It’s been an incredible year for one of the most unlikely brands: Crocs. Loved (and sometimes hated) by children and adults alike, the footwear maker has emerged as a pandemic-era fashion staple.
In Q1 of this year, Crocs ($CROX) reported a record $460 million in revenue, an increase of 61%, and higher than the expected $415 million. Direct-to-consumer revenue shot up 93%, while wholesale revenue increased 50%. According to CEO Andrew Rees, demand for the comfort shoes is “stronger than ever.” As a result of the stellar earnings, company shares went up 16% on Tuesday, and the last 12 months have seen shares surge 260%.
Among the most popular varieties of the rubber clogs are the light-up Lightning McQueen crocs, which have sold out online (the adult variety, specifically). Meanwhile, pairs in the secondary market are going for upwards of $300. The shoes aren’t even new — they debuted in 2019, and sold out then, too. But as Americans look for the perfect at-home pandemic shoe, they’ve seen a resurgence.
Crocs may have benefitted from the pandemic, but thanks to some clever marketing, they were gaining popularity before we were all stuck at home. Collabs with celebrities like Justin Bieber, Post Malone, and Priyanka Chopra raised the company’s profile beyond kid’s shoes, and partnerships with brands like KFC caused a sensation online.
According to our data, web traffic for the crocs site spiked 19% month-over-month.
Crocs saw a spike in Instagram followers as well — its account added 60,000 new followers since the beginning of the year, bringing its total to 1.08 million followers.
Crocs hasn’t closed stores either. Since the pandemic began, the company has added another thousand stores to its total of 24,700. The expansion comes as part of a shift towards direct-to-consumer sales as opposed to wholesale markets. While wholesale revenue did jump 50%, the 93% spike in DTC revenue was far bigger. The company said it wants to exercise tighter control over its brand while doubling down on the margin-rich DTC market.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online, jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings, and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.