Terence Reilly clearly likes a challenge.
Up until recently, Reilly was president of Stanley Brand, where he rocked the retail world by taking the company’s 111-year-old brand’s Quencher cup and turning it into a must-have item that went viral.
“It’s an iconic brand, an iconic product, but there was a big opportunity to reposition the brand and appeal to new consumers, and that’s just what we set out to do in 2020,” Reilly said in an interview last year on CreatorIQ’s Earned podcast.
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The Stanley craze went completely bananas when a TikToker shared a video of her burned car and displayed her Stanley cup, which survived the flames and still had ice in it.
Reilly’s reaction? Make a video where he offered to replace the woman’s cup–and her vehicle.
And that’s just what happened, a move that spread across the internet like wildfire–you should pardon the expression.
“My old boss used to say ‘scared money don’t make money’ and there’s some truth to that,” Reilly said, acknowledging the importance of risk-taking. “You don’t want to be careless and the response to the car video wasn’t careless; it was care, actually.”
His gesture’s effect on the brand was “phenomenal,” Reilly said.
An analyst reactions to Croc’s quarterly results.
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And now, Reilly, a self-described “knucklehead from New Jersey,” has returned to his old company, Crocs (CROX) , where he worked from 2013 to 2020 in various marketing positions, including chief marketing officer.
Reilly said he had “a fantastic experience at Crocs where I helped (CEO) Andrew Rees turn Crocs around, and I like to think I had a hand in reshaping the brand.”
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The brand reshaping included reaching out to celebrity fans of Crocs.
In November 2018, Crocs launched Post Malone’s first brand collaboration, which sold out within minutes. The company went on to form partnerships with big names such as Luke Combs, Bad Bunny, and Justin Bieber.
“It was no longer a joke of a brand,” Reilly said.
Reilly’s turnaround experience will be handy for the company as he is the president of the Hey Dude brand, an Italian casual footwear company that Crocs bought in 2022 for $2.5 billion in cash and stock.
“I see significant opportunity to further drive awareness, desirability, and relevance to the Hey Dude Brand and will work together with the team to build a durable, profitable growth brand over time,” Reilly said in an April 16 statement.
Rees told analysts during the company’s earnings call that “we are thrilled to be welcoming back Terence Reilly to our Crocs family.”
“In addition to providing global leadership perspectives,” Reese said, “he has a proven track record of creating and executing ground-breaking playbooks by leveraging iconic products, driving brand relevance, and ultimately building communities.”
Crocs reported first-quarter results on Tuesday, and while the Broomfield, Colo.-based company beat Wall Street’s forecasts, shares fell following weak guidance for HeyDude.
The company reported an adjusted income of $3.02 per share, beating the FactSet consensus of $2.25 a share.
Revenue totaled $938.6 million, up from $884.2 million a year ago, beating the FactSet consensus for $884 million.
Analyst sees upside to the second quarter
Crocs revenue rose 14.6% to $744 million in the quarter, while Hey Dude’s revenue fell 17.2% to $195 million.
The company expects the second quarter’s revenue to rise by 1% to 3% and the Crocs brand to grow by 7% to 9%.
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Meanwhile, Hey Dude is forecast to contract by 19% to 17%. The earnings are expected to range from $3.40 to $3.55 per share. FactSet is expecting Crocs to earn $3.48
Crocs said it now expects Hey Dude revenues to decline between 10% and 8% for the full year, down from its prior outlook of between flat and slightly up for the year.
“While our near-term plans for Hey Dude are taking longer to play out, our record Q1’s performance, led by Crocs, showcases the diversification of our portfolio and enabled us to raise our earnings per share outlook for the year,” Rees said.
In a statement, Rees said, “We are confident in the long-term opportunity for the Hey Dude brand and are excited to welcome a new Hey Dude President to fully unlock its future potential.”
Baird analyst Jonathan Komp raised the firm’s price target on Crocs to $190 from $160 and kept an outperform rating on the shares. The firm also added Crocs as a “Bullish Fresh Pick” through August.
The company’s first-quarter results were mixed with a beat on “encouraging” Crocs brand strength, but also lower annual guidance for Hey Dude following a softer April, the analyst told investors in a research note.
While “disappointed” by another Hey Dude “reset,” Komp said that he believes the second half of 2024 plans now look reasonable.
He added that he sees room for upside to the second quarter and 2024 earnings estimates.
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