The big CROCS bet for personalization has paid off. Here’s how it happened.

Crocs are cool again. But the story of the shoe company is more than a fashion statement.

The emblematic blockage was an essential element of fashion from the early 2000s. However, the profitability of the brand eroded over the years after the great recession as it is struggling to expand internationally. From 2008 to 2016, there were four years when the company’s operating margin was negative, according to FacSet data.

CROCS CEO Andrew Rees took over CROCS leadership in 2017 and headed its turn strategy.

“When I joined the company, we freshen up the management team, refreshed the strategy, and it was really all about profitability. But also putting the right level of marketing and innovation of products in the product so that we can create a gradual demand,” Rees said.

Crocs partnered with brands ranging from Balenciaga to Pixar, and celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Post Malone to create limited editions. The pandemic also created the search for comfortable shoes among the users who were stuck at home, along with front medical professionals.

From 2020 to 2021, the brand increased its revenue from about $ 1.4 billion to about $ 2.3 billion. Profitability has also increased as Crocs’s operating margin jumped from 17.2% to 29.8% during the same period, according to Facetset data.

As for its brand, Crocs has shifted its messages and began to perceive criticism around its colorful and unique appearance.

“They returned to their original clogging and generally used it as a canvas for self -expression“ said Annie Wilson, a senior marketing teacher at the Wharton School. “The biggest thing I saw in terms of messages was their transition from an attempt to convince consumers that it was about comfort and function, to basicly say,” Yes, we know we are ugly, but you have to love us because it makes us a kind and unique. “

Crocs bent down strongly into personalization through its decorative charms known as Jibbitz. The company told CNBC that Jibbitz revenue was $ 271 million in 2024, representing just over 8% of the brand’s revenue.

“They are very profitable, but the most important part is not only the contribution of direct profit, but simply to engage with that user to return them really and again to the brand,” said Crocs President Anne Melman.

Crocs said about 75% of its users buy Jibbitz to access accessories, according to his own studies.

Although CROCS revenue has been increasing over the last five years, it is now trying to increase another casual brand of shoes in his portfolio called Heydude, which he acquired in 2022 for a $ 2.5 billion money deal.

The brand scored a decline in sales since its acquisition by CROCS and was forced to pay nearly $ 1.9 million to customers in 2024 after faced against FTC’s claims that it suppressed the negative reviews of its product online and incorrectly regain customers.

In 2024, heydude revenue fell 13.2% compared to 2023, while Crocs increased by 8.8%.

“In fact, you make investments and actually make the hard -earned CROCS brand, and then you infuse it and invest it in Heydude,” said Barclays Retail Analyzer Adrien IX. “They believe this is a good prospect for growth. At the moment, jurors are coming out of it.”

The CROCS brand also faces new winds of 46% President Donald Trump, imposed on Vietnam this week. The company announced that just over half of its production took place in Vietnam since 2021.