It’s happening at home, it’s happening in offices—it’s even happening in the Senate.
The public are increasingly dressing more casually, whether it’s during the working week or their own time.
And for Crocs, which saw business boom during the pandemic when people were confined to their homes, a “casualization” of the nation has meant great things for its bottom line.
Now, Crocs CEO Andrew Rees says, the pandemic move to his casual footwear was not a passing fad but rather part of a long-term trend.
“We did absolutely benefit from the pandemic. People were at home, and in my view it accelerated that casualization trend we’ve seen for some time,” Rees told CNN. “We’ve continued that post-pandemic, and we’re seeing very strong growth in the Crocs brand.”
Sales of the shoes—which come in a variety of lined, glittery, and platform styles—have gone from strength to strength in recent years.
In its most recent update for investors, Crocs revealed Q2 2023 revenue of $1 billion, up 12% compared with the year prior.
Growing markets are no longer limited to North America—which saw growth of 12.9% compared with 2022—but now include Asia, where revenue is up 39% on a constant currency basis.
And as Crocs customers come back for more, the company’s share price has risen as well.
The stock price of the company has leapt 322% in the past five years, from approximately $20 a share in October 2018 to around $84 today (it has however cooled from its pandemic heights, when investors eyeing work-from-home winners pushed it to $180 in November 2021).
The brand—once scorned as the convenient but ugly duckling of the footwear world—is also enjoying endorsements from celebrities and high-profile fashion houses; even fashion bible Vogue has attempted to advise on how to wear the resin shoes.
Consumers want disposable shoes
Crocs’s CEO sees no reason for the trend to falter: “There’s a long-term consumer trend that we’re following, which is casualization, comfort, easy on and off, and value,” Rees told CNN.
“The consumer is not focused on buying high-priced, uncomfortable, fashion-centric, potentially leather, long-lasting footwear anymore.”
Despite growing calls to move away from disposable fashion and fast-fashion trends, Rees said his customers wanted something “a little bit more disposable.”
They want something that is “right for me today but maybe not right for me tomorrow—but that doesn’t matter…I’ll buy something else” Rees added.
In a bid to keep their short-cycle customers interested, Crocs confirmed it will be doing 60 license and collaboration events this year.
Riding the casual wave
Determined not to see his company reduced to a pandemic blip, Rees insists Crocs is cashing in on a long-term trend of fashion casualization.
Indeed, it appears people are dressing in a more laid-back style across the board. According to a 2023 study from search engine Adzuna, the percentage of job postings mentioning “casual” dress codes has risen to almost 80%.
On the other end of the spectrum, postings specifying “business casual” and “smart casual” have continually declined since 2020.
Crocs plans to cash in—and scale up—on the shift to casual dress.
“This year the Crocs brand will be a little bit shy of $3 billion in annual sales,” Rees continued. “That is a scale, global footwear brand, and what scale gives you [is] a large innovation engine. You can afford to innovate; you can afford to try new things and create new materials.
“It gives you a large marketing budget so you can constantly engage with young consumers, and it gives you a strong share of shelf with your wholesale partners.”