Hey Dude has a new leader at the helm.
The Crocs Inc.-owned footwear brand on Tuesday announced the appointment of Terence Reilly as its new president, marking the executive’s return to Crocs Inc. Reilly previously served as Crocs Inc.’s chief marketing officer until he departed to the Stanley brand in 2020 to serve as its president.
The appointment marks the latest leadership shift at Crocs Inc., which announced in February that Crocs brand president Michelle Poole would retire in early May and be replaced by the company’s chief financial officer Anne Mehlman.
Reilly succeeds Rick Blackshaw, and will officially join the team on April 29. He will report to Crocs Inc. chief executive officer Andrew Rees.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming back Terence to the Crocs, Inc. family,” said Rees in a statement. “Terence has had tremendous success in creating and executing brand-building playbooks at both Stanley and Crocs by leveraging iconic product, scaling awareness, driving brand relevance and ultimately building communities. Having previously worked alongside him, I am confident he is the right person to lead the Hey Dude Brand into its next phase of growth.”
Reilly joins Hey Dude during a turnaround period for the brand, which was acquired by Crocs Inc. in 2022. After a few rough quarters, Crocs unveiled a new retail strategy for Hey Dude in November based off of the current one in place for the Crocs brand, which involves strengthening strategic wholesale partnerships in the family channel, sporting goods sector, mall-based specialty channel and larger regional chains. It also means exiting accounts with smaller and less essential wholesale partners.
Reilly said in a statement that he sees “significant opportunity to further drive awareness, desirability, and relevance to the Hey Dude Brand,” something he helped oversee at Stanley during the drinkware brand’s meteoric rise in the last few years.
In 2023, Hey Dude revenues increased 6 percent to $949 million, while wholesale revenues decreased 1.3 percent and DTC revenues increased 18.9 percent for the year. Hey Dude revenues in Q4 were $228 million, a decrease of 18.5 percent from the same period last year.
In the first quarter of 2024, the Hey Dude brand is expected to contract 20 percent to 23 percent compared to the same time last year. For the full year of 2024, revenues at the Hey Dude brand are expected to be flat to slightly up.
