SKECHERS Launches Joint Venture in South Korea
November 10 2016 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE: SKX), a global leader in lifestyle and
performance footwear, today announced that the Company is
transitioning its business in South Korea from a third-party
distributor to a new joint venture with Luen Thai Enterprises. The
new Korean joint venture, SKECHERS Korea Co., Ltd., will enable
SKECHERS to use its proven sales and marketing strategies to
further expand the brand in one of our key international
markets.
“Skechers footwear has been available in South Korea for more
than 15 years. In that time, we have developed a great footprint
with a network of more than 55 Skechers stores and built the brand
through strong marketing campaigns, including utilizing the talents
of exceptionally popular endorsees like K-Pop stars Sistar and EXO
in Skechers marketing campaigns,” said David Weinberg, chief
operating officer and chief financial officer of SKECHERS. “With a
dedicated team from our previous distributor, LS Networks, and the
knowledge and acumen of our Skechers China team, we believe we can
profitably grow our business in South Korea and truly penetrate the
region with a strong presentation from our vast collection of
men’s, women’s and kids’ footwear.” LS Networks distributed
SKECHERS in South Korea from 2009 year to 2016.
“We’ve been very pleased with the consumer response to the
Skechers product in South Korea,” added Sung Hun “Scott” Lee,
previous Senior General Manager of Skechers' Korean distribution
partner and now president of SKECHERS Korea Co., Ltd. “Through my
time with LS Networks, I’ve seen firsthand how Skechers has grown
in Korea, most recently through the Skechers D’Lites craze that
started here in 2015 and spread through Asia and then around the
globe. Now as part of the Skechers global team and with key members
of my previous team transitioning with me, we’ll have the direct
resources, support and insight to really take the business to the
next level. The future is very bright for Skechers in South
Korea!”
“By forming a joint venture with Skechers that combines our
global expertise with their unique insight in this market we’ll be
able to more efficiently build the brand and more effectively
directly target merchandising to the unique tastes of consumers
across South Korea,” said Willie Tan, chief executive officer of
Skechers Asia joint ventures. “We expect this will strengthen our
business not only in South Korea but further synergize the business
across Asia.” Mr. Tan will provide oversight to ensure the
continuity of the region.
The network of SKECHERS retail locations in South Korea
currently includes 57 concept and outlet stores—13 of which are
owned by the Company. Consumers can also find the brand’s lifestyle
and performance footwear for men, women and kids in major retailers
throughout South Korea. Skechers Korea Co., Ltd. offices are
based in Seoul.
About SKECHERS USA, Inc.
SKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California,
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 160 countries and territories worldwide via department and
specialty stores, more than 1,710 SKECHERS Company-owned and
third-party 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 and the Middle
East, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, throughout
Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit
skechers.com and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/SKECHERS) and
Twitter (twitter.com/SKECHERSUSA).
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, the Company’s 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 and opening of new stores, the completion
of the expansion and upgrade of the Company’s European Distribution
Center, 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 uncertainty
of sustained recovery in Europe; entry into the highly competitive
performance footwear market; 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;
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 the Company’s annual
report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and its
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September
30, 2016. The risks included here are not exhaustive. The Company
operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment.
New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict
all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of
all such risk factors on their respective businesses 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.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161110005045/en/
US:SkechersJennifer Clay,
310-937-1326jennc@skechers.comorKorea:Skechers KoreaJae Beom
‘Ryan’ Shin82-2-799-7702jbshin@skecherskorea.co.kr
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