More People Are Buying Flip-flops as Havaianas Continues to Grow in Q3

Havaianas and Rothy’s parent company Alpargatas continued to see growth across the globe in its most recent earnings report.

On Monday, the Brazilian footwear firm reported net sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 increased 11.1 percent to 1.24 billion Brazilian reals, up from 1.12 billion Brazilian reals in the same time last year. Net income in the period increased 2.4 percent to 175.5 million Brazilian reals, up from 171.3 million Brazilian reals.

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By brand, the company said sales for Havaianas totaled 1.23 billion Brazilian reals, up 11.1 percent from 1.10 billion Brazilian reals a year ago. Havaianas Brazil saw net sales of 989.7 million Brazilian reals, up 13.5 percent from 872.1 million Brazilian reals, while the brand’s international arm saw net sales increase 2.3 percent to 235.6 million Brazilian reals, up from 230.3 million Brazilian reals.

The company noted that Havaianas’ growth in the third quarter reflects an 8 percent increase in pairs sold, totaling 55 million pairs in its home country of Brazil and 5.6 million across its international operations.

Looking closer at the United States, the company noted that Havaianas’ transition to a new business model continues to “progress well.” In the quarter, sales volume reached 1.0 million pairs, up 82 percent versus the third quarter of fiscal 2025, bringing the nine-month total to 2.7 million pairs, a record for the U.S. operation for the period.

Sell-through in the U.S. in Q3, which represents sales from the distributor to retailers, has been tracking sell-in, with no inventory build-up across the channel. Commercial performance and operating efficiency gains resulted in the segment’s first-ever positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in a third quarter, the company noted.

As for Rothy’s, Alpargatas said that the brand posted net sales of $50.9 million, up 12.3 percent versus $45.3 million the same time last year, driven by the opening of 7 new owned stores in the quarter as well as growth in its wholesale channel. Rothy’s now has 40 owned stores as of Sept. 30., up from 33 in the third quarter of fiscal 2025.

Net income in the period for Rothy’s totaled a loss of $2.6 million, with a negative net margin of 5.1 percent, down 3.5 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Alpargatas chief executive officer Liel Miranda told analysts on the company’s third quarter earnings call that Q3 shows that “all of our geographies are ready to keep growing and increase our participation in all of our priority markets where we operate in.”

“When we look internationally, all geographies show growth,” Miranda said. “Europe continues to have a good performance since last year and growing again in this quarter, 17 percent in the first nine months of 2026. In the United States geography, we already see results in the growth in sell-in and sell-through, which is the sales of our distributor to its clients. And in the distribution market, which goes from Latin America to Asia and Africa, we saw a recovery.”

The CEO also noted that the company has focused on developing its portfolio and expanding its offering of men’s and kids’ styles at Havaianas.

Looking ahead, Miranda said that Alpargatas will focus on continuing to gain market share in Brazil for Havaianas. “We have been gaining market share in the grocery channel,” he explained. “We have been gaining volume in the specialized channel. And this is long-term work. As for the international business, the main priority in 2027 is to have one more year of expansion and growth to make the brand increasingly more relevant.”

Miranda said he wants Havaianas to be “increasingly more relevant” in the European summer, and as for the U.S., he wants the brand to keep growing its distribution next year.

“[The U.S. store growth is] probably not going to be the same speed of doubling, but we will keep increasing the number of doors and more importantly, to increase the revenue per store where we are in, right, already with better execution and more visibility to the brand,” the CEO noted.

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