Crocs is moving into a larger distribution center in Rotterdam to cope with the growth of the European market. With 20,000 square meters of space and a height of 12 meters, the new center will replace a 9,000-sqm. facility in the same port city, allowing the company to stock up to 4 million pairs of its shoes at any time.

 

Crocs told financial analysts at the recent ICR Exchange that it now has 9,500 doors in USA and 8,000 doors in foreign markets, but the company believes that number of foreign stores will surpass the domestic door count by mid-2007. Ron Snyder, president of Crocs, would not give us any specific figures for the European market at the Bread & Butter show in Barcelona last week, but it has been reported that it sold 1.3 million pairs in Israel alone last year.

 

Occupying a larger-than-usual stand with a coffee bar that was visited by more than 2,000 people in the first two days of the fair, the brand presented many new styles at B&B. In general, it is dropping unisex approach to offer some new stylish models specifically for women and children. It is gradually diversifying out of Crocs’ star model, which comes in two very similar versions and turned out to be the singe best-selling footwear model in U.S. sporting goods stores last year.

Brand extension is going well beyond footwear. Crocs is currently selling some basic apparel in the USA but it has hired some high-level designers with a target of launching men’s and children’s clothing under the Crocs brand in late 2007 and entering the women’s apparel market in 2008.

It also plans to use its proprietary material to enter the sports equipment market over the next few years, starting with pads for hockey and lacrosse. To this effect Crocs recently acquired Fury, a Canadian performance-driven hockey and lacrosse equipment company that will introduce its proprietary Croslite closed-cell, anti-microbial material to the hockey and lacrosse markets. Its product range currently includes sticks, gloves, pants, shin pads, elbow pads and transition wear, in addition to bags, apparel and accessories.

Crocs says it will spend 5-6 percent of sales on marketing in 2007, slightly higher than the proportion spent in 2006 spend.