Crocs sales grow as coronavirus forces people indoors
Nearly half of humanity is facing some form of a lockdown, unable to go outdoors, as a coronavirus outbreak rages across the planet. People are now changing the way they dress, opting for more comfortable clothes such as sweatpants. With no use for fancier footwear, people are also apparently turning to Crocs. Reportedly, Crocs sales are booming in the United States.
According to the research firm NPD, overall shoe sales has fallen by 15% in the January-March 2020 quarter in the US. "As March came to a close," NPD's report noted, "categories aside from slippers that are relevant to life-at-home showed slight growth over the prior week, including sport slides, flip flops, hiking footwear, and mule/clogs—driven by the continued strength of Crocs."
Earlier in April, Beth Goldstein—NPD's fashion footwear and accessories industry analyst—tweeted saying that Crocs were the "only top brand in NPD's Retail Tracking Service to show growth for the month of March."
Although in-store retail fell by 9% compared to the January-March 2019 quarter, the total revenue of the oft-despised Crocs grew, according to Quartz. The fall in in-store retail was reportedly compensated by a 27% increase in wholesale sales and 14% from e-commerce. However, globally, Crocs sales have witnessed a slump in the first quarter of 2020 due to declining revenues from Asia.
Crocs has donated over 4.5 lakh pairs of footwear to frontline healthcare workers in the US, Quartz reported. Earlier in April, actor Priyanka Chopra announced her partnership with Crocs to donate 10,000 pairs to healthcare workers at the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Chopra said the brand will also donate 10,000 pairs to healthcare professionals in public/government hospitals across India.
