CNBC’s Jim Cramer sees footwear company Deckers Outdoor as a disruptive industry player that even big rivals like Nike should be worried about. “Nobody can touch them right now,” Cramer said Friday on “Squawk on the Street.” Deckers is the company behind the fashion brand UGG, running shoes Hoka, and others. Deckers reported a strong quarterly beat after Thursday’s close, sending shares more than 14.5% higher on Friday to an all-time high of nearly $1,037 each. The stock has gained more than 50% year to date — far better than the S & P 500 ‘s 11% advance over the same stretch. DECK YTD mountain DECK shares performance year-to-date. “It’s very rare that you have not one but two different shoes doing really well,” Cramer said, referring to UGG and Hoka. Those brands benefitted from high levels of full-price selling, which Cramer found impressive given many consumers today are looking for discounts. “You usually get some discounting — there’s no discounting going on.” He added, “UGG is an incredible brand. It just continues to have great, great numbers and great gross margins.” Management, however, provided a conservative outlook for fiscal 2025 — guiding to 10% revenue growth, which was in line with Wall Street expectations, but softer margins. Deckers’ growth this year has been better than Nike, which has seen fluctuating demand in the U.S. and a slowdown in growth in China. While Deckers’ sales are smaller than Nike’s, Cramer said that doesn’t mean Deckers’ brands are not viable competitors. “The people I know who work at Nike are not scared about Hoka because it’s not a big company,” Cramer said. “[But] I think you should be scared about anyone who has that level of momentum. The shoe business has historically been a momentum business.”
Nike should watch out with Hoka running shoes doing so well
