Crocs changed their shoes in Russia
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The American manufacturer and seller of shoes Crocs has joined the list of foreign companies that have revised the scheme of work in the Russian Federation against the backdrop of hostilities in Ukraine. The management of the brand’s stores, closed since March, began to move to the new structure of the former head of Russian Crocs, Eric Petit. The scheme should allow to continue deliveries to the Russian Federation. A number of the brand’s stores have already reopened after shutting down in March.
Corporate stores of the Crocs shoe brand in Russia, which closed in March amid hostilities in Ukraine, are resuming work under the control of a new operator, Claire LLC, Kommersant drew attention. This company, in particular, took over the management of the facility in the Afimall shopping center in Moscow. It is already open, like, for example, a point in Metropolis.
Mail on the claire.shoes domain appeared in the contact details for vacancies in the profile of the Russian division of Crox CIA. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Claire LLC was established in Moscow in May 2022, the main owner with an 85% share is Eric Petit, who was the CEO of Crox CIA in 2008-2014. Another 15% of Claire is owned by Evgeny Tregubenko, co-owner of the legal RT-Group, which accompanies M&A transactions in Russia for foreign investors.
Eric Petit (originally a citizen of France, current status not specified) is well known in Russian retail and restaurant business. In the 2000s, he worked in senior positions at Merab Elashvili’s Brothers and Company, which developed the Sbarro network in the Russian Federation. Since 2014, he has been the head of the Russian representative office of Finnish clothing Reima (he stopped working in the Russian Federation in March).
A Kommersant source close to Crocs in Russia confirmed that it is planned to transfer the company’s local stores under the control of Claire, which should also work with partners who manage franchise outlets. Representatives of Claire and RT-Group Kommersant did not answer, Crocs head office did not comment. It was not possible to contact Crox CIA.
Crocs founded by Lyndon Hanson and George Baedeker Jr. in 2002 in Florida (USA). In 2021, the company’s global revenue grew by 67%, to $2.3 billion. The network has been present in the Russian Federation since 2008. According to Yandex.Maps, today there are about 85 outlets operating under the Crocs sign, including franchises. The revenue of Crox CIA in 2021 increased by 54%, to 4.63 billion rubles, net profit increased 2.2 times, to 1.48 billion rubles. In the reporting for the second quarter of 2022, Crocs estimated losses from closing a business in Russia at $5.8 million.
According to a Kommersant source, it is not planned to resume the work of the Crocs online store in the Russian Federation, which was closed in March, the products will be delivered through other online platforms. Ozon, Yandex.Market and Lamoda did not comment on the situation. A Kommersant source in one of the online stores confirmed that deliveries are ongoing. Sellers in one of the offline outlets are expecting a new batch of goods on August 23.
Dmitry Gabyshev, managing director of Peregrine Capital, believes that the American company could sell the Russian business on market terms, while retaining the option to buy it “under certain circumstances.” Such a scheme allows Crocs to resume deliveries to the Russian Federation, reducing the risks that, among other things, bears a direct presence, he explains. According to Franshiza.ru expert Anna Rozhdestvenskaya, if the supply issue is resolved, the new operator will try to keep the outlets operating under the franchise. Partner stores also need to keep the Crocs sign: the brand has a lot of cheap fakes, and the company sign guarantees the originality of the products.
The transfer of business to top management is the second most popular way for foreign companies to leave Russia, according to a study by Oks Labs. At the end of July, out of more than 50 closed deals, management acted as a buyer in about 30% of cases. For example, the French perfume brand L’Occitane did this with Russian stores, the Polish LPP, which owns the Reserved, Cropp, Mohito and Sinsay brands, transferred the stores to a company registered in the UAE and a top manager.
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