Crocs Tries To Lure Athletes; New Line, Same Look (CROX)

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) is one of the brands that has come at-risk over its future.  The company is also flying under the “going concern” flag from auditors.  And now it is bringing a new line of shoe for athletic recovery called the “Prepair” designed to help athletes recover following fitness and athletic events.  This line is said to be specifically designed to improve recovery time for recreational and professional athletes alike.

The inside of these shoes comes with the Croslite™ material formulation with an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal silver additive to help keep feet healthy.  The company claims one study showed that this took off 50% of the reduction in peak pressures, as well as a reduction in peak muscular efforts.

Crocs has set a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $34.99 for a slide or flip-flop version of the Crocs, or $39.99 for the clog version.  Maybe comfort can trump ugliness in a new sales effort.  On a personal note and an observation of a former hi-flier, we’d guess that athletes may choose to have their feet hurt over buying these.  But we’d also admit the surprise and dismay of just how well these sold before 2008.

The good news is that Crocs stock has recovered about 200% from recent lows, but the bad news is that the $2.29 price is down from a 52-week high of $12.50.  Two years ago, this stock was exponentially higher than that 52-week high.

JON C. OGG