Crocs, the colorful shoe that first became popular in the early 2000s, hit its peak in 2021.

色彩繽紛的 Crocs 是在 2000 年代初流行起來的，而這股風潮在 2021 年到達高峰。

The company reported a record annual revenue of $2.3 billion in 2021,

根據該公司報告，其 2021 年年收入突破紀錄達到 23 億美元，

up over 60% from the previous year.

與前年相比，增長超過百分之 60。

And its stock reached record highs.

其股票也漲到了歷史新高。

The past few years for Crocs has been this moment of heavy collaboration, constant releases.

過去幾年，Crocs 不斷釋出聯名、發布新產品。

They're really trying to put themselves in front of people that might not have considered Crocs prior.

他們很努力在向那些之前不買 Crocs 的人推銷自己。

The company's success coincided with the pandemic,

該公司的成功恰逢疫情。

leading some to credit the shoes' popularity to timing,

這讓有些人將 Crocs 的流行歸功於疫情，

especially as its stock price has been dropping since the pandemic boom has waned.

尤其是自疫情減緩以來，其股價不斷下跌。

But other comfortable footwear brands didn't take off the way Crocs did.

但其他主打舒適的鞋類品牌也沒有像 Crocs 這樣走紅。

So how did Crocs make a name for itself during the pandemic?

那麼，Crocs 是如何在疫情期間揚名立萬的呢？

And how did it find success as one of fashion's most divisive shoes?

它又是如何成為時尚界中最具爭議性鞋款之一的？

This is The Economics of Crocs.

這就是《Crocs 經濟學》

The company was founded in 2002, the same year it debuted its classic clog.

該公司成立於 2002 年，同年推出了經典的洞洞鞋。

The name Crocs was inspired by crocodiles who live on land and in water.

Crocs 這個名字靈感來自能自由穿梭水陸的鱷魚。

When Crocs were first released, they were intended for a consumer that was looking at them as a functional thing,

起初，Crocs 的鞋款是為看重功能性的消費者所設計的，

so probably gardeners, people that, you know, were on boats,

如園丁、跑船的人、

people that worked all day on their feet,

整天站著工作的人，

people that worked on a line at a kitchen.

或是在廚房工作的人。

Part of what makes them so functional is the material,

洞洞鞋的高性能部分源自其材料，

a proprietary closed-cell resin called Croslite,

一種名為 Croslite 的封閉式細胞合成樹脂。

that's slip resistant, lightweight, and easy to clean.

這種材質防滑、輕，還方便清洗。

Producing a molded shoe is certainly simpler in a lot of ways than assembling a sneaker.

生產模製鞋在很多方面肯定都比運動鞋簡單。

The most underrated advantage they have over the marketplace is that

Crocs 在市場上最被低估的優勢是

it's clear that they're able to kind of do things that other companies would not be able to do

他們能做一些其他公司無法做到的事，

because of their scale and because of their production capabilities.

因為其規模與生產力是別家比不上的。

Crocs's sales took off.

Crocs 的銷售額一飛沖天。

In the first 3/4 of 2005, it sold 4.4 million shoes, hitting a revenue of $75 million.

光是 2005 年前三季，Crocs 就售出了 440 萬雙鞋，收入達 7500 萬美元。

Part of the reason for its initial success was that the shoe was easy to get.

方便購買是 Crocs 最初成功的其中一個原因。

It was available at retail stores, gift shops, and mall kiosks.

零售店、禮品店和商場售貨亭都能買到洞洞鞋。

In 2006, Crocs purchased Jibbitz, a company that made small plastic shoe charms.

2006 年，Crocs 收購了Jibbitz，一家生產塑膠鞋扣的公司。

That same year, the company went public and became the largest-ever US footwear IPO at the time.

同年，該公司上市，成為當時美國鞋類公司中，最大的公開募股公司。

But in 2008, in the midst of the financial crash, the company suffered a net income loss of $185 million.

但在 2008 年金融危機期間，該公司損失了 1.85 億美元淨收入。

Though the initial craze had simmered,

儘管最初的熱潮已平息，

the brand still managed to hang on to a relatively large customer base over the next few years thanks to its global presence.

Crocs 在全球的影響力，讓該品牌在接下來幾年裡仍成功留住了相對龐大的客群。

In 2014, Crocs started making major changes to its business model,

2014 年，Crocs 開始對其商業模式進行重大變革。

closing dozens of stores, shifting away from malls and turning to online sellers like Amazon.

關閉無數家店，將銷售地點從購物中心轉向亞馬遜等線上購物平台。

Crocs announcing today it will eliminate nearly 200 jobs and close a number of retail stores as part of a restructuring effort.

作為公司重整的一部分，Crocs 於今日宣布將裁員近 200 人，並關閉多家零售店。

The company also cut back on the number of styles it sold by between 30 and 40%, and refocused on the classic clog that made it famous.

該公司還削減了百分之 30 至 40 的款式，重新專注於使其聞名的經典洞洞鞋。

The following year, Crocs invested in a global marketing push to relaunch its brand image.

隔年，Crocs 將精力投資於全球營銷，重塑其品牌形象。

Despite its efforts, the company's stock held steady until 2020 when the global pandemic hit.

儘管做出了努力，該公司股票卻並沒有多大的起伏，直到 2020 年全球疫情襲來。

Prior to people working from home and not wearing their dress shoes, not wearing their heels.

早在人們在家辦公，不穿正裝鞋、高跟鞋之前，

There was already this rising wave of comfort-minded, comfort-first footwear that was really becoming more popular.

