![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/YKXB3RALNNGBRIEVYXLVAKMRPI.jpg?auth=cbd8753cd81b1945bdd57970b8a741848fd318d6c1170d60d17acb0488a2a6ce&quality=80&width=830\")
<\/p>\nHari Mari, the breezy flip-flop brand, is getting more traction in the footwear industry. After getting nods in trend-setting publications GQ and Oprah Daily, the Dallas-based company is looking at another year of triple-digit growth in its wholesale business and an expanding product line that could push its reach even further. The company\u2019s key wholesale business, which serves retailers, is growing about 115% this year, according to co-founder Lila Stewart.<\/p>\n
Hari Mari isn\u2019t a fledgling upstart, but a company with a history that goes back to a founding more than a decade ago with the idea that customers in the broader Southeast need more attention \u2014 and that flip-flops aren\u2019t just for Californians and the surfer culture, even if that meant taking on some entrenched brands. The husband-and-wife team of Jeremy and Lila Stewart started Hari Mari after living for three years in Jakarta, Indonesia. The company\u2019s name comes from Hari, which means \u201cof the sun\u201d in Indonesian, and Mari, which means \u201cof the sea\u201d in Latin.<\/p>\n
Fans rave about the stylish and colorful flip-flops, which often sell for around $70 to $125 a pair, for their comfortable soles and straps. It\u2019s an approach that\u2019s showing results. The wholesale growth comes after an expansion of about 30% in recent years. It plans to match last year\u2019s growth rate again in 2026, Lila Stewart said. In addition, the company is preparing for another 115% increase in 2026 from an inventory perspective, Stewart said. GQ rated the Hari Mari Fields leather sandals as the best overall flip-flops for men in July, and earlier this year, the company grabbed the best flip-flop designation in the \u201csupportive sandals\u201d category from Oprah Daily.<\/p>\n
Hari Mari co-founders Lila and Jeremy Stewart pose for a portrait inside their office space on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025 in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Getting more people to find the brand has been a key effort at Hari Mari, just as it is for any burgeoning brand. Earlier this year, the company rolled out its first national television advertising campaign after the investment last year. That included advertisements on the SEC Network, which includes the University of Texas, the University of Georgia and the University of Tennessee. It put marketing spots on more home and garden programming as well. \u201cThe great thing about flip-flops \u2014 we call it a sticky product,\u201d said Jeremy Stewart, co-founder. \u201cSo like guys, specifically, if you try something and like it, you\u2019re probably gonna stick with it for the rest of your life, just because we\u2019re kind of creatures of habit. But it\u2019s really getting them to try (products) for the first time is the big, big challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hari Mari \u2014 which also has been hiring influencers to spread the word \u2014 has landed more retailers and stores for its footwear. In roughly the past year, the company has added Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods with about 150 stores while Nordstrom went nationwide on the men\u2019s side \u2014 and it\u2019s getting a bump with women as well. Free People and Scheels also are new retailers, and REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) is set for 2026. While retail is part of the wholesale business, e-commerce is the smaller piece of the company. Still, it\u2019s expected to grow at about 12.5% this year compared to about 10% last year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Inside Hari Mari office space, on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025 in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Still, like many companies in the U.S., Hari Mari is grappling with tariffs, as China is where the company makes its products. \u201cChina has been consistent and on time,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cThe quality is there.\u201d The company recently increased prices on its footwear by about 10% to 15%. That came after, generally speaking, no price hikes for about three years, Stewart said, while noting that some competitors had been increasing their price tags. Yet early on, the company had not seen a change in demand for its footwear, she said.<\/p>\n
While Hari Mari is known for flip-flops, it\u2019s been seeing growing interest in closed-toe shoes with soft exteriors and fuzzy interiors that pit it against players such as Ugg and Birkenstock. Hari Mari had about 10 slipper styles last year, and when it launches the new collection this month, it will have nearly doubled the assortment. \u201cWe\u2019re adding to it, and it\u2019s going to be a pretty significant category for us,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cThe market\u2019s just wanting something new and fresh in the slipper space \u2026 It\u2019s kind of in the same family as a flip-flop. It\u2019s casual. It\u2019s comfortable, and (it) also allows us to sell something in Q4, which is also important from a revenue standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Introduction to Hari Mari Hari Mari, the breezy flip-flop brand, is getting more traction in the footwear industry. After getting nods in trend-setting publications GQ and Oprah Daily, the Dallas-based company is looking at another year of triple-digit growth in its wholesale business and an expanding product line that could push its reach even further. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-shopping"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/VNZ435ACDVBOLACXDSNSCBBFGA.jpg?auth=7bcb2b9335c84e6b26e4cd4a9e8afafb7278d0fff1f579e0d1f1d7dfbf8bacd8&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12875"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12875"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12878,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12875\/revisions\/12878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}