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Seen in London's Covent Garden last week.

Posted by Ed Cotton Crocs have been a fashionable thing to write about recently,I wrote a post a few days ago, Rob Walker wrote his Consumed column about them, so I am sure people are sick of hearing about the ugliest brand of shoes in the world.

However, this isn't really about Crocs, instead it's about an email I recieved yesterday from China. 

Here it is in full, nothing edited, formated or changed.

'Hello,friend
 
We are china supplier .we sell a lot of goods.If u need crocs,we have real anc copy beach style now.
Real 13$ each with shipped,minimum 100 pair.copy beach 10$ each wit shipped.
Real size and color:
Man size:us 7-11  uk size 6-10
color:black ,army green
women size us 5.5-8.5  uk size 2.5-6.5
color:amethyst,black ,red.pink ,yellow.army green.
 
I send to u copy crocs beach style stock list.u can see.if u want order copy too.u can let me know.
 
If u sell crocs.maybe u will need charms too.we have factory make charms.minmum 5000,price is 0.15$ each with shipped.( steel need more money 0.18$ each with shipped).
I send to u charms stock list ,u can see them.
Hope we can do business and I can become your supplier.we have a lot of another big brand shirt shoes bags jeans.if u need,i will let u know
I am waiting for your reply!"

This is not a joke about English usage, instead it tells us some interesting things.

1. The massive competitive pressure that the Chinese suppliers face- they are looking for orders from anywhere

2. The global power of blogs

3. The threat to brands from counterfeits

I wonder if I will be recieving an email from Crocs tomorrow?


Posted by Ed Cotton The ugly footwear brand Crocs has in a couple of years come from knowhere to cultural phenom. I don't recall ever having seen any form of traditional communication for the brand- no ads of any type, but a ton of people talk about them and you sure remember them when you see them around.

Clearly Crocs is trying to battle the "fad cycle" that often destroys fashion companies; they are expanding globally and diversifying the brand beyond footwear.

Anyone remember Von Dutch?

"The future for Von Dutch seems to be limitless. The unofficial princess of white-trash glam, Anna Nicole Smith, has signed a development deal with the company--just one of the many promotional plans that they've set their sights set on. Fashion fanatics can also expect to see cosmetics and haute couture lines in the upcoming months, as well as an onslaught of celebrity involvement."

From a 2003- web news story

How Crocs engineered it's rapid expansion is fascinating; it brought in an expert from outside the category, Ron Snyder from Flextronics, an electronics manaufacturer that makes X-Boxes for Microsoft among other things.

According to Fast Company, Snyder's contribution is all about making Crocs more responsive to the changing color tastes of consumer.

"And he brought on some of his pals from Flextronics to set up more-sophisticated operations that would bring to footwear the speed and flexibility of electronics manufacturing. For one, they set up systems allowing Crocs to respond quickly to demand: If the lime-green Athens shoe is hot in mid-June, the company can make more in two to four weeks."

They might be getting this right for their core business, but their diversification strategies have met with criticism.

"But now my ardor of last year has cooled. I am underwhelmed by the company’s choices so far. It seems like Crox moved in this direction before thinking it through. Sure, ball caps are a must, but the backpacks are just backpacks. White socks with prints on them? Who cares? The spin-off products so far sadly lack the funky style that made Crox shoes so in your face and I dare you to make fun of me. Why isn’t Crox teaming with Swatch to make big, bold watches a comeback? Why don’t the arm and wristbands do something teens and fashion-firsts would value, like hold an iPod? In fact, why aren't they anklebands just to be different? Why aren’t there Crox gummy bears or funny-colored sunscreen that blends into the skin? Crox needs a product designer with a funkier vision and a tighter grip on what it is about Crox that got it to this level. The new products on offer now look like the company borrowed an aging product manager from the Mattel’s Barbie doll division."

Seeking Alpha

Crocs have defied convention, built a powerful brand that people have strong emotions towards, survived the intiital fad phase and have taken on the mutitude of copy-cats. Bringing outside expertese from the fast-paced world of electronics has clearly helped, but it now appears they also need to bring in critical design skills if they want to innovate behind their core product and survive.


Posted by Ed Cotton