MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the eighth time in the past 15 years, Skechers has been honored as Company of the Year by Footwear Plus. Along with the top honor for 2019, Skechers Kids received the Excellence in Children’s Design Award, the third such accolade from Footwear Plus that the Company has won for its popular kids’ styles, new collections and innovative technologies.
“2019 was a year of significant sales growth, brand milestones, product awards and achievements for Skechers, including delivering some of our best footwear collections for children,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “Through all of our active and casual looks, performance shoes, work offerings and cause-focused collections, our mission has always been to deliver style, innovation and comfort to the world—and it’s such an honor to be voted as Company of the Year by our industry, as well as earn an Excellence in Design Award for our children’s product.”
“Congratulations to Skechers on its Company of the Year and Children’s Plus Awards for 2019,” said Greg Dutter, editorial director of Footwear Plus, creators of the 21st annual industry accolades recognizing excellence in design and retail. “Despite stiff headwinds spanning tariff hikes to epic retail disruption, Skechers not only weathered the storm, it achieved record sales and growth. Skechers did what it does best: fire on all cylinders, driving growth through wholesale, DTC, brick-and-mortar and digital channels and hitting on key trends in men’s, women’s, and children’s categories ranging from performance athletic to the trendiest casual styles. Skechers has become synonymous with shoes, reflecting a brand width and familiarity that meets the masses.”
Throughout 2019, the brand’s vast product diversity and reputation as an industry disruptor was unparalleled. Skechers has become a coveted fashion brand, appearing on HypeBae and Fashion Week catwalks worldwide thanks to its iconic D’Lites, Energy, heritage products and high-profile collaborations. The Company won 25 awards last year alone, including plaudits for its Skechers GOrun Hyper and Skechers GO GOLF collections—performance technology that has helped elite athletes like golfers Brooke Henderson and Matt Kuchar and runner Ed Cheserek reach new career highs. Skechers has also expanded its international business to over 55 percent of its total sales, achieving growth in global regions around the world.
Skechers’ previous Footwear Plus awards include the Company of the Year Award in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2015, and Plus Awards for Design Excellence in 2000 for Young Women’s Fashion; 2001 for Women’s Streetwear; 2002 for Kids’ Fashion; 2005 and 2006 for Men’s Streetwear; 2013 for the Running and Children’s categories; 2014 for Running Design; 2015 for Athleisure; and 2016 for its Skechers Kids product.
Now the world’s third largest athletic lifestyle brand, Skechers offers a growing collection of footwear, apparel and accessories for every age and activity. In addition to the Company’s award-winning Skechers Kids collection, Skechers’ DNA spans fashion lines D’Lites and Skecher Street; core collections like Skechers Sport, Skechers USA and Modern Comfort; the philanthropic offering BOBS from Skechers; and performance innovations such as Skechers GOrun, Skechers GOwalk and Skechers GO GOLF. Many of the Company’s styles are infused with Skechers’ Air-Cooled Memory Foam insole technology, flexible knit and stretch fabrics, and comfort fits for every foot, including Arch Fit, Wide Fit and Relaxed Fit.
Celebrity product endorsees for Skechers’ collections include TV personality Brooke Burke; Dodgers’ ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw; football legends Tony Romo and Howie Long; and boxing icon Sugar Ray Leonard. The Company’s performance ambassadors include elite marathon champion and Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi; elite runner Ed Cheserek; and pro golfers Matt Kuchar, Brooke Henderson, Billy Andrade and Colin Montgomerie.
About Skechers USA, Inc.
Based in Manhattan Beach, California, Skechers (NYSE:SKX) designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear for men, women and children, as well as performance footwear for men and women. Skechers footwear is available in the United States and over 170 countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores, more than 3,300 Skechers Company-owned and third-party-owned retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce websites. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia, Israel and Mexico, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, India, and throughout Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Skechers’ future domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion, opening of new stores and additional expenditures, and advertising and marketing initiatives. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will result,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international economic, political and market conditions including the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers, especially in the highly competitive performance footwear market; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in Skechers’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2019. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and we cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or operations or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.
