Doodads fill in the holes - Crocs-style

Boulder-based Jibbitz sells snap-in designs for the popular shoes

Kerri Rebresh, Daily Camera

Published September 5, 2006 at midnight

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BOULDER - Crocs Inc. says the holes in its shoes are for ventilation, but Sheri and Rich Schmelzer disagree.

They own and run Jibbitz, a Boulder-based company that sells snap-in accessories for the popular footwear. The Schmelzers would rather see Crocs' holes covered up with their colorful geckos, daisies and music notes - to name a few of the 250 Jibbitz designs.

As consumers worldwide catch on to the Crocs craze, they are snapping up Jibbitz designs to customize them. The year-old company has sold more than 5 million of the cuff- link-style pieces and expects $2 million in sales this month alone.

Each Jibbitz sells for $2.49, and the company has expanded to sell wristbands, shoe straps, charms and stickers priced up to $9.99.

One day last year, Sheri Schmelzer decided to decorate her children's Crocs. She said her husband, an entrepreneur, immediately saw the business potential in personalizing the Niwot-based company's shoes and filed patents within 48 hours.

In the beginning, Sheri Schmelzer handmade each Jibbitz in the basement of their Boulder home - but not for long. Armed with an Internet site, a new design and a manufacturer in China, the couple sent out a news release and watched the orders roll in.

"The Web site just went crazy," she said. "I was getting 200, 250 orders a day."

They moved Jibbitz to an office, but the company outgrew the space in less than a year. Its 40 employees and stock of 4 million Jibbitz pieces moved in June to a 12,000-square- foot building on Sterling Circle in Boulder, with plans for a separate warehouse in the future.

"It's turned from a very simple business in our basement to a very complex business," Rich Schmelzer said.

To keep its rapid growth in check, Jibbitz doesn't advertise. The Schmelzers also have turned down some large retailers' bids to carry the product.

"Organic growth and word-of- mouth is how we've been working," Rich Schmelzer said. "We don't want to grow too fast. We've failed if you call into Jibbitz and we don't answer the phone."

Jibbitz designs depict animals, flowers, hobbies, sports and holiday themes, but new designs are always in the works.

To stay creative, it helps to have three young children. The Schmelzer family owns 45 pairs of Crocs, which Sheri Schmelzer said are in a colorful, Jibbitz-filled jumble by the back door.

The company's Web site features a blog, where visitors can share stories and suggest new designs.

There's also a custom Jibbitz program, which has produced designs for schools, sports teams and corporate logos.

"What's fun about it is, you're never done," Sheri Schmelzer said.

Mili and Lou Ponesse, the owners of Longmont's Silly Scissors, placed Jibbitz's first wholesale order and have watched the company grow.

Lou Ponesse said he appreciates the personal attention he still gets from the Schmelzers. For the past year, Jibbitzes have helped the retail side of his children's hair salon.

"We've been open for two hours, and I think I've sold 50 of them already," he said on a recent business day.

The Schmelzers said their biggest challenge has been finding a solid Jibbitz design. The holes in adults' and kids' Crocs are different sizes, but they wanted one Jibbitz that would fit them all. The original two-piece model went through six incarnations before they found a one-piece rubber version that easily snaps in and out of all Crocs.

Barbara Levy, senior editor of men's and comfort shoes at the trade publication Footwear News, said other companies are following Crocs' hole-filled lead, and that offers Jibbitz a chance to sell more of its product.

"As more and more people do Crocslike products, there's more of an opportunity for a product like Jibbitz," she said.

Levy said it's too soon to know if Crocs are a fad or if they're here to stay.

"How long it will last, who knows?" she said. "Time will tell."

The Schmelzers said they have a good relationship with Crocs and partnered with the company at a recent footwear show.

Crocs spokeswoman Tia Mattson likened the correlation between Jibbitz and Crocs to that of companies making accessories for Apple Computers Inc.'s iPods.

"They complement our brand well," she said. "It's exciting for us to see how they've grown in response to our growth."

The Schmelzers said the market for Crocs is far from saturated. The Crocs trend is just beginning in other parts of the world, Rich Schmelzer said.

"We're fairly jaded here, but abroad, especially in Europe, it's a phenomenon," he said.

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