Sanuk, known for its flip-flops and sandals, has added closed-toe shoes and now its adding more sneaker options and a few stores as it looks to 2027.

Outdoor lifestyle shoe brand Sanuk is ready for the next phase of its turnaround strategy.

The brand, best known for flip-flops and sandals, was sold by Deckers Brands to Canadian active company Lolë Brands in August 2024.

Since then, the brand’s vice president and general manager Katie Pruitt has been busy rebuilding the wholesale connections and showcasing the brand and reestablishing roots in the surf and outdoor space. Along the way was a new office in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and a brand new assortment mix featuring new comfort materials, such as sandals in using its Yoga Mat and beaded foam Bubblecrush footbeds.

In the next phase of growth fir 2027, the brand is expanding in the lifestyle sneaker market and it plans to open at least three stores in the surrounding Manhattan Beach locale near company headquarters.

The brand has already been introducing new styles showcasing closed-toe silhouettes. According to Pruitt, the move to closed-toe shoes is the “brand building on the natural extensions of our sandals.” It’s a creative direction that she said “makes sense, and it’ll give us just a broader consumer opportunity, like more year-round relevance.” Not doing so and focusing just on sandals and flip-flops means the brand peaks in the spring-summer, and then see the business tapering off in the fall.

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