They wanted the name of the business to resemble the amphibious nature of the product, and since “Alligator” was already taken, they chose Crocs.
The shoes were immediately successful, and as the business began to grow, the founders brought in Ronald Snyder to consult for the company. Snyder had experience in manufacturing operations, mergers and acquisitions, and sales and marketing, and he eventually became president and CEO in the years to follow.
One of Snyder’s first moves was to purchase Finproject so that Crocs owned the formula for the resin croslite and enabled Crocs to control manufacturing.
The company launched worldwide in order to get the brand out there and beat out competition, and Crocs developed a supply chain that the company used as a competitive advantage. The Crocs model was flexible with retailers and allowed the company to fill new orders within the season as opposed to forcing retail distributors to place bulk orders for the season’s inventory months in advance.
From 2003 through 2006 the company experienced significant growth and added additional shoe designs, some of which were designed for professionals, others with Disney characters on them, some designed to meet the special needs of those with medical problems that affect feet, and even collegiate models.
Crocs also branched out into other