Crocs: Using Community-Centric Marketing to Make Ugly Iconic

In 2022, the Crocs Classic Clog was the best-selling item of clothing on Amazon, the brand was
one of the fastest growing brands in the US, and global net revenue for the company had
increased year- over-year from $2.3 billion to approximately $3.6 billion, 123 By most accounts,
Crocs had become the “it” shoe. Crocs shoes were spotted on high-fashion runways,
collaborating with luxury brands and designers including Balenciaga, Christopher Kane, and
Christian Cowan, and were seen on the feet of massively popular celebrities such as Justin
Bieber, Post Malone, Bad Bunny, and Luke Combs. 3 Contemporary artist Takashi Murakami
partnered with the brand to create a pair of limited-edition clogs, and renowned British artist
David Hockney was seen sporting a pair of bright yellow Crocs clogs to the first Order of Merit
luncheon hosted by King Charles III. Crocs was also considered a top preferred footwear brand
among U.S. teens in 2023. Many limited-edition Crocs shoes sold out nearly instantly after being
released, and were subsequently only available on secondary markets for several times their
retail price, if they could be purchased at all.”

Few could have predicted Crocs’ meteoric success given the state of the brand just ten years
earlier. Despite being enormously successful after launching in 2002, by the 2010’s, Crocs shoes
had fallen out of favor with consumers and were often mercilessly mocked for their hideous
appearance. Time Magazine listed the Crocs Classic Clog (see Exhibit 1 for an image of the
Classic Clog) as one of the “50 Worst Inventions,” Maxim ranked them as the sixth “worst thing
to happen to men,” and many an internet meme circulated disparaging Crocs shoes as the
epitome of poor taste, “Memes’ was actually the third most common word linked to the brand
name in Google searches in 2016.11 One viral meme featured a picture of a person wearing
bright orange Crocs clogs and socks with the caption, “See those little holes? That is where your
dignity leaks out. 12

So how did Crocs clogs go from internet meme fodder to a sought-after cultural sensation?
Could the Crocs brand maintain its popularity and grow more globally, or was the brand destined
to fall out of favor once the tides of fashion changed again? How should Crocs evolve its product
portfolio and marketing strategy to ensure a stable and permanent place in consumers’
wardrobes?
Company Overview

Crocs was founded by Scott Seamons, Lyndon Hanson, and George Boedbecker. The three
friends, who enjoyed sailing together, innovated on a foam clog made by the company Foam
Creations to create the perfect boating shoe. The clogs were made with a new material called
Croslite which was comfortable, slip resistant, durable, and floated. The clogs were also easy to
clean, easy to slip on and off, and had large ventilation holes in the tops and sides to let out
excess moisture. The founders eventually acquired the rights to the injection-molded
manufacturing process for creating the clogs and later to the proprietary foam resin material. The
brand was named “Crocs” because the clogs resembled a crocodile snout from the side. Croslite
could be produced in any color, but the company chose primarily bolder colors for the clogs,
which added to the products distinctiveness. After Crocs launched in 2002, the shoes were
enthusiastically embraced by boaters, gardeners, service-workers, healthcare workers, children,
and really anyone looking for a comfortable and durable shoe, 13 14 15

In 2006, Crocs completed an initial public offering the most successful ever for a footwear
company-and purchased Jibbitz, the manufacturer of “libbitz” which were accessories or charms
that could snap into the holes in Crocs shoes for a fun and personalized effect. Crocs also grew
by acquiring smaller entities such as Fury, EXO, Ocean Minded, and Bite-producers of shoes,
sporting equipment, and performance gear-in 2006 and 2007,16

