Crocs, which has delivered 54 percent annualized shareholder return since 2017 by its own calculation, is forecasting revenue growth of 10 to 13 percent this fiscal year to a range of $3.9 to $4.0 billion with sales in markets outside the Americas increasing at the highest rate.
Presenting at the 25th annual ICR Conference, senior executives at the parent of the Crocs and Heydude footwear brands detailed four long-term trends that position it well going forward. Among them are casualization, comfort-led functionality, sustainability and personalization.
The group, which describes itself as the second-largest casual footwear company in the world, is forecasting FY22 revenue growth of approximately 53 percent to about $3.55 billion, above expectations of 49 to 52 percent, with an adjusted operating margin of approximately 27 percent for the 12 months. Crocs’ annual brand sales rose by 15 percent (+19% on a constant-currency basis) to $2.65 billion, and Heydude annual sales were up by 70 percent on a pro forma basis to $1.0 billion (sales were approximately $890m under Crocs’ ownership.).
An estimated 38 percent of Crocs’ brand revenues were generated outside the Americas in FY22, rising by 34 percent (+47% on a constant-currency basis) year-over-year. Brand sales in the EMEALA region increased by 32 percent; were 35 percent higher in Asia; and rose by 6 percent in the Americas, with the region’s direct-to-consumer business improving by 12 percent. The company intends to leverage Crocs’ infrastructure to ratchet up Heydude’s distribution outside the Americas this FY, which accounted for about 5 percent of its sales in FY22.
Key FY23 company objectives include “significant new product introductions” for both brands, “robust marketing” to help drive double-digit sandal growth for the Crocs brand; deeper Heydude product assortments in top U.S. wholesale accounts; and further debt repayments to achieve a goal of less than 2.0x leverage by mid-year.
