Dive Brief:
- Crocs Inc. announced Tuesday that Terence Reilly will become the new president of the company’s Heydude brand on April 29. Reilly was previously the chief marketing officer at Crocs and is rejoining the company after serving as president of the Stanley Brand. Under his leadership, Reilly turned the 111-year-old brand’s Quencher cup into a must-have item that went viral.
- Reilly will report to Crocs CEO Andrew Rees. He succeeds Rick Blackshaw, who held the role for about two and a half years and is leaving the company, effective immediately.
- Crocs closed on its $2.5 billion acquisition of Heydude in 2022. In February, Crocs Inc. said it reached record annual revenue of nearly $4 billion, with Heydude’s full-year revenue rising 6% to $949 million.
Dive Insight:
Heydude sold 33 million pairs of shoes in 2023. The brand generated more than $200 million in operating income last year. Five Heydude outlet stores opened last year.
"I see significant opportunity to further drive awareness, desirability, and relevance to the Heydude brand and will work together with the team to build a durable, profitable growth brand over time,” Reilly said in a statement.
He has more than 25 years of global marketing and operational experience. He assumed leadership at Stanley in 2020 and created the strategy that drove the brand's resurgence, Crocs said in its announcement. Reilly served in various roles in Crocs’ marketing department, including as its chief marketing officer, from 2013 to 2020.
Rees said during the February earnings call that Crocs will continue working to drive higher awareness for Heydude through multiple paths, including developing a pipeline of collaborations and brand activations. Crocs Inc. products are sold wholesale and direct-to-consumer globally.
“Terence has had tremendous success in creating and executing brand-building playbooks at both Stanley and Crocs by leveraging iconic product, scaling awareness, driving brand relevance and ultimately building communities,” Rees said in a statement. “Having previously worked alongside him, I am confident he is the right person to lead the Heydude brand into its next phase of growth.”
According to a regulatory filing, Blackshaw’s severance package includes one year of base compensation — about $675,000 — stock and benefits, and outplacement assistance. Neither the announcement nor the regulatory filings offer details on his exit from the company. However, Rees said in a statement that “Rick was instrumental in building and professionalizing the Heydude team and scaling the brand domestically. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