One key competitive advantage for Crocs was that the company created a highly flexible supply
chain. Crocs engineered the ability to manufacture and distribute additional product during a
selling season by deliberately integrating extra production capacity and redundant operations
across manufacturing locations. As a result, unlike other footwear brands, which required
retailers to estimate demand and place their orders for the entire season up front, thereby risking
under- or overestimation of needed inventory, Crocs operated on a replenishment system,
supplying retailers with more of a product during a selling season if a particular SKU garnered
unexpectedly high demand. Crocs supply chain enabled the company to handle the brand’s
explosive growth at its inception, 17

From 2003 to 2007, global sales of Crocs increased from $1.2 million to $850 million. However,
with growing popularity came growing criticism. Fashion influencers and talk show hosts
mocked the “plastic” shoes and those who wore them. 192 Still, the brand pushed on, opening
hundreds of its own retail stores and expanding their product assortment to more than 250 shoe
styles by 2006, including golf shoes and other silhouettes intended to look more like “regular”
shoes, such as Mary Janes, boots, and loafers. Crocs also took its critics head on, launching a
print campaign during this time called “Ugly can be beautiful,” suggesting the beauty of Crocs
lay in the eyes of the beholder. The campaign featured images of aesthetically quirky images-
such as a dog’s droopy eyes and wrinkled jowls, a braces-laced smile, or an oversized homemade
necklace made of yarn, buttons, macaroni and other found objects-accompanied by a Crocs clog
and the “Ugly can be beautiful” tagline. 22

However, Crocs’ stock price dropped dramatically in 2007 as dislike for the Crocs aesthetic
gained fervor and consumer demand decreased. Even among fans of the shoes, the durability of
Crocs shoes meant that existing customers did not need replacements for their shoes, and the
emergence of good- enough knock-offs eroded demand for the specific Crocs brand clog. On top
of that, distribution issues emerged. As a result, the brand was stuck with excess inventory, an
unwieldy product assortiment, and an oversaturation of owned stores. Then came the global
economic downturn in 2008, making matters worse for the brand. The price of Crocs stock
plummeted to under $1 by 2009, the company cut jobs, and bankruptcy appeared imminent. Ove
banker noted, “Upon close inspection, the company’s books may be even less attractive than its
shoes.
Crocs hung on. In 2010, the brand launched their “Feel the Love” campaign, which focused on
the comfort provided by proprietary Croslite technology in every pair of Crocs shoes. The
campaign featured Crocs characters that dote on wearers, massaging and comforting their feet,
drawing attention to the functionality versus the aesthetic of the shoes. Crocs also introduced
new lines of shoes including sandals, flats, and rain boots that were positioned as more
comfortable alternatives to the same silhouettes offered by competitors, opened new stores, and
expanded abroad. By 2011, Crocs revenue was growing, and the brand appeared to have regained
its footing, However, investors remained wary, withe marry conjecturing the brand might be
experiencing another fad-induced spike that would prove unsustainable in the face of fickle
fashion tastes. In 2013, the private equity group Blackstone invested $200 million of capital in
Crocs, and the company began working on a more aggressive plan to revive the brand’s image.
30 In 2014, Crocs appointed Andrew Rees as president- who was eventually named CEO in
2017-who spearheaded the brand’s turnaround strategy.

Making Ugly Iconic

Under the leadership of Rees, Crocs restructured, reduced headcount, and closed hundreds of
retail stores.31 32 Crocs closed the last of its company-owned manufacturing facilities in 2018,
entirely outsourcing production of its shoes, and decided to reduce investments in smaller
geographic markets to focus on larger operating markets globally. 33 34 Moreover, after years of
expanding the product line, the brand decided to re-focus attention toward the Classic Clog,
cutting a significant proportion of non- clog SKUs from its product portfolio. Rees said, “The
company historically had started to diversify away from the Classic Clog. But we thought that
was wrong. So we put our product, graphic and style innovation back into [the silhouette),
because that’s the core of the brand. It’s also our most profitable product arena. We refocused on
the Classic Clog and almost exclusively on molded product, which is our DNA. That’s what we
do best. That’s what nobody else does well and that’s where we could win.”

