LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following its commitment to pickleball by sponsoring every major tour in North America, Skechers, The Comfort Technology Company™, has expanded its reach in the fast-growing sport by signing two of the top-ranked players in the UK—Thaddea Lock and Louis Laville. The elite athletes will be making their official debut in Skechers Pickleball footwear and Skechers branded apparel today, August 3rd, as they compete at the English OPEN in Telford, where Skechers is also the Official Footwear Sponsor.
“I’m extremely honoured to be joining the Skechers family as one of their first UK pickleball ambassadors,” said Thaddea Lock. “It’s exciting to work with a brand whose values align so closely with mine as I’m passionate about bringing pickleball to all walks of life. The Skechers pickleball shoes are the most comfortable and best fitting court shoes I have ever worn, and they allow me to maximise my performance. I can’t wait to help grow the sport and brand in the UK as part of the Skechers team.”
“After meeting the Skechers team at the US Open this year, I tried the Skechers Viper Court Pro shoes and never went back,” said Louis Laville. “They are hands down the most comfortable and supportive pickleball shoes I have ever played in, and I am looking forward to representing the brand and contributing to the growth of Skechers Pickleball and the sport overall across the UK and Europe.”
“What a way to launch Skechers Pickleball in the UK, first as official sponsors of upcoming national tournaments, and now also by having top-ranked players on our roster as ambassadors competing in Skechers Pickleball footwear,” said Richard Parker, managing director for Skechers in the UK and Ireland. “Both Thaddea and Louis bring an elite level of passion, commitment and talent to their game and will no doubt leverage their success to this category, presenting Skechers pickleball as the go-to brand for comfort and reliability on the court to fans everywhere.”
Lock and Laville join Skechers pickleball ambassadors Tyson McGuffin, ranked number 5 globally, and Catherine Parenteau, also ranked fifth in the world, who have been officially competing in Skechers pickleball footwear since 2022.
Thaddea Lock is the number one British female player and four-time gold medalist at the 2021 and 2022 English Nationals—winning the women’s singles, women’s doubles, MLP team event in 2022 and the split age team event in 2021. Further titles include triple crowns at the Spanish Open in 2021, Scottish Open in 2019 and English Open in 2019. She was recently awarded the Finnish Touring Paddle for players who work hard to grow the sport across Europe and is an IPTPA level 2 pickleball coach.
Louis Laville has been playing pickleball professionally for more than five years and is ranked men’s number one in Europe. He’s also the reigning National and European Champion—winning 34 professional gold medals across men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles. Having completed his coaching qualification in 2019, Laville is committed to training other athletes and enthusiasts to further grow the sport.
Last month Skechers signed on as the Official Footwear sponsor of Pickleball England’s English OPEN which begins this Thursday, August 3 at the Telford International Centre in Shropshire, as well as the English Nationals set for October 26 through 29 at the Bolton Arena in greater Manchester. Since introducing Skechers Viper Court footwear at the US Open Pickleball Championships in Florida in 2022, Skechers has dominated the sport by sponsoring every major tour and organization in North America including USA Pickleball, Major League Pickleball, the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) Tour, the Carvana Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour, and the Pickleball Canada National Championship.
Skechers pickleball footwear brings Skechers’ signature comfort innovations to the court. The Skechers Viper Court provides responsive performance in a breathable, lightweight design. The enhanced grip and stability of the Goodyear® rubber outsole paired with a shock-absorbing Arch Fit® insole deliver comfort and support, match after match. The Skechers Viper Court Pro™ is a lighter and faster high-performance pickleball shoe designed and suitable for everyday players looking for stability and a secure platform in their game. Styles in the Skechers pickleball footwear collection are available at Skechers retail stores and skechers.co.uk, as well as key retail partners and specialty shops.
About SKECHERS USA Ltd. and SKECHERS U.S.A., Inc.
Skechers USA Ltd. is a subsidiary of Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX), a Fortune 500® company based in Southern California. Skechers designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Collections from The Comfort Technology Company™ are available in over 180 countries and territories through department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through digital stores and over 4,500 Company- and third-party-owned physical retail stores. The Company manages its international business through a network of wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint venture partners, and distributors. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Pickleball England
Pickleball England is a not-for-profit organisation founded to support the growth of Pickleball in England. It was launched on 2nd January 2019 and already has over 4,400 registered members. Pickleball England has met the criteria to be recognised by Sport England and has submitted its application. In 2010, three Pickleball clubs were set up in the UK and were set up by people who had seen or experienced the game in the USA and wanted to introduce it to the UK. It is now estimated that there are circa 10,000 players and over 350 venues in the UK. Head to www.pickleballengland.org and use the ‘Club Locator’ feature to find your nearest location and begin your journey.
About Goodyear
Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 57 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may 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,” “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 the disruption of business and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic; delays or disruptions in our supply chain; international economic, political and market conditions including the effects of inflation and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations around the world, the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States and the impact of Russia’s war with Ukraine; 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, 2022 and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q in 2023. Taking these and other risk factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, the dynamic nature of these circumstances means that what is stated in this press release could change at any time, and as a result, actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. 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 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.
