This episode of Magic Markets is brought to you by data and process automation specialists B2IT. The company makes robots so that people don’t have to be robots. If you hate it, automate it by visiting the B2IT website.

In this episode of Magic Markets, we dug in the back of our cupboards for the shoes we are too embarrassed to wear. Perhaps we just aren’t fashionable enough, as there are many celebrities wearing Birkenstocks. As for Crocs, there are few who would put those on a pedestal for beautiful design.

Moe covered Crocs in this show, starting with a recap of some of the points we covered when issuing our Magic Markets Premium report on Crocs some time ago. As much as we can joke about the shoes, they do a solid job of selling them – along with accessories as well. Revenue guidance for 2024 is muted though, particularly in the Hey Dudes brand.

Ghost took on the responsibility of Birkenstock, which executed its IPO just a few months ago. It was a disaster initially but has subsequently recovered. When you dig into the numbers, you find quite an astonishing story and many strategic similarities to some of Nike’s best recent decisions. The valuation is huge and the share price has been volatile, but the underlying business has an exceptional track record.

Of the two ugly shoe contenders, which one is a buy? And does Birkenstock make a decent case for itself to be covered in Magic Markets Premium at some stage? Listen to this podcast to find out.

If you enjoy learning about the strategies used by global companies, then you’ll love Magic Markets Premium with a library of over 110 reports and podcasts with even more detail and depth. You can get access to all our work for just R99/month at this link.