Next, Crocs needed to create relevance and resonance with consumers. As Crocs president
Michelle Poole put it: “We’ve never had trouble with brand awareness. You can show our iconic
silhouette throughout the world, and people everywhere can identify it as Crocs, which is
unusual Consumers knew the Crocs brand and could easily identify the iconic clog silhouette.
Indeed, the Crocs name had become synonymous with the clog. The problem was that consumers
didn’t want to own. Crocs clogs Rees echoed this sentiment, “We were known by lots of people,
but a lot of people didn’t think it was for them. So it was all about creating brand relevance.
Crocs had to convince consumers that their shoes were for them.

Global Campaigns

#FindYourFun

In 2015, Crocs launched its first global integrated marketing campaign with McKinney called
“#Find YourFun.” Using a familiar slogan for the company, the aim of the campaign was to
evoke feelings of fun and comfort for the Crocs brand, and remind people of the various use
occasions for Crocs shoes. The whimsical campaign showed Crocs in different settings. For
example, different ads depicted clusters of clouds, fireworks, a swimming pool, and an island in
the shape of the iconic clog Meanwhile, other ads showed the clog silhouette embedded within
recognizable landmarks and destinations, such as Times Square, Piccadilly Circus, and Shibuya
Crossing. The hashtagged campaign encouraged consumers to post pictures featuring their Crocs
on socia pre-shot videos, one aspect of the campaignisse included a Twitter application that
allowed sing down social media. Created with to pick a pair of Crocs shoes and clothnesi goal
fashion model of their choice to wear while going down a waterslide, creating the appearance of
dynamic custom videos. The brand invested in paid social media, such as Promoted Tweets, to
support the effort.

Come As You Are

In 2017, Crocs launched their “Come As You Are” campaign with an influencer-led social
campaign The “Come As You Are” campaign was an invitation for Crocs fans to share what
makes them unique. And to encourage them to feel comfortable in their own shoes. The
campaign mantra was evoked, in part, as a response to the belief that Crocs shoes were ugly. As
Heidi Cooley, Crocs Chief Marketing Officer, said, “Yes, we’re ugly, yes, we’re polarizing, But
importantly, we’re one-of-a-kind. And what we recognized is that this is exactly what resonated
with some of our fans: They too see themselves as one-of-a-kind. What made Crocs and its fans
special was that they were one-of-a-kind, and the brand felt that should be embraced and
celebrated. Marketing plans for the campaign focused on six key markets including the US,
China, Japan, South Korea, Germany and the United Kingdom. The campaign kicked off with a
video featuring the brand’s four celebrity ambassadors: actress Drew Barrymore, World
Wrestling Entertainment wrestler John Cena, South Korean pop singer Yoona, and rapper-actor
Henry Lau. Campaign activations included a GIF generator called “Be Yourselfie” that allowed
consumers to create GIFs expressing what makes them unique.

Over several years, Crocs added a number of celebrities to its list of ambassadors for the
campaign including American actress Zooey Deschanel, British actress Natalie Dormer, Chinese
actress, dancer, and model Gina Jin, South Korean actress and girl-band member Kim Se-Jeong,
Chinese actress Yang Mi, Japanese actress Suzu Hirose Jonas, Nigerian influencer Enioluwa
Adeoluwa, and Indian actress and activist Priyanka Chopra Jonas. In 2023, Crocs also used the
“Come As You Are” campaign to reinforce its partnership with GLAAD, a non-governmental
organization founded to advocate for fair and accurate representation of the LGBTQIA
community in the media,

From 2017 to 2023, campaign messaging evolved from being an invitation to be comfortable
with and proud of what makes you one-of-a-kind, to the idea that confort and style need not be
mutually exclusive, to the notion that everyone has a right to be comfortable in their own shoes
47 48 49 Crocs also explicitly oriented its brand purpose around the latter sentiment by
committing to three initiatives for making a more comfortable world: 1) increasing comfort for
the planet by investing in more sustainable and environmentally friendly materials and practices,
2) increasing comfort for communities through philanthropic and prosocial activities, and 3)
increasing comfort for all people by fostering inclusivity and belongingness at Crocs workplaces

