Crocs (shoes)

choi

Erin Carlyle, It’s Gotta Be the Shoes. Like all fads, Crocs soared and crashed -- based on hype. A new CEO is focusing on (gasp!) the product. Forbes, Aug 17, 2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erin ... gotta-be-the-shoes/

Quote:

"After booming through the 2000s with sales that rocketed from $1.2 million in 2003 to nearly $850 million just four years later, the company has been in a tailspin.  By 2013 sales hit $1.2 billion, but profits were down 92% year-over-year to only $10.4 million. Shares that October hit a low of just over $12, a 43% dip from the IPO price and an 84% tumble from their 2007 peak. Nine of the shoemaker’s top ten execs at the time had no experience in the footwear business. Under their crackerjack leadership the company had trouble with everything from order fulfillment to products that bordered on the ridiculous (holey clogs lined in fleece?). It nearly went under–twice.

"Enter Blackstone, the private equity shop. In January 2014 it swooped in with a $200 million investment for a 13% chunk of the company. Crocs’ board put [Gregg] Ribatt, a consultant to Blackstone during its review, in charge [who is] A shoe vet * * * So far Ribatt hasn’t been able to pull out of the funk.

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest.
(b)
(i) Crocs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocs
(founded in 2002 "to produce and distribute a foam clog design acquired from a Quebec company called Foam Creations")
(ii) Frequently Asked Questions. Crocs, undated
company.crocs.com/faq/
(“How did Crocs get its name? Just like the crocodile, Crocs can be worn on land or in water”)