Brand Management Veteran Andrew Rees Named President of Crocs Brand; CEO Search Continues

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May 13, 2014, 05:00 ET

NIWOT, Colo., May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) today announced consumer brand management expert Andrew Rees has been named President of the Crocs brand. Rees also will assume the role of principal executive officer until the company's search for a permanent chief executive officer is successfully concluded. Rees will report to the Crocs board of directors. He is expected to join the company officially on or about June 9^th.

Rees joins Crocs from LEK Consulting, a global management consulting firm with offices across Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. He founded and led LEK's retail and consumer products practice for 14 years, building the practice into one of LEK's major consulting areas.

Rees has extensive experience in the branded footwear arena with many well-known global brands. Previously, he held senior leadership positions at Reebok International, where he served as vice president of strategic planning and vice president of retail operations. He is a graduate of London University's Imperial College of Science and Technology.

"Andrew Rees is a proven leader in consumer products branding, marketing and retailing, with a long track record of business success," said Thomas J. Smach, Crocs chairman of the board and interim CEO. "Andrew has led the LEK team that has been working closely with us to help develop our strategic plan and we feel that he is best positioned to lead the Crocs' management team in executing that plan. Andrew will bring a strong focus and cohesive leadership to building our brand and driving profitable growth for Crocs across the globe. Our board believes strongly in the Crocs brand and, as demonstrated by this hire, we are committed to making the investments needed to thoughtfully and profitably grow the brand on a global basis. We welcome Andrew to the Crocs global leadership team during this time of transition, as we focus on improving returns for shareholders."

"Crocs is a powerful, exciting global footwear brand with highly differentiated products and tremendous upside potential," Rees said. "I look forward to working with the Crocs executive team, employees, distributors and our wholesale partners to accelerate the profitable growth of the Crocs brand and business around the world, as guided by an appropriate strategic plan."

"As previously stated, 2014 will be a significant transition period for the company," Smach added. "We started the year by closing a $200 million investment in Crocs by Blackstone, who partnered with us because they recognize the tremendous opportunity in the Crocs brand and global franchise, and believe our company has the infrastructure and products to enable continued growth across the wide range of geographies and channels through which we operate. We partnered with Blackstone because we believe their consumer and retail investing experience, coupled with their network of value-added resources, makes them a strong partner for Crocs.

"We have been buying back stock under our previously announced $350 million stock repurchase program," Smach continued, "and now we have taken an important next step in our transition plan by hiring a President who has global marketing, brand building and retail expertise in order to execute on our short-term and long-term priorities and strategic plans, which include a sharper strategic focus on more profitable top-line growth. Andrew's immediate focus will be on improving financial performance, particularly in the Americas and Japan, as well as enhancing our global retail execution. As we increasingly focus on profitable growth and retail excellence, we will moderate the pace of our investments in new retail stores; while remaining resolute on creating long-term value for Crocs shareholders."

"In the meantime, the board of directors continues our search for the right CEO candidate. I will step down as interim CEO when Andrew joins the company on June 9," Smach said. "We will not compromise our requirements on recruiting the right CEO, which we believe is one of the most important and impactful things our board can do for its employees and shareholders. We are committed to finding a CEO who has the deep industry, product and operational experience needed to take Crocs to the next level."

About Crocs, Inc.

Crocs, Inc. is a world leader in innovative casual footwear for men, women and children. Crocs offers several distinct shoe collections with more than 300 four-season footwear styles. All Crocs™ shoes feature Croslite™ material, a proprietary, revolutionary technology that gives each pair of shoes the soft, comfortable, lightweight, non-marking and odor-resistant qualities that Crocs fans know and love. Crocs fans "Get Crocs Inside" every pair of shoes, from the iconic clog to new sneakers, sandals, boots and heels. Since its inception in 2002, Crocs has sold more than 300 million pairs of shoes in more than 90 countries around the world.

Visit www.crocs.com for additional information.

The matters regarding the future discussed in this news release include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expectations relating to Mr. Rees, strategies, priorities, prospects, investments in our business and outlook. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: macroeconomic issues, including, but not limited to, the current global financial conditions; the effect of competition in our industry; our ability to effectively manage our future growth or declines in revenue; changing fashion trends; our ability to maintain and expand revenues and gross margin; our ability to accurately forecast consumer demand for our products; our ability to develop and sell new products; our ability to obtain and protect intellectual property rights; the effect of potential adverse currency exchange rate fluctuations and other international operating risks; our ability to open and operate additional retail locations; and other factors described in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K under the heading "Risk Factors" and our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are encouraged to review that section and all other disclosures appearing in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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SOURCE Crocs, Inc.