Tokyo Haze

Crocs: Successful Brand or Victim of Cheap Imitations?

Let me add one more comment, in the interest of fairness to Crocs, my wife bought a pair of Crocs' sandals with heels (not one of their original designs) and she loves 'em. So there is definitely the potential for increased revenue generation through their expanded product line.

Crocs: Successful Brand or Victim of Cheap Imitations?

I too live in Japan and agree that at least in Japan, most would not want to be caught dead wearing imitation brands. However, this phenomenon is not true elsewhere. I just returned from vacation in Hawaii and actually picked up an imitation pair for about $9 at Walmart. And I have to say they are great. Later in the trip, I found a Crocs store and tried theirs. Problem was that they only had S, M, and L sizes. M was slightly too small and L was slightly too big, so I could not find a comfortable pair. However, the imitation I was wearing was a "9" and fit perfectly. So even though I wanted to buy a pair of Crocs (as I actually own the stock), I ended up putting them back on the shelf and sticking with my imitation pair. I bought a second imitation pair before returning to Japan.

It seems that if Crocs is to beat the impostors, it must not only advertise its got a better brand, but that it is also better quality. Because I couldn't get my size, I can't judge the actual material quality, but since sizing is also a factor of quality, the impostor had Crocs beat in my case....