Crocs Lifts Full-Year Outlook as Heydude Returns to Growth; North America Push to Lean on Wholesale

Crocs Inc. raised its full-year revenue outlook on Thursday to about 3% growth from a prior 1% to 2% range, citing a strong third quarter across both brands. The company now expects Crocs to grow about 4% and Heydude to be roughly flat. In Q3, Crocs revenue rose 4.4% to $873 million and Heydude rose over 6% to $170 million. Total revenue climbed 4.6% past $1 billion, with direct-to-consumer sales up nearly 7% and wholesale up 1.8%. Gross margin expanded 770 basis points to 66.2%, ending four quarters of declines, while net income rose nearly 50% to $216.8 million. CEO Andrew Rees called the quarter "an important inflection for the Heydude brand," though he acknowledged the comparison was against weak prior-year results. He said North America expansion will rely on wholesale — up 14% — rather than new stores, describing it as "a more cost-effective way to reach our intended consumer." Crocs operated 75 Heydude stores as of the end of March, up from 54 a year earlier.