MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Skechers is bringing a new leader into the footwear and apparel game by moving Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden from the sidelines to the spotlight. Coach Gruden will star in a national multi-platform men's marketing campaign for the global lifestyle and performance company launching later this year.
“After twenty-one years of professional coaching, another nine broadcasting, and now being back on the field in Las Vegas, I’m constantly on the move so comfort is always key, and no one does comfort better than Skechers—knock on wood if you’re with me!” said Jon Gruden. “I look forward to joining Tony Romo and Howie Long as part of this Skechers football family!”
“We’re always looking for fan favorites to represent our men’s collections and Jon Gruden, with his colorful personality, fits the bill,” added Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “From winning a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay to his weekly Gruden Grinder awards as a broadcaster, fans have been tuning into what Jon does and says for decades. We’re confident his signature leadership will fit seamlessly into our roster of sports celebrities and help convey the story of how our athletic and casual footwear and apparel delivers on style and comfort for men everywhere.”
After a few coaching roles at the collegiate level, Jon Gruden’s pro coaching career began in 1992 at age 28 when he was hired as special offensive assistant and later wide receiver coach with the Green Bay Packers. He then spent some time as Eagles offensive coordinator before becoming the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 1998. Gruden joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 and led the team to a Super Bowl win defeating his former Raiders. He left the team to join ESPN as Monday Night Football color analyst in 2009 but continues to hold the Buccaneers’ career coaching wins record (57). After nearly a decade in the broadcast booth, Gruden returned to the now Las Vegas Raiders as head coach in 2018.
Gruden is now part of a team of Skechers athletes and sports icons, which currently includes ace Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, former quarterback and broadcaster Tony Romo, former defensive end and broadcaster Howie Long, as well as boxer Sugar Ray Leonard. Through the years, Skechers has utilized sports icons when advertising its men’s collection with an alumni list featuring names like Joe Montana, Pete Rose, Mariano Rivera, David Ortiz, Ozzie Smith, Joe Namath, Ronnie Lott, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Fox, Wayne Gretzky, and the late Tommy Lasorda.
The range of Skechers men’s footwear and apparel collections are available in Skechers retail stores as well as skechers.com, plus department stores and footwear retailers around the globe.
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 3,770 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.
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 September 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.