主打舒適的鞋款就已經掀起一波浪潮，逐漸流行了起來。

Of course, that accelerated during the pandemic.

當然，疫情也有推波助瀾的效果。

The comfort aspect is what many call the key to Crocs' success,

許多人認為，舒適是 Crocs 成功的關鍵，

but another important factor is how easy it is to customize the shoe with Jibbitz.

但另一個重要因素是 Jibbitz 賦予其的客製化便利性。

You could move them to different Crocs over time as you got a green pair, a camo pair, a pink pair.

隨著你的新鞋款增加，可以將鞋扣移到不同的洞洞鞋上，不管是綠色、迷彩，還是粉色的。

Like, the Jibbitz would stay with you and they were yours.

可以自由搭配這些鞋扣。

They were almost like the way a key chain on a backpack was at a certain point.

某程度上，鞋扣就像揹包上的鑰匙圈一樣。

This idea of individuality and self-expression is one that the brand emphasizes through its marketing campaigns.

這種個人化和自我表達的概念也是該品牌通過其廣告強調的理念。

And on social media, the uniqueness of the shoe's design has sparked debate.

而在社交媒體上，洞洞鞋的獨特造型引發了熱烈討論。

Even going back to Crocs' early days,

即便追朔到 Crocs 早期，

there were two warring factions of Crocs are ugly and they're a blight on society,

洞洞鞋的評價也分兩派，一方認為它們很醜，是社會禍害，

and we need to get rid of them.

而我們需要擺脫這種鞋。

I don't care how comfortable they are, they're ugly.

我不在乎這鞋有多舒服，它們很醜。

And then, there were people that said, no, they're cute and they're kind of doughy and they're fun.

另一方認為，洞洞鞋很可愛、軟軟的，且富有趣味性。

Look how freaking cute these are.

看這東西有多可愛。

Crocs leaned into this polarization,

Crocs 緊抓這種兩極化評價，

partnering with celebrities and well-known brands to create limited edition versions of the classic clog.

與名人和知名品牌合作，打造經典洞洞鞋限量版。

I think that's probably the biggest shift within the fashion world of the past decade is that

我認為這可能是過去十年時尚界最大的轉變。

people truly seem to design for Instagram because you wanna stop people from scrolling

一切圍繞著 Instagram 轉，得製造吸引人們注意力，暫停滑動頁面的契機。

and certainly, a shoe plastered with fried chicken does that.

顯然，炸雞圖案的鞋款能達到這個目的。

In 2018, Crocs says its Balenciaga clog,

2018 年，Crocs 發佈了與巴黎世家的聯名鞋，

an $850 four-inch platform shoe, sold out within hours.

一雙 850 美元的四英寸厚底鞋，幾個小時內就銷售一空。

And in 2021,

而在 2021 年，

Crocs says it partnered with more than two dozen brands, artists and creators through collaborations and license programs.

Crocs 與二十多個品牌、藝術家和創作者聯名推出新品及授權。

Sometimes it was through Jibbitz, but sometimes it was like these kind of crazy revamping of what their clog was.

有時是通過鞋扣，有時他們會對洞洞鞋進行瘋狂改造。

Constantly releasing new collaborations has not only kept Crocs in the press but it has also helped it break into new markets.

不斷發布新的聯名款不僅讓 Crocs 大量曝光，還有助他們打入新市場。

There're like Crocs collectors that go after every model.

甚至出現了 Crocs 收藏家，他們收集每一款鞋。

Honey, I am overflowing with Crocs.

親愛的，快看，到處都是 Crocs。

The same way that Nikes resell on website like Stock and eBay, Crocs are now reselling.

與 Nike 鞋會在 Stock 和 eBay 等網站上被轉售一樣，Crocs 現在也一樣。

Crocs and other comfortable shoes may have peaked with the pandemic

Crocs 和其他舒適鞋款銷售可能會於疫情後下降，

as people begin to migrate back into work and consider more traditionalist footwear.

畢竟人們開始重返工作崗位並考慮更傳統的鞋類。

But many others are still prioritizing comfort.

但許多人仍將舒適放在首位。

We're saying that with a lot of doughy running sneakers that people are wearing,

人們越來越常穿柔軟的運動鞋，

we're seeing that certainly with the growth of slides as a huge business in the luxury market.

我們肯定會看到奢侈品市場在這方面的增長。

Crocs's stock has dropped around 60% since its November 2021 high.

自 2021 年 11 月的高點以來，Crocs 的股價已下跌約百分之 60。

I think the market's nervous about the short term.

我認為市場情勢短期內十分緊張。

So we're definitely seeing supply constraints in the first quarter.

所以我們肯定會在第一季度看到供應有所限制。

But the company says its fourth straight year of revenue growth is fueled by continued global demand,

但該公司表示，其收入連續第四年增長是源自於持續性地全球需求。

and it expects revenue to grow to over $5 billion by 2026.

預計到 2026 年，該公司收入將增長到 50 億美元以上。

I think that they might plateau at a certain point.

我認為 Crocs 的成長可能會在某時間點進入平台期。

You can only reach so many consumers, but I think for now,

畢竟能觸及到的消費者就那麼多，但我認為就目前而言，

they have been able to convince enough consumers that they deserve space within their closet.

Crocs 已經說服足夠多的消費者，洞洞鞋值得在他們衣櫥佔有一席之地。

And they gotta have the two fingers.

得是有兩隻手指的那種。