Crocs went from joke to status symbol through celebrity endorsements from Justin Bieber and Bad Bunny, luxury collabs like Balenciaga, and CEO Andrew Reiss refocusing on the core clog. The company hit $6 billion in revenue in 2024, proving brand equity can matter more than the product itself.
Do you wear Crocs?
I don't. Do you?
No. Have you ever worn Crocs?
No.
Do you know what put Crocs back on the map?
I thought it was these like custom branding things.
Justin Bieber.
Justin Bieber?
How?
Oh, because he wears them all the time.
He made them cool again. And it just goes to show, in marketing, your true moat is your brand. There's not much more to it than having a strong brand because, dude, there's so many Croc knockoffs. And there's some that are more comfortable than Crocs, but what makes Crocs so successful is the brand. It's the same with Jordan shoes. It's like the only reason Jordan does so well is because of that brand. If you and I created a shoe company today, we don't know anything about shoes. Would you agree if we could figure out how to make a shoe just as comfortable as Michael Jordan shoes?
If not better. Yes.
But we probably will generate little to no sales.
You agree with that as well?
Yep.
Okay, I'm looking at this right now. So I'm like, how did, how did Crocs get so big these last few years? So it does mention they partner with high-profile names like Justin Bieber, Bad Bunny, Post Malone, and even luxury brands like Balenciaga. And then people started wearing gold Crocs in 2021 Oscars, Nicki Minaj sporting them on social media. So I think it's a lot of influencer stuff.
From my understanding, when Justin Bieber started wearing Crocs, it wasn't paid. It was just people saw it and they thought it was cool. Same with Justin Bieber and Champion. He brought the Champion brand back.
Yep. So, okay. Finally, Crocs got smart with business strategy under CEO Andrew Reiss. They refocused on their core clog, streamlined operations, and boosted digital sales, which now account for a big chunk of revenue. So focus is a big piece of it as well.
It's a $6 billion company.
By the way, how much revenue do you think the Jordan Brand did in 2024?
$10 billion?
Close. $7 billion. Dude, the guy hasn't played basketball in forever, but he's— when you are known as the best of all time, the greatest of all time, Your brand will last. Yes. And he, dude, he gets 5% of brands' wholesale sales.
Yeah. Revenue. Yeah.
$350 million. Yeah.
His net worth has come from Jordan shoes. It hasn't come from anything else. Yeah.
From being great at basketball. Yes. Yeah.
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And you could say like, oh, you know, he made money from his NBA Wizards, right? But the Wizards were poorly run under his ownership.
You mean the Bobcats?
Is it Bobcats now?
So he played for the Wizards. He had some, a minority stake in the Wizards, and then he had a bigger stake, I think, in the Bobcats. Which now are back though. They're back to the Hornets again. So anyway, that's where we're gonna end it today. Thank you all for listening. Please don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, and we'll see you tomorrow.
