Crocs Celebrates ‘Croctober’ With Cowboy Boots: It’s Success Is Scary

Crocs with stones on the beach

getty

Crocs just announced it will kick off this year’s “Croctober” celebration with a pair of Crocs Classic Cowboy Boots complete with a set of spinnable spurs and built-on a classic Cros clog base. Officially dropping Monday, October 23, the company is responding to the demand of its customers for a pair of boots.

“Croc Day was born by our fans so we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate them than by bringing their ideas to life not just for one day, but all month long. At Crocs, we stan our fans!” Heidi Cooley, Crocs’ chief marketing officer, said in a statement.

The price to grab a pair hasn’t been announced, but the limited-time release issue is sure to be a sell-out for its fans and collectors. They will be available on the company’s website and in selected retail stores.

Beauty In The Eye Of The Beholder

For years, Crocs has been called the “ugliest shoe on the planet,” and in 2010, Time Magazine put it on its list of the 50 worst inventions “that just didn’t work out.”

Many would beg to differ because Crocs delivers performance and comfort under the ugly exterior at an affordable price. It made the brand a slip-on favorite among medical professionals, chefs and anyone else who spends a lot of time on their feet.

Despite the detractors, Crocs’ fan base continued to grow with its comfort performance proven to anyone who tries them and at an average price of about $50, it gives plenty of folks a chance. And its ugliness became a point of distinction, particularly among the younger set who can customize their pair with Jibbitz charms.

To the next generation, Crocs have become an “expressive statement, not just a practical shoe,” Lucy Thornley, Crocs global vice president of trend said. To raise its expressive profile, Thornley has attracted high-profile designers and luxury brands to collaborate, including Christopher Kane, Viviene Tam, Salehe Bembury of Versace fame, Balenciaga, Liberty London, Bad Bunny and more.

Crocs has also partnered with popular brands for shoes and Jibbitzs, including Disney, Star Wars, Nickelodeon, Harry Potter, Marvel, Hello Kitty, Minecraft, and the NBA. It succeeds by staying tuned to the trends of the moment, like its release of a Barbiecore collection in time for the Barbie movie launch.

“I’ve always believed that Crocs is more than a product—it’s an emotion, and a feeling,” Thornley shared with Vogue. “One thing that we’ve always heard from partners is that we don’t take ourselves too seriously—we’re always up for doing something different.”

Shoppers reward brands that always give them something different to see in the store and it goes double for younger shoppers with their notoriously short attention spans.

That’s put Crocs number six in the Spring 2023 Piper Sandler Teen’s survey, along with sister sneaker brand Hey Dude at number eight. Both brands were up about 25 bbs year over year. Only Nike
NKE
, Converse, Adidas, Vans and New Balance are above them.

Kissing The Frog

Crocs just came off of a second quarter with revenues exceeding $1 billion, up 12% on a constant currency basis compared with same period last year. Adjusted income from operations was up about the same, reaching $325 million. And direct-to-consumer sales grew 26% online and in the company’s roughly 340 stores worldwide.

Year-to-date, it is doing even better, with revenues just shy of $2 billion, advancing 20% from $1.6 billion and net income up 55% from $233 million to $362 million. And despite economic headwinds, the company raised year-end guidance from 11% to 14% to 12.5% to 14.5% to reach upwards of $4 billion.

The Crocs brand accounts for roughly 80% of the company’s revenues, with its sales up 15% in the second quarter to $833 million. And the company expects it to end the year advancing 12% to 14%. It is expecting stronger growth in the 14% to 18% range for the Hey Dude brand, which generated $239 million in revenues in the second quarter.

Globally, Asia-Pacific took the lead in growth, as the Crocs brand exploded there advancing 45% on a constant current basis to $338 million. And it is leaning into the local market with collaborations with Bai Jingting, Zhou Yutong, Melting Sadness and Labelhood.

North America delivered too, up 12% to $8256 million with new releases from Taco Bell, Satisfy and Salehe Bembury and three new clog silhouettes, including a heeled clog.

Crocs is succeeding today and will succeed tomorrow by sticking to its five core values that are just what the world needs:

Delightfully Democratic, uniting one-of-a-kinds with all kinds
People-Purposed Design that supports every person’s next step
Inherent Simplicity that is uncomplicated and intuitive
Imaginative Innovation, extending design from a proven core
Unapologetic Optimism, always looking at the bright side
Confidently Comfortable because “when you’re comfortable, you can do anything.”

From Shame To Fame

After consigning Crocs to its “hall of shame” as one of the world’s worst inventions in 2010, Time magazine reversed course and named it the Time100 Most Influential Companies in 2023.

The company doesn’t bear any grudges, as it stated on LinkedIn announcing the honor:

“Thank you, TIME, for the incredible recognition among companies that are shaping the future. Coming off a fifth consecutive year of revenue growth, we’ve proven we have mass appeal by winning with consumers and delivering what they want.

“As we continue to be a leading innovator in the footwear market, we remain grounded in delivering democratically priced, incredibly comfortable and stylish shoes to millions of people around the world every year.”

Crocs’ legion of fans that are growing day by day would agree.