Casual footwear retailer Crocs Inc. has doubled its presence on the island by opening two new locations in Plaza Las Americas and Plaza Carolina. The new stores that opened last month joined the ones in Barceloneta and Old San Juan, which opened earlier this year.
“Puerto Rico is a great market for Crocs and a very strong footwear market,” said Doug Hayes, vice president and general manager of Americas for Crocs. “New stores are a part of our Crocs brand globalization strategy. It’s important for us to not only strategically locate our stores in busy shopping districts, but also showcase our diverse product offering to shoppers around the world as our shoes appeal to consumers for their comfort, color and value.”
Although the stores had soft-openings in mid-November, it was not until Tuesday that the company formally announced its expansion. The new locations will generate about 40 new jobs combined. The company would not release investments figures for the new stores.
The openings are part of the company’s growth strategy, after experiencing a 35 percent year over year revenue increase in the third quarter of 2010, mostly due to retail sales. The new Puerto Rico stores allow the company to merchandise more than 250 of Croc’s signature boat shoe styles for men, women and children, through a mix of full-price and factory direct products, company officials said.
Since its introduction in Boulder, Colorado, the company has sold more than 100 million pairs of its colorful rubbery clogs worldwide.
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
“This project not only represents a significant investment in our island’s tourism infrastructure, but also symbolizes Puerto Rico’s ability to attract and execute large-scale projects.
The Investment Portfolio Program, with a budget of $800 million, plays a crucial role in offering loans with favorable terms for the development of projects that have the potential to transform the Puerto Rican economy.”
— Puerto Rico Housing Secretary William Rodríguez regarding the construction of a $77 million dual-branded hotel project in San Juan’s Convention Center District, featuring Hilton’s Hampton and Homewood Suites.
The project by PRISA Group includes a 400-vehicle parking structure and a 175,000-square-foot hotel tower, financed by Banco Popular and a $10 million federal disaster recovery loan from the Economic Development Investment Portfolio Program managed by the Department of Housing.