(Bloomberg) -- Crocs Inc.’s shares fell the most in more than a year after the seller of brightly colored plastic clogs tempered growth expectations and warned of sales declines for its casual HeyDude brand.
The company now expects 2024 sales growth of 3% — the low end of its prior guidance of 3% to 5%. Crocs’ casual sneaker and loafer brand, HeyDude, is hurting performance, with full-year sales seen falling nearly 15% from a year ago. That compares with previous guidance of a drop of 8% to 10%.
The stock declined as much as 19%, the biggest drop intraday since April 2023, in New York trading Tuesday. Crocs shares had gained 47% this year through Monday’s close, more than double the gain of the S&P 500 Index over the same period.
“HeyDude’s recent performance and the current operating environment are signaling it will take longer than we had initially planned for the brand to turn a corner,” said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Rees in a press release.
After a decade-long fallow period during the 2010s, Crocs regained relevance following a strategic move to target teens with endorsements from celebrities like Justin Bieber and Post Malone. Annual sales more than tripled over the last four years.
The shoemaker has run into trouble among schools across the US that are banning Crocs due to safety concerns and distractions. The company has said the school restrictions are “baffling.”
Croc’s overall sales in the third quarter, which includes the crucial back-to-school shopping period, rose 1.6% to $1.06 billion.
(Updates share trading)
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