Twice this past week, I've heard the phrase, "Wait, they sell Uggs for men?"
Yes. UGG sells products for men. (And Deckers Outdoor, which owns the brand, wants you to know that it's called UGG—singular in all-caps—not Uggs or UGGs or any other version.)
As my colleague Krystina Gustafson wrote before:
And after signing NFL quarterback Tom Brady to represent the company's men's product in 2010, the category's sales have risen 140 percent to account for 15 percent of the business-a number (Decker CEO Angel) Martinez thinks could rise to 20 percent. Although at first some men were "poo-pooing" the idea of UGG being a men's brand, Brady's role—as well as women who bought men's slippers for their significant others—jumpstarted sales.
While the company doesn't disclose its men's sales in specific on a yearly basis, it did say that of the brand's $1.3 billion in revenue last year, over 10 percent was on its men's products. They point out that it's more than just slippers—in fact, slippers are a minority of men's sales now, as loungewear and footwear have taken over in popularity.
Read MoreWhere Christmas is most loved—and hated—in the US
Speaking more to its growth, most of the men's loungewear is sold out on the UGG website heading into the Christmas holiday. The Colton loungewear pant is number one at Nordstrom, and footwear items like the Hannen, Munro and Leighton are selling well. So yes, now you know. Don't be surprised the next time you hear it. You don't have to buy them, but please just know they exist.
It might only get worse. The company forecasts a doubling of its men's business in the next five years. Come Christmas 2019, we'll know whether that prophecy turned out to be true or not.
