What Happened to… ? Crocs & UGGs
Successful brands are said to either burn bright too quickly and disappear (‘fads’), or burn hot and then simmer (‘iconic’). It’s difficult to understand how some made it to success in the first place. Let’s take two examples that we love to criticize or hate: Crocs and UGG. These brands produced shoes that are the boiled carrots of footwear: despised, yet still and always around.
UGG boots were originally created for surfers and pilots. Crocs are supposed to be clogs for boat people or clean public places such as hospitals and spas. What happened? A total betrayal of their original function, followed by a downfall, and a timid resurrection.
Crocs
2006 movie Idiocracy predicted a number of future trends in society, including: everyone would be wearing Crocs. Luckily, it didn’t. The shoe originally was known as ‘Beach’, and for boats and water sports. It is made of ‘croslite’, an antimicrobial foam created in 1999 by three genius friends in a Canadian lab. Crocs boomed through the 2000s — sales went up very quickly between 2003 and 2007, reaching $850 million that latter year. But 2008 took a toll on them: the stock price plunged and thousands of people were laid off.
Recession probably isn’t to blame for this collapse. Overproduction and early global ambitions added fuel to the fire but then undermined the brand’s exclusiveness. All of a sudden, everyone had Crocs. So the next day, no one felt special about it. Let’s add bad marketing and the lack of versatility of these shoes as a recipe for disaster. Also, maybe people realized they didn’t want to be associated with very bad taste just because of whatever they choose to wear.
Sometimes, celebrities save brands from the dead. Little Prince George was photographed wearing kids’ Crocs in 2015, making plastic fantastic again: the brand immediately saw a massive sales increase.
Note: Birkenstocks may be the German, prudent equivalent that may never crash, because they’re more discreet, a bit more acceptable, less risky. Hurts the eyes a bit less.
UGGs
These boots were born in Australia, where shepherds used sheepskin around their feet and ankles to keep warm. Legend has it that these shoes owe their names to Australian World War I pilots, who called them ‘flying uggs’, short for ‘ugly’ — but they certainly owe their popularity to surfers. In 1978 indeed, surfer Brian Smith introduced them in the US.
For some obscure reason, mostly women ended up adopting them as urban footwear. Maybe because society felt in need of perpetual comfort and warmth, UGG’s popularity spread worldwide in the early 2000s. From the sunny Californian summers to New York’s cold winter streets, they invaded every season as the ‘it’, ‘cool’ item, with a ‘must-have’ status. They became a fashion symbol of quality and… yes, style.
UGGs have been widely mocked. They have many hilarious entries in the Urban Dictionary (best reference ever), the greatest being: “hideously unattractive footwear named after the mind-possessing ugg gnomes living inside the thick material who convince girls that the boots actually look good with skirts”. Yes, they’re a bit ridiculous, even a real faux pas according to some fashion police gangs. Beyond the bad taste debate, animal rights organizations may be no fans of real sheep wool and skin, but the booming market of fake, made-in-China synthetic UGGs are not the right alternative.
Market saturation and warmer winters did hit the brand after 2010. But UGG invested in marketing, diversified its line from classic-street to casual products, and successfully launched limited editions, accessories and men’s shoes. Uggly shoes, good looking profits.
Crocs were a fashion fling, UGGs remain iconic. But they have two things in common: a stolen past and an uncertain future. And since when comfort has to look that terrible? With some of their magic gone, these brands live on by feeding off of their customers’ nostalgia. What will happen to them next…?
Text: Eline
Sources: Business Of Fashion, Fitzpatricks Shoes, Ries’ Pieces Blog on the Business of Branding