Dive Brief:
- In a new retail partnership, Foot Locker will begin selling HeyDude merchandise online and in 450 Foot Locker, Champs Sports and Kids Foot Locker locations in North America, according to an emailed announcement.
- After the initial rollout, the company plans to offer the brand in more locations, including in other countries.
- “As we strategically grow the HeyDude business, working with a trusted partner like Foot Locker, Inc. was the perfect fit given the retailer’s global footprint and vast community of next generation consumers,” Sean Finucane, HeyDude’s senior vice president and general manager of North America, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Foot Locker’s decision to add HeyDude’s merchandise comes as the company seeks to replace some of its former Nike inventory. In February 2022, the company said that the amount of Nike products would “decline meaningfully” as Nike shifted toward direct-to-consumer sales and away from its retail partners. At the time, Nike was Foot Locker’s largest supplier.
Following Nike’s shift away from wholesale, CEO Mary Dillon is continuing bringing more brands into its stores and ramping up the contribution from other suppliers.
“As a footwear brand whose values of style, comfort and accessibility in many ways matches that of our customers, HeyDude seamlessly fits into our growing product assortment for the whole family,” Chris Santaella, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer at Foot Locker, said in a statement.
While HeyDude helps Foot Locker expand its product assortment, the brand has accelerated growth at its parent company. Crocs announced plans to buy the brand at the end of 2021 in a $2.5 billion deal. After the acquisition, HeyDude changed its branding, including updated fonts, logos, color schemes and marketing strategy to connect with current and new customers.
So far, the deal has paid off for Crocs. In Q1 earnings reported last week, Crocs said HeyDude rose nearly 105% year over year to $235.4 million. Together, Crocs and HeyDude reached a record $3.6 billion in revenue in 2022, and Crocs aspires to make HeyDude a billion-dollar brand by next year.
“The HeyDude brand is gaining momentum and experienced outstanding DTC growth,” Crocs CEO Andrew Rees said in a statement regarding Q1 results.
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Tatiana Walk-Morris, Khareem Sudlow
