Supply chain challenges and Chinese Covid lockdowns couldn’t stop Skechers. The Manhattan Beach, CA-based company reported record quarterly sales of $1.82 billion, a year-over-year increase of 26.8 percent for the first quarter ended Mar. 31, 2022. Wholesale sales grew 32.7 percent and DTC sales up 15.7 percent. By region, sales rose 31 percent in the Americas (driven by double-digit growth in the United States); 49 percent in EMEA (driven by strong growth across Europe); and 4 percent in APAC, led by 9 percent growth in China.
“As we mark our third decade in business, we couldn’t be more excited about our future. In the first quarter, we achieved a new quarterly sales record, delivered the most innovative, stylish and comfortable product yet and supported it with impactful marketing,” states Robert Greenberg, CEO. “Our position as the third largest footwear brand in the world is the result of exceptional global partnerships and the strong consumer demand for our products. To drive awareness, we began the year with two Skechers commercials airing around the Super Bowl featuring Willie Nelson, including one with his hit song ‘On the Road Again.’ We launched a new workout walking collection with two campaigns starring Brooke Burke and former NFL star Cris Carter, who joined our roster of legends, including Rusty Wallace, Tony Romo and Howie Long. We also launched Skechers campaigns featuring two powerful female brand ambassadors, Amanda Kloots and Martha Stewart. With a talented team determined to ensure our success, we believe our strategy of communicating the uniqueness of Skechers’ comfort technology, style, innovation and quality products globally will continue to deliver record sales in 2022.”
Adds John Vandemore, CFO: “The strength of our brand, coupled with our continued focus on investing and executing against our global growth strategy, gives us abundant confidence that achieving $10 billion in sales by 2026 remains both an achievable objective and valuable means to drive shareholder value.”
High times, indeed! Skechers reports Q1 record sales on
the heels of its Willie Nelson TV ad that lit up the Super Bowl.