@crocs
Are you a fan of Crocs? Then chances are you know all about Jibbitz shoe charms! Ranging from Disney to Sesame Street characters, these little charms are the perfect way to show off your style, flair, and personality on your foam clogs. The best part? Crocs come with thirteen holes so that you can have multiple Jibbitz shoe charms on each foot! Jibbitz are extremely popular now, but very few people know the history of Jibbitz and how they became so popular.
Lets take a detailed journey into the history of Jibbitz shoe charms.
How Jibbitz Started
Jibbitz was founded by Rich Schmelzer who started the company with his wife. In 2005, his wife and children worked on a craft project to decorate the family’s Crocs shoes. When he came home, he saw that it could be so much more than that. Watching his wife, he asked her if she could make more of what she had made. When she said yes, Jibbitz™ was born. He had seen his wife’s talent and knew that it was a good idea that could potentially take off.
They couldn’t have anticipated the success that Jibbitz would bring. While he had realized that his wife had an incredible talent and that there would be success, he didn’t know just what they had on their hands. By the end of that summer, they not only had a website in place, but they had secured the money they needed to begin the growth of their company. Instead of rushing the process and overgrowing, they kept their pace to make sure that Jibbitz could be the best that it could be and be the product that was what people desired.
Growth Stage
The Schmelzers had also decided not to launch into stores. At least not right away. Instead, they launched Jibbitz to the customers and understood that they needed the feedback. If they did something wrong or right, they wanted to know so that they could fix the problem at hand. Once they fixed each problem and began gaining a more extensive customer base, they started doing trade shows and inbound calls from stores.
Diving Into Various Designs
As Jibbitz grew, the couple knew that they needed different designs. Each person is different, and while they may like similar things, it doesn’t mean everyone will. By utilizing customer feedback and making a plethora of designs, the business continued to grow. Some of the initial themes that they had for shoe charms were the following.
- Military
- Disney
- Planets
- Pirates
- Food
- Jewels
- Cars
- Popular sayings
- Shoes
Through their innovation, more and more people started to wear Jibbitz and couples even began to wear matching shoes and charms on trips and events. It was the perfect way to make fun memories with your loved ones while showing off your Crocs and Jibbitz shoe charms.
The Trade Show That Changed Jibbitz Forever
They say Los Angeles is the place to make dreams happen. For this couple, it was Las Vegas. They were doing a trade show there, and though they had already been well on their way to going national, this show would changed their lives forever. As luck would have it, Crocs also had a booth at the show. People would see both booths and buy the Jibbitz shoe charms for their shoes. While meeting the Crocs representatives, they were friendly and polite. That kept the dialogue between both booths open.
After the trade show was over, Rich made sure to keep in touch with Crocs and it paid off immensely. Crocs were so impressed with the innovation and creativity of Jibbitz that they made them an offer for $20 million dollars for the entire company. They offered half upfront and a half after specific earning projections were met. The proposal was made one year after Jibbitz started in Rich’s basement. Once they accepted the offer, Rich and his wife began their next company.
What the Jibbitz Founders Learned
Because of Jibbitz, the Schmelzer family was able to create multi-million dollar company. Through the success of Jibbitz, the Schmelzers learned that people love wearing things that are cute, attractive, and fun. They knew that if they targeted the youth and teenagers with something cute, the parents would soon follow suit and become customers as well.
Rich and his wife also understood the value of a reward system. The motivation that gets people up so that they can gain a reward. From the learnings of Jibbitz, the Schmelzer family launched a company called Geopalz which are decorative activity trackers and reward-based platform.
The Future Of Jibbitz Shoe Charms
People have been fans of Crocs since they came out and with the development of Jibbitz, their popularity rose higher. Celebrities, social media influencers, and shoe stores have all modified Crocs to be more fashionable and appealing with Jibbitz. Even brands like Balenciaga have mimicked Crocs and have began to place shoe charms on their footwear as well.
As more and more people have realized that Crocs are here to stay and that decorating them is not only stylish but sometimes a necessity, there is no doubt that Jibbitz shoe charms have a bright future ahead.
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