"Richard Polk has seen shoe trends come and go.
He's even seen some come, go, then come back again.
Polk, who began selling Earth shoes at the Pedestrian Shops in Boulder in 1969, today has a 750-square-foot room in his Pearl Street store set aside just for Crocs.
"These shoes are sexy and whimsical," Polk says of the brightly colored resin-based shoes that took the 2005 title of Ugly Shoe of the Year at footwear blog Shoewawa.com.
Crocs, whose shares will be sold on the Nasdaq today, are the relative newcomers to his 35-year-old business.
His two shops boast about 50 brand names, including Birkenstock and the new Earth shoes. Forget Jimmys and Manolos, though - these shoes are built for comfort first, with style often an afterthought.
Earth shoes, meant to be strictly utilitarian in their first incarnation in the late '60s and early '70s, disappeared from the scene for about 25 years before coming back earlier this decade.
The shoes feature "negative heel" technology. Simply put, the shoes are higher in the toe and lower in the heel, which is supposed to both make the wearer stand more naturally and burn more calories when walking.
With new styles, the shoes have made news of late because some celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow have taken to wearing them.
Birkenstock, a perennial favorite since the 1970s, has also added new models to the original two-strap Arizona sandal that many think of when they hear the name.
The shoes' technology dates back to an 18th century German inventor, and U.S. sales of the shoes began spiking in the 1970s after a California entrepreneur brought them back from Germany to distribute here.
Some shoe sellers say Crocs may be a factor but that there are other forces, especially better overall shoe technology, driving a demand for more comfortable footwear.
At Saxon Shoes in Richmond, Va., Gary Weiner sells Crocs and Birkenstock next to Cole Haan and Calvin Klein. Weiner also is vice president of footwear brands for Greenwood Village-based eBags, which runs online shoe retailer 6pm.com.
Comfortable shoes have often attracted a different crowd than the "fashionable at any cost" contingent, Weiner said.
"I think that person is probably wearing jeans a little bit more, maybe doesn't dress up as often, but they're comfortable in their own skin," he said. "A lot of these comfort shoes are not what some people would consider pretty, but we say if it feels good, it looks good."
Attitudes seem to be changing, though, said Weiner, one of the earlier East Coast retailers to stock Crocs.
"There are some people who will buy $300 shoes and $30 Crocs in the same visit," he said.
Shoemakers are starting to address a growing demand for both comfort and style, he said. The result - more fashionable Birkenstocks and Eccos alongside increasingly comfortable high-fashion styles.
"I think the demand for comfort is going to continue to grow and grow - not that there won't be fashion shoes, but even the fashion shoes will have comfort features," he said.
What they're saying
So what's the buzz on the Internet about Crocs' planned initial public offering? As the Niwot-based shoemaker gears up for its first day of share trading today, the financial media sounded off on whether Crocs will find a good fit in the market.
• Market Watch on Monday noted that Crocs is gearing up to be "the biggest footwear IPO in U.S. history, ranking ahead of Nine West's $140 million offering in 1993," citing Thomson Financial. "Selling a product that appeals to outdoor enthusiasts" puts the footwear maker in the company of Zumiez, Volcom and Under Armour - three of last year's more successful IPOs.
• Investors Business Daily also likened Crocs' IPO to that of Under Armour - whose share offering "gave Wall Street a minor attack of hysteria," the paper said.
"Crocs no doubt hopes the Street will see parallels," the Tuesday article said. "And while the product line only launched in 2002, if you hang out with young folks these days you'll likely see Crocs' distinctive shoes on somebody's feet." Still, Investors Business Daily also cautioned that Crocs has only a few years of operating history under its belt, which "might be a reason it failed to sign on the top investment banks as underwriters."
• Forbes.com was a bit less sanguine, saying Crocs has a limited operating history and its "management team is new, unproven and managing growth can be difficult." While noting that the company has done well so far, writer Scott Reeves observed that "it's bound to flub sometime in the future. Volatility is almost routine in an IPO, but a major mistake could hammer Crocs.""
Read the entire article, Many shoe buyers find comfort soothes the sole more than style, written by Janet Forgrieve for the Rocky Mountain News at (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_4449296,00.html)
