How Crocs and Stanley Veteran Terence Reilly Is Bringing His Brand-Building Playbook to Hey Dude
Terence Reilly is in it for the long-haul.
The executive may be new to the Crocs Inc.-owned Hey Dude brand, but he’s a veteran when it comes to nurturing icons and building brand equity. Prior to joining Hey Dude as president in April, Reilly served as Stanley brand’s president since 2020, where he oversaw the drinkware brand’s meteoric rise. And before that, he helped build the Crocs Classic clog into the clog company’s icon product during his tenure as Crocs Inc.’s chief marketing officer.
Now, Reilly is implementing his playbook at Hey Dude. And he’s going for longevity over short-lived hype.
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“Stanley had an incredible meteoric rise,” Reilly told FN in an interview. “I hope that we can do the same thing [at Hey Dude]. But it’s really about longterm success and having Hey Dude become one of the leading casual footwear brands in the world.”
Hey Dude has struggled through several quarters of sales declines since Crocs Inc acquired the brand in 2022. Earlier this month, Crocs Inc. reported that Q2 revenues for the Hey Dude brand decreased 17.5 percent to $198 million, which reflected declines in both DTC and wholesale channels. Hey Dude revenues for 2024 are expected to be down between 10 and 8 percent.
To build up the brand, Reilly is going back to the basics. He’s looking to drive awareness and relevance, starting with the brand’s most popular silhouettes: The Wally and Wendy.
“My job is to really icon the heck out of them and make sure that when you say ‘Hey Dude,’ you’re thinking of the Wendy and Wally,” Reilly said. “I like to tell the team [our goal is] to build the core and add more.”
In line with this goal, Hey Dude recently unveiled its “Comf” collection for fall, a comfort-focused upgrade to the Wendy and Wally silhouettes. Hey Dude celebrated the launch of the new collection at a product party in New York City on Wednesday evening, one example of how Reilly plans to bring Hey Dude to market via elevated experiences for consumers. On the wholesale side, Reilly is exiting some accounts with smaller and less essential partners and strengthening partnerships in the family channel, sporting goods sector, mall-based specialty channel and larger regional chains.
When it comes to marketing, Reilly is leading with Hey Dude’s comfort attributes. In addition to everyday use, he sees three unique arenas in which he believes Hey Dude can win: travel, pre and post athletics and music festivals.
“They’re so comfortable, stylish and they offer so many options for you on-the-go or at home,” Reilly said. “The vibe is just to take them anywhere. And that’s what we’re going to be sharing with consumers for years to come.”
Like its sister brand Crocs, Hey Dude is also pursuing collaboration opportunities with the right creatives and brands. But Reilly is intent on doing these things the “Hey Dude way.”
“They’re two separate brands with their own affinities and their own muses,” Reilly said. “Certainly there’s overlap from time to time, but we are Hey Dude, and Crocs is Crocs. And we’re both fortunate to be part of Crocs. Inc.”
