The last of Crocs, Inc.’s manufacturing facilities, located in Italy, is going to close, the company announced.
It also closed its plant in Mexico. Crocs leaders did not give information on how the company will continue producing its products during its recent second-quarter earnings report.
The company grew its second-quarter earnings and revenue by 4.7 percent year-over-year. But Crocs, Inc. is operating fewer stores.
The company has not said if it plans to shutter more stores in the U.S. It expects revenue to increase, in the single digits, by the year’s end.
The cost of closing the manufacturing facilities in 2018 is $14 million, the Daily Camera reports.
Crocs, Inc.’s chief financial officer, Carrie Teffner, plans to resign from the company effective April 1, 2019. Anne Mehlman will take her place.
Mixed Reactions To The News
While some people will be happy to bid the popular foam shoe adieu, others are panicked over the idea of no longer being able to score their beloved colorful footwear.
Writer Christina Cauterucci called the shoe “bulky perforated foam” that “couldn’t compete with the gladiator sandals, platform heels, zipper accents, and studded leather that defined shoe trends in 2009,” in her op-ed for Slate.
“No one cared for shoes that made their feet look two sizes larger, with toes the shape of a duck’s bill,” she noted. “No one needed inch-thick ankle straps to keep their feet inside full-coverage shoes. No one wanted the inconvenience of a shoe that grants passage to dirt and pebbles through any number of holes, then traps them there with a closed toe and sides.”
But the news was a tough pill to swallow for fans who worried about the future of the shoe and how they could score enough pairs to last them a lifetime. One Crocs lover, @jOrdanArrington, wrote that she was heartbroken over the news of the company closing its manufacturing facilities:
Just found out crocs is going out of business.. guess this is what heartbreak feels like…
— J🖤 (@jordanezell_) August 9, 2018
And @AYJUH made plans to pick up a few pairs for her future kids:
since crocs is closing I guess I have to buy some for my future kids now
— aja (@AYJUH) August 11, 2018
But no matter what your opinion of the shoe is one thing is for certain: They’ve made quite the splash since they made their debut.
Written by Scripps National Desk. Additional reporting by Simplemost.
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