Terrence Riley may not be a household name, but he played a huge role in turning a product you probably already have in your home into a national phenomenon.
Riley is credited with making the Stanley Cup a necessity. Now, he's leaving Stanley to work his magic on another brand that already has a fairly high level of appeal to consumers: Heydude shoes.
It's a comeback of sorts for Riley. Crocs owns the Haydude brand, which is where Stanley originally hired him. His Marketing of Rubber Clog Shoes Due to his leadership, rubber clog shoes became a must-have for Gen Z and others for some time and received a huge response from social influencers. He will succeed Rick Blackshaw, who retired earlier this week, as Haydude's president.
“We are thrilled to welcome Terrence back to the Crocs family,” Crocs CEO Andrew Rees said in a statement. “At both Stanley and Crocs, Terrence creates and develops brand-building strategies by leveraging iconic products, expanding awareness, increasing brand relevance, and ultimately building community. …I am confident that he is the right person to lead the Haydude brand into its next phase of growth.”
Haydude shoes are lightweight and comfortable, but not very fashionable and have a following among some teens, but the brand hasn't really taken off as much as Crocs expected when it acquired it in 2021. I haven't. Sales increased 6% last year, compared to 6% the year before. This was less than half of Crocs' increase.
Reese acknowledged during an earnings call in February that the company had oversaturated the market with Heydude shoes in late 2022 and early 2023. Despite this, brand awareness remained at 32%, which Rees said was “low even by global brand standards”.