Clogs as Canvasses
In the late 2010’s and 2020’s, Crocs collaborated with a truly remarkable variety of brands and
celebrities to create unique and limited-edition shoes. On the luxury front, Christopher Kane
surprised fashion critics when he showed off a Crocs collaboration during his London Fashion
Week show Balenciaga released limited run platform Crocs clogs and high-heeled Crocs clogs,
and Crocs worked with Vera Bradley to create several different lines of clogs. In addition to
highly credible fashion beands, Crocs also released highly creative collaboration products with
brands such as Peeps, 7Eleven, General Mills, Hidden Valley Ranch, Sega, Hello Kitty, and KFC
34 35 36 37 38 The KFC collaboration clogs (see Exhibit 2), which were covered in fried
chicken print and included a drumstick Jibbitz, sold out in thirty minutes

Crocs also worked with celebrities such as Post Malone, Bad Bunny, Jimmy Kimmel, Luke
Combs, KISS, PSY, and Justin Bieber (see Exhibit 3) to design limited-edition clogs, sest
Importantly, Crocs did not typically reach out to sponsors or celebrities unless they already
expressed interest in the brand or
Were organically spotted wearing Crocs. For example, in 2018, Post Malone tweeted, “u can tell
a lot about a man by the jibbits on his crocs.” In response, Crocs reached out to the rapper to see
if he wanted to create a clog together, and four months later, they debuted their first of five
collaborations. The first two Post Malone collaborations sold out within ten minutes and eight
minutes, respectively.

Similarly, Crocs reached out to Ruby Rose after she posted an Instagram story in which she was
searching for Crocs and asking fans to help her decide what pair to buy. Cooley remarked,
“Every collaboration comes from a place of authenticity [Rose] was a fan of our iconic clog long
before we ever started working with her.” Crocs waited for opportunities to arise with celebrities
and sponsors and mobilized their teams to take advantage of them and heighten positive
awareness. Poole said in an interview, “Collaborations are important to our brand, but to work,
they have to be meaningful” She added, “Our clog serves as a blank canvas that can fuel the
latest trends or conversations

Collaborations generated an enormous amount of buzz and earned media for Crocs. While the
aesthetic of Crocs shoes had always been polarizing, each new collaboration seemed to
reinvigorate or inspire new love or hatred for the brand and its products. But this was part of the
strategy. Rees noted, “Our goal is not to make the haters love the brand, it’s to exploit that
extrinsic tension because it creates opportunity, it creates PR, it creates media, it creates interest.
It creates a whole lot that would cost you a fortune to buy in other ways. Rees added, “We
launched a campaign that was focused on making the classic silhouette an iconic symbol.
Because we know it’s always been a polarizing brand. But remember, when you’re polarizing,
there’s one side of the polarization that loves you. Cooley also commented, “That, paired with
our ability to be so versatile in terms of aesthetics, has brought new fans to the brand. It’s Diplo
or Post Malone who has converted them.”

Crocs could also be decorated with Jibbitz. Sold in sets or individually, Jibbitz gave consumers
the ability to personalize and change up their Crocs shoes. In 2022, Jibbitz accounted for 8% of
revenues for Crocs, and consumers who personalized their footwear with Jibbitz had higher
average orders and lifetime value. 70 Rees said, “Jibbitz dramatically changes customers’
emotional engagement with the brand. The Jibbitz bars in our store bring a lot of excitement for
people shopping there. People can create something that is truly unique.” Rees added, “I think
one of the most interesting things if you look at the younger consumer, they’re really looking for
a product that is different from everybody else but is the same as everybody else as well.” He
continued, “So if you can provide them opportunities to buy an iconic silhouette, but to
personalize it specifically for them, we do that on the Crocs brand with our Jibbitz.” Rees also
said, “it [libbitz) allows our brand to be relevant to a broad variety of consumers and in a broad
variety of purchase occasions, so it’s a really important part of our business.” In 2023, the brand
upped the personalization ante, announcing a new program called Customize Your Crocs that
allowed for customized bulk orders of Classic Clogs and Jibbitz charms

