Blog 6: Crocs and Fads in the Product Life Cycle

During the fad which launched in 2006, did you ever own a pair of Crocs? These fad fashion shoes hit the market with some doubts and low hopes. To many’s surprise the shoe company was able to profit sales and grow through the following year by reaching a peak at $847 million in 2007. Now a fad product is a bit different than a fashion product. A fashion product is one that is ever changing is goes with the style of the time. An example of this would be jeans and the different styles they have taken over time. A fad product is one that has a shorter product life cycle that that of a fashion product and is popular for a specific amount of time. Crocs are a perfect example of a fad product. For a little synopsis on the company, Crocs is:  

"Crocs offers several distinct shoe collections with more than 300 four-season footwear styles. All Crocs shoes feature "Croslite" material a proprietary, revolutionary technology that gives each pair of shoes the soft, comfortable, lightweight and odor-resistant qualities that Crocs fans know and love. Since 2002, Crocs has sold more than 200 million pairs of shoes in more than 90 countries around the world. " - (via)

(via)

A company that had popularity in the mid 2000's, Crocs have dwindled down in the market and are looking to re brand their product since their own famous rubber shoes have gone through the product life cycle. You are probably wondering what the product life cycle is, and this post is here to explain that. The product life cycle consists of the stages a new product goes through in the marketplace. There are four steps to this process:

1. Introduction: For Crocs, the introduction of their infamous rubber clog-type shoes was prior to and during 2006. Without any products too similar to it, Crocs came onto the market as it own against some speculation that the company would not be successful. During this stage also puts the product out there and usually creates competition through actions such as implementing a skimming strategy. This is when a company goes about setting a high price to cover the cost of making the product. 

2. Growth: From 2006 to 2007, the growth period of the shoe was at a high peak, the "fad" element of the product was more than prominent. There are some components to the growth stage which Crocs hit when they first came out. Their sales grew rapidly as you could see through the profit, and this resulted in more competitors including knock-off Crocs. There were also little widgets you could design your Crocs with which was popular for their child market. 

1. Rapid Sales Growth

2. More Competitors

3. Repeat Purchasers

4. New Features

5. Broad Distribution

3. Maturity: This stage followed not too far after the growth stage for Crocs because their fad lasted only so long. This stage is where profits start to decline and sales slow. The shoes have been popular and began to prove their were more of a fad product as opposed to a fashion product with a longer life cycle.

4. Decline: The decline of a product in the product life cycle consists of sales dropping and environmental change occurring such as society's changing favors and likes of products. Fad product have a quicker time frame which is what happened to Crocs. 

Even though a fad product and having a shorter product life cycle, Crocs is still innovating and refashioning their product to try and satisfy new markets. Looking on their site you can see all the different products they have developed. They also have Crocs Cares. This is the platform of the company’s overall Corporate Social Responsibility program which provides shoes to families and children around the world. Their mission is to: 

"...promote health and education by providing happy and healthy feet around the world."

With this program and its new innovations, you can see that Crocs is a respectful and quality company that is trying to keep their name on the market and cater their company to the needs of the masses. Their aim of transitioning from having a fad product to creating a fashion product is still in the works with much to come. In researching this topic I found a interesting article on the company's success published on Entrepreneur.com which made for an interesting read! Check out Crocs: Footwear Fad to a Billion Dollar Company