Crocs soar in popularity in Australia amid sales boom

They are colourful, slip-on plastic clogs that people love to hate, but Australians have bought so many that the makers of Crocs are planning to launch its newest shoe brand here.

Crocs are proving incredibly popular in Australia. Picture: Getty Images

Funky shoe brand Crocs – the colourful slip-on clogs hated by some and loved by many – is enjoying boomtime conditions in Australia with triple-digit growth making it one of the most successful countries for the US shoemaker.

And building on that success, the Colorado-based Crocs Inc is planning to launch its newest shoe brand Heydude in Australia, where it believes the Italian-created casual shoes can also strike it big.

Pop star Justin Bieber partnered with Crocs to launch his own line. Picture: Ryan Good for Crocs

Crocs chief executive Andrew Lees called out the booming Australian market in a recent investor update, revealing it was one of the US company’s fastest growth markets, with triple-digit sales growth easily outpacing growth in its home market.

“For the first half, our North American revenues grew 6 per cent against a broader market that was essentially flat. International revenue grew 22 per cent versus the prior year, supported by exceptional growth in China and Australia,” Mr Rees told US investors.

“International ... is a key driver of our growth and has been for the past couple of years.

“The fundamental thing that we’re doing there is penetrating underpenetrated markets, like in China, for example, like in Australia. We … saw exceptional growth in Australia.”

Brothers Benjamin and Oscar playing in their Crocs shoes.

Crocs will continue to invest in Australia to take ­advantage of the brand’s popularity.

The success of Crocs, embraced by Hollywood celebrities and pop stars such as John Cena and Justin Bieber, has also encouraged the company to quickly introduce its newly acquired shoe brand Heydude in Australia.

Heydude is one of the fastest-growing casual shoe brands in the US.

“We’re also introducing the Heydude brand in Australia this quarter and have plans to expand into select distributor markets in 2025. We’re planting a new flag in Australia. We think that’s going to be a nice market for Heydude.”

There are those who love Crocs and those who love to hate on them. When Barbie actress Ms Robbie swapped her Barbie high heels for comfortable Crocs on her publicity tour for the movie, it attracted plenty of attention and criticism.