Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

I’ve often tried to find something redeeming about Crocs clogs. Anything at all.

But, nada.

From the stubby design to the hard, plasticky material, it’s one of those things I don’t want to be caught dead wearing. And don’t even get me started on the signature holes that have inspired several knockoffs.

All of these would still be mildly acceptable if the clogs didn’t cost what they do. But they retail for Rs 2,000-6,000 (US$25-73) a pair in India. This isn’t buyer’s-remorse-for-a-whole-month kind of pricing, but it’s certainly not cheap in the Indian context.

And sure, Crocs also makes shoes, sandals, and slides. But to many of its fans, Crocs = clogs.

Until a few years ago, though, the 21-year-old American brand didn’t even have that many fans in India. Despite being sold in the market since 2007, it wasn’t really going places. For the year ended March 2015, for instance, Crocs India’s revenue was a measly Rs 75 crore (US$9.2 million).

But it’s been a different story ever since.

That very same year, Crocs roped in footwear retailer Metro Brands as a franchisee. And by the year ended March 2020, the brand’s topline had risen 3.5X to Rs 260 crore ($32 million). The pandemic did affect its offline sales, but this was a time when clothes and shoes were all about comfort, so Crocs managed to end the following year with a 30% fall in its revenue—in line with the kind of decline Nike and Adidas reported in India.

But the story of Crocs in India isn’t just about what Metro has done for the brand. It’s also about what Crocs has meant for Metro.

Because the rise of Crocs is among the key reasons why Metro, which went public in December 2021, is already India’s most valuable footwear retailer with a market capitalisation of Rs 23,000 crore (US$2.8 billion).

Crocs is $2.8B Metro Brands’ unlikely secret sauce

Metro is a name you instantly associate with Oxfords, loafers, and sandals, and not so much with trainers or clogs.

But Crocs is more than an afterthought for Metro.

The retailer sells Crocs both in its eponymous flagship stores and exclusive brand outlets. In the former, the kaleidoscopic Crocs collection stands in sharp contrast to the largely black and brown shades of Metro’s other brands.

Crocs brought in 17% of Metro’s revenue in the year ended March 2021—2X the share three years earlier, according to a recent report by brokerage Ambit Capital.

While the figure for the year ended March 2022 is not available, it’s bound to have inched up. That’s because Crocs stores are second only to the flagship brand in Metro’s overall store count of ~670 as of September. Metro also has stores for brands such as Mochi, Walkway, and Fitflop.