April 27, 2009

Crocs is one of 12 brand names that financial news website 24/7 Wall St. predicts are likely to disappear by the end of 2010.24/7 Wall St. said it analyzed 100 large brands that it believes are "facing troubled futures" and could go the way of such notable recent "disappeared" brands as Circuit City and Aloha Airlines.The website said its analysts evaluated sales data, the landscape of the business’ industry and public financial records.Crocs, the molded shoes made by Niwot-based Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), was "the fastest growing footwear in America at one point," 24/7 Wall St. says, but the company's stock has slipped from a high near $70 a share in October 2007 to $2.29 as of Friday.

The website notes that Crocs' auditors issued a letter in March raising “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”Crocs later announced that it had received a six-month extension of a key credit facility with Union Bank of California. But nevertheless, the 24/7 Wall St. report concludes: "Crocs won’t make it through the year."The company's website says: "[We] look forward to providing you with exciting new Crocs shoe designs in the years to come."Crocs posted a fourth-quarter 2008 loss of $33.2 million, or 40 cents a share, versus a profit of $38.3 million, or 45 cents a share, in the same quarter of 2007, but it beat analysts’ expectations.