As editor of Just when we thought they'd disappear forever, the plastic shoes that many people seem to love to hate are making a comeback.
The U.K. newspaper the Guardian has a feature story on the comeback today, "Crocs steps back from the brink of business oblivion: A sudden turnaround at Crocs proves the world never really fell out of love with its ugly plastic shoes."
The newspaper cited the company's most recent financial report for the "back from oblivion" reference:
After racking up huge losses in 2008 and 2009, Colorado-based Crocs Inc became a Wall Street joke, with one investment manager comparing the firm a year ago to a zombie. But, in an abrupt turnaround, Crocs has seen its stock leap by 130% in eight months. The company recently delivered a $32m (£21m) quarterly profit following a 31% jump in sales to $228m, prompting its chief executive, John McCarvel, to crow: "We hope those who published our obituary a year ago will now take some time to give us our due."
It goes to show you, you can't predict style trends.
For those who don't remember the plastics details, Crocs are made out of a proprietary closed-cell resin that make them soft, lightweight and odor-resistant.