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Would you buy a pair of ugly shoes just because they were comfortable? That’s the question that Crocs inventors Lyndon “Duke” Hanson, Scott Seamans, and George Boedecker asked themselves when they set out to create a lightweight and extremely comfortable shoe. I personally would never be able to go without my Crocs again. These things are beyond amazing and if you don’t have them… your feet may never forgive you.

Crocs were originally created to be an outdoor/boating/watersports type shoe because of their rubber build, light weight, and the fact that they float. But instead, mainstream society has taken to these shoes like bees to honey. They have become the overwhelming success story of the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

But how does an ugly and inexpensive shoe take the world by storm? Let’s look closer.

In 2004 Crocs started to create some buzz in the watersport community as a comfortable and lightweight boating shoe. Later that year, Crocs purchased Foam Creations and their manufacturing operations to secure exclusive rights to the foam resin called “croslite” which actually forms a mold to the wearers foot, which provides a comfortable and functional shoe.

Crocs began marketing their product to the outdoor community but eventually word got out about their odd creation. Deciding to push their luck, the creators agreed to give their shoes a test run on the east and west coasts, and allow distributors to carry their footwear.

It didn’t take long for these odd, yet comfortable shoes to catch on to the masses. Crocs blew up in 2006 and has become the leading “sandal” in the world. Crocs projected profits for next year? A cool 400 million. Not bad for a product that started out as a rubber and foam mixture.

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