I know it is hard to believe that some people are already thinking about Fall and Winter. It is especially hard for me to believe this when my air conditioner is cranking non-stop just to keep my house at a balmy 76 degrees. But, in the fashion world, folks are always thinking way ahead!

Last week, Crocs Inc. revealed what will be their line of shoes for the 2008 Fall and Winter season. Of course, this big announcement was made in New York City at the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) trade show. Now, we obviously cannot visit the show since it ended on June 5th, but we can tell you about some of the Crocs styles that we can expect to see in the coming months.

In the coming cooler months, Crocs is expanding the Fuzz collection with cozy flats and boots. The six new styles in the Fuzz collection really embody the innovation of Crocs shoes by combining Crocs’ signature comfort along with soft synthetic fur linings. Crocs and fur… an interesting combination, to say the least! To me, this spells COMFORT!

Keep your eyes peeled for the Crocs Nanook and the Crocs Nadia. Both of these styles will be available in an array of colors and come in a wide range of Women’s and Girl’s sizes.

Additional models in the Crocs Fall 2008 lineup include:
• The Crocs Ambler, a fleece lined casual boot for the guys with a leather upper
• The Crocs Juneau, another for the ladies, with a new take on a classic flat with fun elastic detailing and chic feminine design

Get ready to start shopping for your new Fall and Winter Crocs beginning in September.

littlerubbershoes.com was recently mentioned in a NY Times Magazine article on what makes Crocs so popular. After reading the full article it seems to me the writer feels the popularity of Crocs by us Croc Fans is to spite the Anti-Croc movement. I respectfully disagree.

There might be some of that now that they have become so popular in our society, but the Anti-Croc’ers of the world didn’t know about Crocs until the passion and love for these shoes had already hit critical mass. It is not a situation of which came first the chicken or the egg. Fans of Crocs came about because of comfort, the ability to express themselves through colorful shoes, and not caring what other people think about what you are wearing because Crocs made them happy.

The Anti-Crocs “movement”, using this term loosely since we are just talking about shoes, only came about because of the rapid growth and popularity of Crocs. If you look at anything popular, you are going to have people who will to try to knock it down. I think the love for Crocs may be fueled by the Crocs Haters to a certain degree but I don’t think the love for Crocs from fans around the world would be lessened any if there weren’t Anti-Crocs people saying how ugly they are.

What is great about this country and other the free countries around the world is that everyone can have an opinion about anything, but at the end of the day, we are just talking about shoes. I have actually enjoyed watching the destruction of Crocs videos that have been made because I find them humorous and creative. We even posted them on this blog.

I think the article was an interesting read, I just got the feeling the premise of the piece was that Croc Fans were born out of people hating them because they felt they were ugly. I actually think it is very much the other way around.

I take more of the approach, if you like the shoes, wear them and not worry about what other people think of you. And after hearing from the many Croc Fans from around the world, seeing the number of “I Love My Crocs” widgets posted on mySpaces and blogs, and the number of people motivated to post their Crocs Pictures and Videos on the web, I think that is what most Croc Fans will continue to do.

Let us hear from you by submitting a comment. Tell us what you thought about the article and why you think there are such polarizing views on Crocs?

A school in the Boston area wants to ban Crocs from the school citing a safety concern. According to the news report school officials at the Thompson Elementary School in North Andover sent notes home with some of the children telling them to leave the “loose-fitting shoes” at home.

The school nurse reported an increase in injuries as a result of Crocs slipping off kids feet while on the playground. I am all for personal responsibility, and when it comes to children, parents need to make appropriate decisions about what their kids shouldn’t wear, but is this crossing the line. I’m not saying the school should or should not dictate what the kids can and cannot wear. I just think our society is a little too lawsuit happy and I just see this as the school district trying to cover themselves. I’m not saying the school does not have the best interest of the kids in mind, I just think we are becoming a bunch of wimps.

Leave us a comment and tell me your thoughts.

I am excited to announce that Crocs will be launching a new line of shoes under the “You By Crocs” Name. The announcement came yesterday.

This marks the first time (if you don’t count the Crocs Sassari) Crocs have expanded into the high fashion footwear market for women.

You By Crocs will initially feature 9 styles including wedged heels, boots, and lifted flats. Leather, suede and lamb wool along with the famous Crocs material Croslite material footbed for fashionable comfort.

The new You By Crocs will be available in September and will range in price from $149 to $299.

Checkout the new styles and tell us what you think by leaving a comment below.

Read more about You By Crocs here:
Wall Street Journal
Fibre2Fashion.com
Street Insider
CNBC
MSN Money

Tags: crocs, you by crocs

It looks like safety concerns over the holes in Beach Crocs and Cayman Crocs have caused this hospital in Rapid City to ban this version of Crocs. Given the dangers of exposed feet in a hospital setting it makes sense.

On an unrelated note, plan for a shortage of Endeavor Crocs in and around the Rapid City area. ;-)

Crocs just announced an agreement with Nickelodeon to license Sponge Bob and Dora The Explorer for a new line of Kids Crocs.

Read the Press Release.

A big congrats goes out to Jibbitz Founders Sheri and Rich Schmelzer on the sale of their company to Crocs Inc. The sale was for $10 million in cash and another $10 million for future performance. Both Sheri and Rich will stay on as Cheif Design Officer and President respectively. The founders are looking forward to having the ability to grow the Jibbitz business under the Crocs family.

You can read more about the sale at the following links:

Official Press Release

http://washington.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2006/10/02/daily33.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4232016.html

Jim Cramer from CNBC’s Mad Money show voiced his take on the recent CROX IPO. He predicts a $35 target price. He sites the 57% margin, popularity, and lack of major competition.

Crocs have raised thier initial IPO price from $13-$15 a share to $19-$20 a share. Crox is looking to be the first major IPO success of the new year. There are lots of people in the retail industry watching this one. Stay tuned as we watch what the street thinks about these hot, trendy, colorful shoes.

2 secrets to successful IPO: 1. Popular Trend & 2. Patented Technology. This however does not equate to long term success. My bet is Crocs will have a very successful time raising money from the IPO, expand their production capabilities, expand into other product lines, but never realize the hype put on them because as soon as something is a trend it is already out of style. Thoughts? Comments?

Crocs IPO Reading:
reuters.com
investors.com
thedenverchannel.com

Technorati Tags: crocs, ipo, crox

According to IPOHome.com CROX IPO is expected next week.  The offering price range is as high as $15 a share with 9 million shares offered.  It will be interesting to watch this one.  The site also notes the company is up to 1126 employees.  Can that be right?  1126 employees? That seems quite high for a company like this.

IPO Profile
Expected Date	Week of 2/6/06
IPO File Date	8/15/05
Price Range	$13.00 - $15.00
Shares Offered	9.0 mm

Read  More - IPOhome - IPO Company Profile

Technorati Tags: crox, ipo, crocs