Interest in Crocs clogs, especially for the more creative collaborations and interesting designs,
wa also fueled by a larger cultural interest in ugly, comfortable footwear. The rise of ugly-cool
shoes as a fashion statement started in the 2010’s, but continued through the COVID-19
pandemic as consume sought foot-friendly shoes while cooped up and working at home, Sales
were also up for other shoe brands known for ugly designs, such as Birkenstock, Teva, and Hoka

Once Crocs had revived consumer interest in the clog, the brand started iterating on the cl
silhouette, creating fur-lined dogs and clogs of varying heights. They also experimented
modifying clog mold more significantly y in a partnership with designer Salehe Bembury,
creating a a shaved down toe, fewer hointly in a partier, futuristic-looking texture (see Exhibit
with a shoe At the same time, Crocs also saw salers holes and a waviors trendy shoes, which
Rees attributed to younger consumers. Rees said, “They’re influencing other people and giving
them permission to see the brand as more relevant to them, too. 79

In addition to clogs, Crocs became interested in growing its sandal business. To do this, Crocs
started experimenting with collaborations for sandals designs, including slides and sandals with
straps created in partnership with Vera Bradley, 7Eleven, Diplo, and Taco Bell (see Exhibit 5).10
83 82 81 Although they carried a lower profit margin, sandals were a popular secondary category
for the brand, generating $310 million in sales in 2022. Moreover, Rees felt that sandals
presented an opportunity for cross-selling between clogs and sandals. Consumers also tended to
buy sandals more frequently than other types of footwear in general

Accessible Pricing

The average price of Crocs shoes was around $50, but some special collaborations and limited-
edition shoes retailed for much more. For example, limited runs of Crocs clogs with built-in
socks and a pair featuring Jibbitz New York City landmarks, both created in partnership with
streetwear brand Alife (see Exhibit 6), retailed for $140 and 5600, respectively, while shoes
designed with Barneys were sold for $90. Meanwhile, the Balenciaga high-heeled collaboration
clogs retailed for $625,867 And many shoes that retailed at $50 were often eventually bought for
much higher prices on resale markets. For example, Crocs clogs featuring the animated character
Lightning McQueen were originally sold for $50, but could be found on secondary retail sites for
between $100 to $300. Likewise, clogs created in partnership with Bad Bunny retailed at 560,
but sold out instantly only to become available on resale markets for more than $300. Still, most
Crocs shoes were sold through the brand at around $50 or less, including many versions of the
Classic Clog. This price point was important because, as Rees pointed out, “We’re gaining
market share. And if there is a recession or the consumer continues to tighten, we’re also
optimistic about our chances in that environment because our price point is 550. It’s not $150.
50, we give the consumer an opportunity to refresh their wardrobe and buy something new at a
very approachable price point”

Community-Centric Marketing

Customer Segments

When Crocs first launched, they were designed with boaters, gardeners, service-workers, nurses,
children, and older consumers in mind. However, Crocs evolved toward targeting two primary
segments, which the brand referred to as “Feel Goods” and “Explorers.” Historically, Feel Goods
were the brand’s core consumer in the U.S. market. Feel Goods skewed female, suburban-
dwelling, aged 35- to-45, had a family, and were interested in the comfort and durability of Crocs
shoes. Explorers, on the other hand, tended to be younger, 25-to-30, urban-dwelling, balanced
between men and women, and interested in shoes from a lifestyle and fashion perspective.
Explorers, who could be conceptualized as the “hype-beast-adjacent Gen Zer,” cared a lot about
self-expression, and were willing to spend a little more on a good product, especially one that
could be personalized to their tastes and passions. Thus, Explorers packed a higher lifetime value
for the brand compared to Feel Goods. Explorers also tended to be highly prevalent in emerging
markets, particularly in Asia. As a result, as the brand focused on growing its international
presence in its core markets, so did the proportion of Goods Explorers to Feel

