Crocodile Tears

It seems that the makers of Crocs are about to go belly up:

After selling 100 millions pairs of the comfortable shoes in the past seven years, their American maker faces bankruptcy.

Loved and loathed in equal measure, Crocs – which sell in Britain for about £30 – boasted a swathe of celebrity wearers including President Bush, Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino, but they had just as many bitter enemies who regarded them as hideous.

A group on the Facebook site dedicated to their extermination attracted 1.4 million members and they were widely ridiculed in the media.

After a drastic reversal that saw a £100 million profit in 2007 sink to a £112 million loss in 2008, the company has had to sack a third of its 6,000 workforce.

A victim of changing fashions and the economic downturn, the Colorado-based company has until September to pay off its debts, according to the Washington Post.

But it seems the clogs have also been a victim of their own hardiness as their virtual indestructibility meant that aficionados never needed to buy another pair.

As the shoes became a hit across the globe, the manufacturer churned out new variants and dreamed up accessories such as trinkets that could be fitted into the ventilating holes. But it appears the firm substantially overestimated the clog's potential sales as it boosted output.

It is now sitting on a warehouse full of unsold shoes and a dwindling number of feet willing to squeeze into them. Few in the retail industry appear to believe the company will survive.

I confess that I've never really understood the polarizing effect Crocs seem to have on people, turning supporters and detractors on each other like Montagues and Capulets. I mean, they're just shoes, fer Heaven's sake.

FWIW, all the Llama-ettes have Crocs, and as hideous as they are (the shoes, not the gels), I've always liked the fact that they seem to be comfortable and certainly are extremely durable and practically maintenance-free.