Speaking last week at CL King & Associates Best Ideas Conference, Jeff Lasher, Crocs’ CFO, heralded the success the cushy clog brand is finding extending into the boot category. He said that over the last few years Crocs has been able to build its boot business to 5 percent of total sales, which represents a $50 million product line.
He cited the boot category’s expansion as an example of how Crocs is expanding away from clogs into flip-flops, sandals, men's shoes and flats. Its traditional clog silhouette continues to be reduced as a percent of sales, to
46 percent of its product lineup in Q212, down from 49 percent in the same quarter in 2011. In 2011, clogs represented 48 percent of sales, followed by flats, 12 percent; casual shoes, 6 percent; and casual sneakers, also 6 percent.
For Fall/Holiday 2012, Crocs has re-launched the Mammoth with a slightly more comfortable liner. On the women’s side, it expanded its boot collection into the rain boot category, including a collapsible option called the Rain Flow Boot. Its 2012 product mailer features a hiking boot with a fur lining that retails for over $100 as well as a line-up of kid’s sneakers, rain boots and lined clogs. Said Lasher, “We've mailed this to 1.8 million customers that are on our mailing list and we believe that's a good marketing opportunity for us to affordably reach our consumer base.”
Looking into spring/summer 2013, the focus includes a molded, colorful boat shoe “that has some throwbacks to our original clog, but represents a different twist on the boat shoe that many of you know and love,” said Lasher.
A second major product story is the retro clog, harking back to the 1970s clog with a tri-color base. Said Lasher, “it's a very important cash cow for us to continue to innovate in the clog space and bring out colorful and exciting products to that customer.”
Finally, the third product story for early 2013 is the Huarache, a multi-colored flat for women. Said Lasher, “We believe that this will do exceptionally well around the globe. And again, this is an opportunity for us to expand the DNA of our product line.”
