have driven from as far as New Orleans, Shreveport, La., and Port Gibson to buy Crocs. He has also shipped Crocs to customers in Idaho and Washington, D.C.
Fuchsia and chocolate colors are Tyson’s top sellers, with khaki and navy the most consistent in sales, he said.
“I’ve seen people buy colors I’d never imagine like laffy taffy yellow or orange,” Douglas said. “And the neutral colors are very popular as well.”
The most popular style selling in Bude is the Beach clog, which allows water and sand to pass through and doesn’t retain any odors.
“It is a boating shoe and has great grip,” Tyson said.
The children’s Crocs have been just as popular as the adult version.
“When we got our first shipment of Crocs for children and toddlers, we put it on the sign outside of our store. A woman practically fell through the front door and said, ‘Did y’all see me almost wreck out there?’ She had seen the sign and had to stop,” said Douglas.
When a new shipment of the pint-sized shoes arrive, there is a rush for the kid’s Crocs at Thrift, she said. “It’s just wildfire with the children’s Crocs. If we get a shipment on Wednesday or Thursday they usually won’t last through the weekend,” said Douglas.
Children aren’t the only people crazy about Crocs. Medical personnel, teachers, boaters, chefs, travelers and gardeners are snatching them up.
“They are popular with anyone who is on their feet for a long time,” said Tyson.
- Cassidy Kemp