The first store dedicated to selling Crocs, the rubber shoes with the holes that many defined as "the height of ugliness" was opened in Israel in the early 2000s and the brand became a huge success. But the fall also came very quickly. Now, after more than 60 store branches have been rebranded as WeShoes, Crocs is having a comeback.
The shoe once again became a massive sales hit and the importer, New Cinema Company (Tammuz), which is owned by film distributor Amos Horowitz, is reopening Crocs stores in Israel. In the first phase, stores will be opened in the new Seven Stars Mall in Eilat and in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Center.
Crocs was founded in Colorado in 2002, as the incarnation of a Canadian brand of sailing shoes. The brand became a hit around the world and especially in Israel, which was one of its biggest markets. Crocs became the best-selling shoe and the most maligned due to its clumsy design. In 2008, the global company's stock crashed as a result of the global economic crisis. In 2014, it closed about 100 stores worldwide and laid off thousands of employees.
At the height of its success, Crocs had 60 stores in Israel, but when the reputation of the brand declined, the branding of the stores was changed to Crocs & More, since the importer sells other brands such as Blundstone, Cancan, Dr. Scholl's and Desigual and produces private brands such as Seventy Nine. In 2016, the name of the chain was changed again to WeShoes. The new Crocs chain will operate alongside WeShoes.
The brand flourished again during coronavirus crisis since is a comfortable shoe to wear at home. It posted a 4% increase in sales in the first quarter of 2021 and is now considered the No. 2 non-sneaker shoe brand in the world. After the coronavirus crisis, young people discovered the brand on Tiktok and the hole-y Crocs slippers became a hit again. Limited editions began to come out, fashionable girls began to embrace the brand and the hype around it only grew.
The brand presented collaborations and limited Crocs models designed by Levi's, Balenciaga, Salehe Bembury, MCM, Simone Rocha and the K-pop band aespa. It constantly releases designs in collaboration with popular brands such as McDonald's, SpongeBob, Barbie and Saban Ilvan. In addition, Crocs has managed to become a hit with styles including platform and heels.
The brand's popularity among Generation Z also increased thanks to the sale of Jibbitz, charms that attach to Crocs holes that allow personalization of the shoe, and due to Crocs-loving celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Post Malone. They are also considered durable and recyclable shoes with a moderate carbon footprint.
There are many cheap imitations of Crocs, but it has almost no parallel imports to Israel. An examination shows that the prices of Crocs in Israel are higher than in the U.S. and the UK, which amount to more or less the value of the value-added tax, but there are also bigger differences. For example, Crocs models that are sold in Israel for close to 400 shekels, are sold in the U.S. for about 300 shekels. Simple Crocs that are sold in Israel for 120 shekels are sold in the UK for half the price and in the US for 80 shekels
The brand is constantly increasing prices on certain models, especially children's models, and it is working harder to sell more expensive models, such as the collaborations with designers.