Consumers have a love/hate relationship with Crocs clogs.
The clog has been on Time’s “50 Worst Inventions List,” called everything from “vermin” to just plain ugly, and lambasted on social media.
A Facebook page called “I don’t care how comfortable Crocs are, you look like a dumba–,” has more than 1.2 million fans, BusinessInsider.com reported.
Even so, Crocs may have the last laugh as its revenue hit $1.09 billion last year, jumping 6.3 percent over 2017 largely due to a loyal fan base.
CEO Andrew Rees plans to exploit that tension between lovers and haters in its marketing and through new partnerships.
“Our goal is not to make the haters love the brand. It’s to exploit that extrinsic tension because it creates opportunity, it creates PR, it creates media, it creates interest. It creates a whole lot that would cost you a fortune to buy in other ways,” he told Business Insider.
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A number of recent partnerships have exposed the brand to new audiences, including deals with Balenciaga, Christopher Kane, and rapper Post Malone who put their own spin on the clogs.
A goal for the brand is to maintain consistency in sales by avoiding large peaks and valleys through collaborations with a mix of brands. It wants to forgo momentary trends and develop new, more elegant looks for Clogs like the LiteRide and Reviva collections targeting Millennials between the ages of 21 and 34.
“We are baking in a lot more style than you’ve ever seen from Crocs,” said Michelle Poole, Crocs’ senior vice president of product and merchandising.
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