User-Generated Content

Shortly after creating a brand presence on TikTok, Crocs launched the #Thousand DollarCrocs
challenge, asking users to post what they think a pair of $1000 Crocs might look like. About
45,000 videos were created within thirty-six hours of the challenger’s launch, and Crocs
generated 100.000 followers in only a week Crocs also benefited from organic trends related to
the brand and their products on social media. For example, consumers created viral challenges
including the “shaving cream challenge,” which involved filling your Crocs clogs with shaving
cream and stepping into them which forced the shaving cream to jet out of the holes in the shoes,
and the “Crocs shoe-throwing challenge,” which involved throwing the shoes in creative ways to
show they always land upright Crocs also branded a crocktok hashtag that inspired hundreds of
Tik Tok users to create Croc-themed videos and garnered millions of views on the platform.

User-generated content was a core part of Crocs digital strategy. In fact, two of the stated goals
for the “Come As You Are” campaign were to decrease the briefing-to-concept execution
timeline for user- generated content and build a strong library of authentic, high-quality content
at scale and low cost. Crocs sought to create resonant content by listening to and leveraging their
fan base. Crocs representatives described the brand as “democratic,” which is reflected in the
wide variety of products it sold as well as the content the brand created and promoted. Cooley
said, “There are so many brands that are stringent on their brand filters and the ways in which
content can be created. Crocs is the polar opposite of that. We don’t care if it’s shot on an iPhone,
we love if it’s shot by an employee, we love that your kids are running in the background.
Between 2018 to 2019, the brand ran 15 user-generated content campaigns, worked with 170
creators, and generated 225 images and videos. While some campaigns were simple, such as
inviting fans to create hashtagged cordent or post photos of their Crocs shoes, others were much
more involved. For example, in 2021, Crocs encouraged Korean consumers to write their own
lyrics to a background track created in partnership with Universal Music star SAAY, for the
chance to win prizes, fame, and re-record the track with the popstar. The campaign generated
over 260 entries and 3.3 million impressions.
Social Listening

Crocs was notably adept at actively listening to and responding to fans on social media
platforms. For example, on October 23, 2017, Crocs was trending on Twitter after fans, who
were part of #CrocNation, co-opted “National Crocodile Day” to express their fandom for Crocs
shoes rather than the animal. In response to this commotion, the next year, Crocs leaned into the
idea, launching “Croctober” for the month of October with a flurry of content and product
promotions, a tradition the brand continued to promote annually. For their 20 anniversary in
2022, Crocs celebrated Croctober by giving away tens of thousands of pairs of Crocs shoes,
dropping exclusive products throughout the month, and hosting online experiences and events
through gaming platforms such as Zepeto and Roblox.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Crocs brand representatives noticed that health care workers
were talking about and asking for Crocs because they were incredibly comfortable during long
shifts and very easy to clean. In response to this, Crocs paused all marketing activities and
launched “A Free Fair for Healthcare” program, donating free pairs of Crocs to doctors, nurses,
and other medical employees In under two months, the brand donated over 860,000 pairs On a
much smaller scale, the brand had a reputation for s of shoes globally-valued d at $40 fun and
interactive way. For example, in 2018, a high school senior Tweeted at Crocs asking how untat to
fan inquiries for free shoes in a responding to fo Retweets it would take for the brand to give all
the in her graduation. Crocs replied in just two foural the girls obviously, and held up is promis
graduating class white crocs to we sending 124 pairs of Crocs to the high hoool students after the
number of Retweets eclipsed Cooley noted, “... because we’re intentionally close to to capitalize
on key moments in real time, that [is the market and close to the wear e consumer, we’re able
something) a lot of brands aren’t able to do Crocs also used social media and digital channels as
fodder for new product ideas. In 2019, Crocs introduced limited-edition adult-sized versions of
their kid’s collaboration clogs with Disney Pixar “Cars” character Lightning McQueen after
more than 33,000 fans signed a Change org petition asking Crocs to make the shoes available in
adult sizes. The limited run sold out astonishingly fast, as did the subsequent second and third
runs of the shoes. Of the success of different collaborations and styles, Cooley said, “Part of our
consumer-centric strategy is we don’t miss very often,” she added, “We’re not sitting around in a
room trying to guess what people want.” She also said, “Legal helps us get to ‘yes’ for just about
any and every idea we’ve ever come up with. We have a lot of autonomy and trust from a senior
leadership perspective to deliver against the strategy. They expect us to keep our brand relevant
and to do it in a way that’s responsive to our fans. “

