Dive Brief:
- U.K.-based shoe brand Clarks debuted its first Cloudsteppers store in the U.S. on Sunday in Corpus Christi, Texas, the company said in an email to Retail Dive.
- Cloudsteppers is expanding beyond footwear for the first time with apparel and accessories, including T-shirts, hoodies, socks, caps and bags. Next year, the collection will grow to include leggings and windbreakers. The brand is also introducing a mens category, with clothing and accessories launching this month and footwear coming in January.
- Clarks has opened two other Cloudsteppers stores in Malaysia and expects to launch over 10 new locations in the U.S. and Asia in 2026.
Dive Insight:
Though the Cloudsteppers flip-flop brand has sold more than 25 million pairs of its Breeze Sea shoes, Clarks wants to expand and transform the footwear line into a lifestyle brand.
The Cloudsteppers concept stores are designed to be calm, welcoming spaces that allow shoppers to explore its collections. The stand-alone Cloudsteppers experience is “a milestone we’re incredibly excited about,” Peter Quirke, Clarks vice president of Americas retail, said in a statement.
Clarks has been busy with other efforts at expansion and innovation. Last month, the company opened a reimagined store in London’s Tottenham Court Road, which Clarks said marked “a significant investment in the consumer experience.” The two-story space includes the company’s first Clarks Canvas retail concept, a contemporary environment meant to showcase the brand.
Earlier in 2025, the company debuted its first performance walking shoe, Clarks Pace, and Solevana, its recovery shoe.
In November 2020, Clarks announced plans to sell a majority stake in its company to LionRock Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, in a deal valued at about $131 million. By the spring of 2021, Viva Goods acquired a partial interest in Clarks. Now, Clarks, which was founded in 1825, stands alongside other brands in the Viva Goods portfolio, including Bossini, Testoni and LNG.