Unlocking Creativity: How Crocs Became The Trendy Footwear Brand It Is Today
An Interview with Erik Olson, VP of Product Development and Sourcing @ Crocs
Tell us a bit about yourself, and what made you want to start working at Crocs?
I had never experienced a product quite like Crocs, that truly embodies disruptive innovation. I wanted to try it out, it seemed like a unique experience. Groundswell of people passionate about Crocs, there was something special within the brand, people were living through it; not just wearing them. The testimonial on the company’s website amazed me. It seemed very unique to have such a broad group of passionate people enjoy wearing them.
At the time, it was such a new company. It seemed fun and I knew I could use my experience to set up something and drive a vision on how to create a product here.
Coming from consumer electronics, people enjoy product quality, but aren’t as interested. The passion for Crocs drove me to the company.
How would you say innovation has grown into being a part of Crocs products and marketing strategy today?
Innovation was the spirit of the brand to start with. Crocs is the definition of disruptive innovation. My first big shoe show was in Las Vegas, and we were the only people making footwear of that kind — it was jarring to see how different we were. We are invested in innovation to keep driving the consumer benefits. We are truly focused on what consumers value: personalization and comfort. We stay true to the brand, comfort value and personalization are what we do really well, and we listen to our consumers to figure out what they want. Our slogan “Come as you are” drives what we do. Getting deeper into innovation and listening to consumers is our mission.
What would you say is the winning ticket to making Crocs as popular as it is today? And how would you describe Croc’s vision for the next five years?
Crocs success is a combination of events that happened, as well as timing. We really started driving a specific focus. In the early years, we tried to focus on things the brand couldn’t promise but, over time, we realized the value of the classic clog, which was always successful. We then focused on bringing the classic clog as the pillar of our brand and driving consumers in, in more meaningful ways, which mainly include personalization, jibbitz, and this trend to focus on working in a more collaborative way. We elevated our consumer platform, and allowed, through personalization of our products to have people come as they are and always find a way to identify themselves to our product. Consumers are able to show their personality and show who they are in a fun, playful way.
In the next few years, we are going to continue to focus on things that drove our success: driving comfort and innovation through our sandals, which is a big growth market, but also trying to drive this personalization piece and make it accessible. We are also tactically targeting growth in Asian market and always trying to dive into more digitalization, to keep on expanding.
What, to you, are the key factors in using innovation and making it a successful part of the growth of your company, and as a product developer, how do you think technology transformed and benefited the company?
Technology is definitely a big driver in product creation. It allowed us to have 3D printers in house in 2007, enabling us to get design variations of our products, get an earlier look on our designs, and eventually even 3D print a shoe to fit the test. This enabled big product development from the beginning, along with manufacturing innovation. This all contributed to the manufacturing process and made us more up to speed to enter the market and answer consumer demands more easily.
What is your favorite Crocs product and why?
I know it sounds basic, but I am going to have to say the Classic clog. Don’t get me wrong. I love all our new products, but for whatever reason, I am always drawn back to the classics. Even though I do also enjoy all the new variations of it with our different graphics and designs added to it
How do you see Parametric Design and new technologies going for the footwear industry?
I think, at least for Crocs, that we are focused on the simulation part of that notion. The early exploration around 3D was mainly for aesthetic purposes, it checked the box, it’s great and brings and adds more value. Now, we are definitely more focused on the simulation environment of the front end — how we manufacture the product, the formulations that go into it, and the overall efficiency of our product creation. I think the biggest realization is what we can do with algorithms and coding, which used to be done by people. It helps creative teams to only focus on the creative aspect and design of our footwear, instead of having their input in other parts of the process.
Now, if we are talking about the general footwear industry, there is definitely a place for everybody. More footwear brands are adopting 3D tools in the industry. We are all probably in the early days on how far we can and have to take it, but we all do not know what the future holds so having the option to be more flexible and agile in the industry is essential. New technology is key and helps us gain advantage on consumer insights and demand.
The idea of digital twins has been talked about a lot lately everywhere. What possibilities does that open in your opinion? And what does it mean for you to be able to make something physical out of the virtual world or the other way around?
I think that what we have discovered around the concept of digital twin is completely eye-opening, and other industries have well developed that notion (aerospace). For us, it has been a bit of a slower uptake because of the cost and full usage of the concept. The value that I see in it is that it makes the product development process more collaborative, more simultaneous and more efficient in all ways.
Before, it had to go through every person part of the manufacturing process one step at a time. Now, we definitely gain in efficiency and of course the fact that the more people with insights or expertise get an eye on the product together or in a fast time period, the better the product can be and will be.
ABOUT ERIK OLSON — VP OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND SOURCING AT CROCS
Erik Olson is the VP of Product Development and Sourcing at Crocs. With a background in engineering, he infuses his technical experience to unlock the unique, forward-thinking creativity of Crocs footwear, like the insanely popular Clogs. Under his leadership and vision, his team has created more than 1000’s of new styles over the years more than any other company.
Everyday, he works across a number of different verticals within Crocs — overseeing everything from new product development through manufacturing, including parametric design, innovation processes, and commercialization. All has led to Crocs to become ranked as №2 on Fast Company’s Joint Ventures category of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2021.
