Dennis Trigubetz

Skechers: Ignoring Obvious Value

Mr Rhodes:

1) A 0.7% sales decline 2qtr 08 v. 07 is hardly a big sales negative, especially when many U S retailers are reporting cahallenged 2d qtr results; thus, CROX is not exactly a bad performer in a stellar field.

2) Yes there are a number of INFERIOR Crocs knockoffs; however, despite CROX's inability to enforce their patents, there is another intellectual partner who WILL enforce their patent gor Croslite, DuPont. I believe CROX has an exclusive footwear agreement for Croslite with DuPont.

3) Croslite is what makes Crocs so comfortable. The loyal core of Crocs users, including myself will gravitate to their new styles, as long as Croslite is imbedded in the sole.

4) I am 62 years old and judging by your picture you are probably a contemporary. I cannot understand your referring to Crocs as a fad a their market ranges from ages 5 to 100. As you know, older consumers are more loyal to a brand and less fickle than the 8-18 crowd. Do you really think that a 65-year old woman will abandon her Crocs in favoe of stilleto high heels?

5) Pleasd do two things: A) visit crocsrx.com for a glimpse of a very promising market; B) visit a local store that carries Crocs and try them on-you will be pleasantly surprised by their comfort.

6) Bear is mind that footwear, unless one plans to go barefoot, is not a discretionary item. Wearing Crocs does reduce the potential for expensive foot doctor bills.

7) The cheapness of CROX makes it an ideal target for the likes of Adidas. Adidas or Nike or Brown Shoe can take out hundreds of millions in CROX overhead.

8/18/08 WSJ says it best:

Dollar Revival Reaps Roses and Thorns
Stocks Likely to Gain on Mergers, Profits;
Caution for Commodities and Exporters
By JEFF D. OPDYKE and CRAIG KARMIN
August 18, 2008

Worries that the dollar could continue strengthening have already boosted cross-border M&A activity. U.S.-based targets are still cheap -- thanks to the nearly seven-year bear market in the dollar -- but are suddenly getting more expensive to foreign acquirers. That could be "a strong enough factor to hasten a decision," says Boon Sim, head of mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse.

The dollar's turnaround played a role in expediting some recent trans-Atlantic deals, including a bid by Switzerland's Roche Holding AG to buy the shares in Genentech Inc. it doesn't already own, and Belgian brewer InBev NV's takeover of Anheuser Busch Cos., according to people familiar with the transactions.

Skechers: Ignoring Obvious Value

I guess I'll have to quote esteemed Jeremy Siegel of Wharton to back up my claim that Crocs are not a fad, but pursuing an aggressive international expansion:

"With explosive growth in emerging markets and more companies with worldwide operations, a corporation's official "headquarters" will become less relevant, says Jeremy Siegel, a professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "People think they're diversifying by investing in a country, and it leads to inadequate diversification," he says, "because the country of origin or incorporation is not the primary influence on the stock price."

"More important for individual investors will be understanding where a company produces and sells its products, since an outfit based in France but selling products in Egypt doesn't truly represent the French economy. Siegel foresees the birth of the "international corporation"—a business globally diversified in where it produces and sells goods and not identified by its specific country. "

Thank you, Professor Siegel. Forget Croc's U S problems-focus on international growth.

finance.yahoo.com/reti...

Skechers: Ignoring Obvious Value

So let me get this straight? CROX is a fad stock like HLYS? In other words, CROX getting their shoe approved by Medicaid/Medicare is a fad?
The aging of the U S & world population is just a fad? Individuals being able to deduct the purchase of diabetic Crocs shoes from their health savings accounts and/or tax returns(with a doctor's note as to medical necessity fo conditions other than diabetes) is just a fad?

The great dancer Fred Astaire tried skateboarding in his seventies, so I guess all seniors will desert Crocs and embrace wheelies.