98,500 m2 facility to
support increased sales across Europe
SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX), a global lifestyle and
performance footwear company, announces the completion of the 4th
phase of an expansion to its European Distribution Center (EDC) in
Belgium by an additional 26,500 m2 to a total size of approximately
98,500 m2—making it the largest company-operated DC in southern
Belgium.
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SKECHERS European Distribution Center in
Liege, Belgium (Photo: Business Wire)
“To meet the increased demand, we are investing in our
infrastructure, including improved efficiencies in our European
Distribution Center, which allowed us to achieve a record 3 million
pairs shipped in a month during February and 8.1 million pairs for
the first quarter of 2016,” began David Weinberg, chief operating
officer and chief financial officer of SKECHERS. “With the
completion of our European Distribution Center expansion and with
the automation to be fully completed later this year, we expect to
be even more efficient in our largest market outside of the United
States and prepared for continued growth in Europe.”
In April, SKECHERS reported its highest first quarter net sales
in the Company's history of $978.8 million which was primarily the
result of a 47.1 percent increase in our international wholesale
business over the first quarter 2015. Demand for the SKECHERS brand
is at an all-time high across nearly every region where the Company
distributes its product and Europe in particular has seen strong
business with double digit net sales increases in the first quarter
for every subsidiary with a comparable period. Highlights include
Spain among the top three globally with gains on a percentage basis
and the United Kingdom and Germany having the largest dollar
gains.
“After outgrowing our storage capacity, we had to manage
overflow beyond our facility and this new building will allow us to
consolidate storage into the EDC and stabilize our logistics to
meet growing needs of the European market over the longer term,”
began Sophie Houtmeyers, SKECHERS EDC Vice President of
Distribution Operations. “This added storage capacity also opens up
space in one of our adjoining buildings for the installation of new
automation technologies that have improved efficiency elsewhere in
our facility. We expect these upgrades to be online by November of
this year and when combined with the expansion will prepare us for
the future.”
The SKECHERS EDC was opened in 2002 over a surface area of
22,500 m2. Continued growth of SKECHERS in the European market
resulted in an extension of the building in 2009 with 23,000 m2 of
additional space. In 2013, the volume of goods was four times
higher than in 2002. The facility expanded again in 2014 to 72,000
m2 and currently employs 250 full-time equivalent workers. Prior
automation technologies installed in Q1 2015 have increased
efficiency and additional automation upgrades will be operating by
the end of 2016. Over time it is expected that today’s announced
expansion to 98,500 m2 will lead to additional hires in both white
collar and blue collar positions as new capacity is utilized.
The EDC distributes product to SKECHERS’ subsidiary-managed
businesses throughout Europe including wholesale accounts, more
than 160 SKECHERS retail stores, e-commerce in the United Kingdom
and Germany, and to a lesser extent to the Company’s distribution
partners in the region.
SKECHERS also operates a 170,000 m2 LEED-Gold certified
distribution center in Rancho Belago, California that serves North
and South America, as well as additional smaller distribution
centers around the world.
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 1,410 SKECHERS retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce
website. The Company manages its international business through a
network of global distributors, joint venture partners
in Asia, and wholly-owned subsidiaries
in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan, Latin
America and throughout Europe. 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 quarter ended
March 31, 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/20160711005258/en/
SKECHERS USA, Inc.Jennifer ClayVP of Corporate
Communications310-937-1326jennc@skechers.com
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