MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With 105,000 pairs of BOBS from Skechers donation clogs en route to Lebanon, Romania and Nicaragua, Skechers has now given more than 16,000,000 new pairs of shoes to children in need globally. Recent donations include footwear and other items to victims of the wildfires in the West, hurricanes in the South, and the port explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, as well as planned distributions to economically impacted communities in Greater Toronto, Chicago and New York City.
“At more than 16 million pairs donated, the BOBS from Skechers movement has provided needed footwear to children around the world for nearly a decade,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “This year, entire towns have been decimated in West Coast fires and Hurricane Laura in Louisiana, and families have lost their homes and possessions in the midst of a pandemic. Together with devastated cities like Beirut, it’s critical that we help individuals struggling during these challenging times.”
In partnership with Soles4Souls, Skechers has created multiple outlets for giving—sending the United Way more than 11,000 items such as new shoes, backpacks and socks for homeless families in Santa Cruz’s CZU August Lightning Complex fires in California and Almeda fires in Oregon, and providing more than a thousand pairs of shoes to those severely impacted in St. Charles, Louisiana for distribution through Good 360.
Skechers is also distributing donation shoes to Beirut’s children through nonprofit organization Ahla Fawda with Soles4Souls and Cisco, sending more than 52,000 new pairs to the city for arrival the last week of October. This year alone, the Company has partnered with numerous agencies to support affected communities in Europe, Canada, and Central America.
“Skechers has been a dedicated global partner for many years—and they’re committed to overcoming obstacles like Beirut’s destroyed port to supply goods to children in hard-to-reach areas,” said Buddy Teaster, CEO and president of Soles4Souls. “Their shoes offer a practical way to protect these children’s feet during their day-to-day lives and instill hope in them in a very difficult year.”
Through its BOBS from Skechers program and corporate efforts, the Company has given shoes, goods and monetary relief to victims in numerous natural disasters, including the 2018 California fires and Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, Irma and Maria. The BOBS from Skechers program donates new shoes to children in need in the United States and more than 60 countries worldwide through education foundations, homeless shelters, disaster relief, and 501(c)(3) organizations.
About Skechers USA, Inc.
Based in Manhattan Beach, California, Skechers (NYSE: SKX) designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The Company’s collections are available in the United States and over 170 countries and territories via department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through 3,615 Company- and third-party-owned retail stores and 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, Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
About Soles4Souls
Soles4Souls turns unwanted shoes and clothing into opportunity by keeping them from going to waste and putting them to good use: providing relief, creating jobs and empowering people to break the cycle of poverty. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the organization repurposes product to supply its micro-enterprise, disaster relief, and direct assistance programs. With locations and warehouses across three continents, Soles4Souls has been able to distribute more than 51 million pairs of shoes and pieces of clothing in 129 countries since 2006. Visit soles4souls.org for more information.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of 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 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 the disruption of business and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic; 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, 2019 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2020. More specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic has had and is currently having a significant impact on Skechers’ business, financial conditions, cash flow and results of operations. Forward-looking statements with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic include, without limitation, Skechers’ plans in response to this pandemic. At this time, there is significant uncertainty about the COVID-19 pandemic, including without limitation, (i) the duration and extent of the impact of the pandemic, (ii) governmental responses to the pandemic, including how such responses could impact Skechers’ business and operations, as well as the operations of its factories and other business partners, (iii) the effectiveness of Skechers’ actions taken in response to these risks, and (iv) Skechers’ ability to effectively and timely adjust its plans in response to the rapidly changing retail and economic environment. 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.
