Crocs‘ Terence Reilly is going to be busy creating brand heat for both the Crocs and Hey Dude brands.

Reilly, who rejoined Crocs in April 2024 as president for the Hey Dude brand, is now set to take over the newly created role of executive vice president and chief brand officer for both brands, effectively immediately.

According to the company, the former Crocs chief marketing officer — he left in 2020 to become president of the Stanley brand — will have both marketing and communications oversight for the two brands. He will continue to report to Crocs Inc. chief executive officer Andrew Rees, and will collaborate with both Anne Mehlman, executive vice president and brand president for Crocs, and the Hey Dude brand leadership team to drive strategy and execution. Rees will serve as interim president for the Hey Dude brand until a permanent structure is announced, the company said.

During Reilly’s tenure as brand president, he built a brand leadership bench that included bringing in Rupert Campbell as chief commercial officer and Kerstyn Chang as chief product and merchandising officer. Both Campbell and Chang will continue to drive forward the Hey Dude vision and will report to Rees.

“The power of the Crocs and Hey Dude brands is unlike anything I’ve seen in my 25-plus years of connecting with consumers and culture to drive lasting business results. We have two of the largest casual footwear brands in the world, loved by communities of passionate fans,” Reilly said. “While we have seen remarkable success over the last decade from Post Malone to Jelly Roll and so much in between, I believe we are just getting started.”

The collaboration between American rapper and singer Post Malone and Crocs began in 2018, while the first collaborative shoe between singer and songwriter Jelly Roll and Hey Dude was launched in October 2024. Crocs acquired the Hey Dude brand in 2022.

“Since Terence rejoined Crocs, Inc. in 2024, the Hey Dude brand has seen significant traction under his leadership. He has galvanized a team, sharpened the brand’s strategic focus and re-established authentic connections with our consumers. I am confident that the green shoots we are seeing today are building the foundation for sustainable long-term brand growth,” Rees said. “With Terence in this new role and in partnership with our proven leadership team, this shift will create an elevated focus on driving heat and energy for both our brands and spark disruptive innovation as we engage with our consumers and customers around the world.”

Reilly’s appointment as the firm’s chief brand officer comes at a time when growth in athleisure footwear is viewed as a period of opportunity for Crocs. UBS softlines analyst Jay Sole said in April that the global footwear industry has a compound annual growth rate of 5 percent to 6 percent, skewed to sports footwear. Athleisure is expected to drive the category, possibly at an annual 8 percent pace. And with other growth factors such as casualization and the focus on healthy lifestyles, Sole said the trend has extended to casual and comfort shoe styles, which he sees as a benefit to the Crocs brand.

The company on May 8 posted first quarter earnings results that bested Wall Street’s expectations. Net income was $160.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, on revenues of $937.3 million. Adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $3.00. Wall Street had expected adjusted diluted EPS of $2.49 on revenue of $907.9 million. While Crocs revenues were up 2.4 percent to $762 million, Hey Dude revenues were down 9.8 percent to $176 million.

During the company conference call after it posted earnings results, Rees said the Crocs brand was making progress in new product introductions, such as sandals. At Hey Dude, he said the team continued to make progress on “stabilizing the brand.”

Author Credits- Vicki M.Young
WWD