Skins: Yet Another Silly Shoe Idea

I have to say that I do not like silly shoes. Crocs (the shoes) are dumb and overpriced and ugly. Heelys wheeled shoes are dangerous and faddish. Of course, that has not kept Crocs [[crox]] and Heely’s [[hlys]] the companies from making some nice money.

But seriously, Skins? At best it is a niche idea. With the price they are selling at they are never likely to go big. While the company is serious and has brought in some substantial outside talent this is a classic case where foolish investors bid up the price of the company to an absurd level. When it had a market cap of $100 million, Skins (OTC BB: SKNN) was priced as if it had already achieved niche status and was growing beyond that. Yet the company had no sales at the time. Reality has caught up with the stock and it has fallen 80% since its high last summer and almost 90% since its 52-week high last December.
Reality often catches up to those who unwarily speculate in ‘the next big thing’. Don’t let reality catch you off guard. Even with a market cap of $16 million I would not touch the stock. That being said, the company’s management is a welcome oasis of decency in the cesspool that is the OTC BB.

Disclosure: I have no position in any stock mentioned above. My disclosure policy loves wearing its Birkenstocks.

0 thoughts on “Skins: Yet Another Silly Shoe Idea”

  1. Have you tried the shoes? Have you seen them ? Have you read any comments by people that have tried and seen the shoes? I am NOT an investor in SKNN, but what bothers me is that there is no aspect of your criticism that addresses the product attributes at all or indicates any substantive knowledge of them. Now, whether someone should invest is another matter and I’m watching this but staying away because I want to see if this actually pans out. There will be plenty of time to make money in this if it can establish itself. But to call the shoes silly etc….with what appears to be no product knowledge or experience is unworthy of what otherwise is a rational approach to this as an equity. You should avoid the loss of credibility that comes with such an intellectual error.

  2. My sister, who knows a lot more about shoes than I do, has looked at the shoes and found the concept wanting. Furthermore, everyone I know who owns a number of shoes and is willing to pay the prices Skins is asking owns myriad different brands. Is it worthwhile to go with a pair of Skins rather than a pair of another shoe? No–the only advantage to Skins is if the customer owns multiple pairs. And Skins has a limited number of outers available. The company would have to offer a truly huge variety of outers before it started to become worthwhile for consumers to go with them. Also, the company will not have more than a few outers at shoe outlets, which will mean that the average retail shopper will not see much of a reason to go with them.

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