Crocs expects revenues to surge to record highs after it bought a little-known Italian shoe brand beloved by Gen Z

• CEO Andrew Rees said Tuesday Crocs expects to report record revenues of $3.55 billion for 2022.
• Most revenue came from its namesake brand. But Crocs' 2021 Hey Dude acquisition has been lucrative.

Crocs has its fair share of skeptics, but the company has been on a tear lately.

CEO Andrew Rees said Tuesday at the annual ICR conference that Crocs expects to report record revenues of $3.55 billion for 2022. The footwear company also projects 13% revenue growth this year.

Crocs namesake brand has become synonymous with comfort and the dozens of colors its clogs come in. Like most sneaker companies, the brand also touts successful collaborations with musical artist Bad Bunny and designer Salehe Bembury. But it's not the Crocs brand alone that catapulted the company to over 50% revenue growth in 2022.

Crocs purchased Hey Dude late in 2021, much to Wall Street's disappointment. But Hey Dude, a brand beloved by Gen Z, grew 70% and generated about $1 billion in sales last year. About one-third of Crocs company sales are now Hey Dude shoes, according to the company.

"The Hey Dude acquisition, we've been thrilled with that. It has been a lot of work, as I'm sure many of you can appreciate, in terms of integrating that company into the Crocs company, but it continues to outperform in terms of its growth," Rees said during the company's ICR presentation. "When we first bought the company, we indicated we thought 2022 revenues will be between $700 million and $750 million, and now we're at $1 billion."

Croc's growth has been fueled by a number of growing trends that are particularly popular with Gen Z like customization.

"I think one of the most interesting things if you look at the younger consumer, they're really looking for a product that is different from everybody else but is the same as everybody else as well," Rees said. "So, if you can provide them opportunities to buy an iconic silhouette, but to personalize it specifically for them, we do that on the Crocs brand with our Jibbitz."

Rees also credits the company's record revenues to consumer trends accelerated by the pandemic that are still going strong like the shift toward more comfortable, casual footwear.

"These are not trends that are here today, gone tomorrow," Rees said. "These are trends that have driven the consumer purchase criteria for a number of years now, and we think will continue to do so for a good number of years into the future."