Digitally Driven
As part of its turnaround, Crocs allocated the majority of its marketing spend to digital channels.
“We believe that it really enables us to create more meaningful consumer communications,
Cooley said. Digital efforts included metaverse activations, such as building a world within
Minecraft called “Crocs World” and launching an NFT collection. The brand partnered with the
basketball video game NBA2K, Minecraft, and Bitmoji to enable users to outfit virtual players
and avatars with digital Crocs shoes, 1 Crocs also hosted a virtual concert by Korean pop girl
group Aespa as part of its 20th year anniversary celebration. The Roblox concert drove 789,000
visits to the Roblox Crocs World, and resulted in 225,000 purchases of virtual clogs on the
platform. With Snapchat, the brand created a number of different augmented reality (AR) lenses.
One AR lens gave consumers the ability to try on shoes virtually, one lens was a gamified
arcade-style Jibbitz game launched as part of the Justin Bieber collaboration, another lens
involved an AR game made in partnership with Minecraft that could be accessed by scanning a
branded pair of Crocs using a smartphone, and another lens gave users the ability to take videos
or pictures of themselves with a digitally imposed Classic Clog on their head. Four million
people used the Classic Clog AR lens in its first ten days, 106 107 108 109

In 2021, Crocs launched a digital app to elevate direct-to-consumer and digital sales. The app
gave consumers the ability to browse and virtually try on products, access influencer content, and
reserve shoes online to pick up in stores. Crocs also planned to use the app to drop exclusive
products, announce new collaborations, and offer exclusive promotions, 110 Crocs predicted
digital channels would generate 50% of total revenues by the end of 2026,111

Moving Forward

From 2021 to 2022, Crocs revenue grew 53.67%, amounting to $3.6 billion, and the brand sold
115.6 million shoes worldwide, representing nearly four pairs per second. 112 113 By 2023,
shares of Crocs stock were priced at over $100.114 However, the organization wanted to achieve
more, announcing a goal of reaching $5 billion in revenue by 2026. In addition to their digitally-
lead approach, the brand planned to move toward this goal by expanding in international
markets, increasing sales of sandals, and prioritizing sustainability. The brand was working on
transitioning to more sustainable materials, minimizing the use and impact of packaging,
innovating afterlife solutions, and becoming a net-zero emissions company by 2040. As for the
other initiatives, Rees said, “There are still parts of the globe where we’ve got lots of
opportunities for Classic Clog penetration, such as in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin
America, and Asia. But then we also need to complement that. Our overall growth vision is
complemented by our focus on sandals. We believe the core DNA of the Crocs brand around
comfort, lightweight, color, fun and inspiration can apply well in the sandal arena. We think
sandals is a very significant growth opportunity in addition to growth in clogs, not instead of.