Retail  March 2, 2017

Crocs names new CEO, will shutter 160 stores

NIWOT — Crocs Inc., the Niwot-based shoe company, has named a new CEO and will close 160 retail stores as it seeks to recover from disappointing earnings and declining revenues.

Andrew Rees, who joined Crocs in June 2014 as president, will assume the newly combined role of president and CEO, June 1. Current CEO Gregg Ribatt will remain on the company’s board of directors.

“From an organizational and operational perspective, we have made significant progress over the past two years,” Crocs said in a press release. “This progress enables us to further streamline our organization and consolidate the roles of President and CEO.”

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Crocs lost $44.5 million in the fourth quarter, an improvement from the year-ago quarter, when the company lost $73.9 million. Revenue for the fourth quarter totaled $187.4 million, compared with $208.7 million the prior year.

For its full year, Crocs reported a loss of $31.7 million on revenue of $1.04 billion. Its full-year revenues reflected a decline of 4.7 percent.

“Our fourth quarter revenues were in line with our expectations while our adjusted gross margin rate improved by approximately 550 basis points versus prior year,” Ribatt said in a prepared statement.  “This gross margin gain was less than previously anticipated due to currency and channel mix fluctuations and also to certain one-time events, however we are still on track to achieve our medium-term target for gross margins in the low 50% range.”

Ribatt added that “disciplined inventory management practices enabled us to reduce year-end inventory levels by $21.2 million, or 13%, and to generate approximately $40 million of cash flow from operations during the year.”

Crocs store closures will be completed by the end of 2018. It’s unclear how many jobs will be affected. The closures represent about 28 percent of Crocs’ 558 stores.

NIWOT — Crocs Inc., the Niwot-based shoe company, has named a new CEO and will close 160 retail stores as it seeks to recover from disappointing earnings and declining revenues.

Andrew Rees, who joined Crocs in June 2014 as president, will assume the newly combined role of president and CEO, June 1. Current CEO Gregg Ribatt will remain on the company’s board of directors.

“From an organizational and operational perspective, we have made significant progress over the past two years,” Crocs said in a press release. “This progress enables us to further streamline our organization and consolidate the roles of President and…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
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