Global lifestyle brand to become "Official Footwear Company"
of the prominent pickleball organizations
NEW
YORK, May 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Intersport
and the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) Tour,
USA Pickleball and Major League
Pickleball (MLP), the nation's elite professional pickleball
circuits, have entered into multi-year agreements with Skechers
that makes the global lifestyle brand the Official Footwear Company
of each pickleball organization.
A formal announcement was made Thursday at the Franklin New York
City Open, the APP Tour event that is taking place this weekend at
the historic Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing
Meadows, home of the legendary US Open tennis tournament.
"We are very excited to welcome Skechers into the APP Tour,
USA Pickleball and MLP families,
and we look forward to a long and successful partnership," said
Drew Russell, executive vice
president of Intersport, an equity partner of the APP Tour and
collaborative partner of USA
Pickleball and MLP. "Their commitment to pickleball is another
demonstration of the sport's incredible power and growth. We are
excited to align with a fantastic brand that will drive new
audiences to our wonderful game."
"We introduced Skechers Pickleball footwear just last month in
Florida and received an
overwhelmingly positive response with our first pairs quickly
selling out at the event," said Michael Greenberg, president
of Skechers. "People are clearly excited to play in our new
Skechers Viper Court with the signature comfort, performance and
innovation that they know and love from Skechers. That's why
we're fully committed to this fun and exciting sport and driving
that point home through an expansive triple partnership with the
APP Tour, MLP and USA
Pickleball. We look forward to helping promote and grow the
sport together, and along with it this new pillar in our
business."
About SKECHERS USA,
Inc.
Skechers USA,
Inc. (NYSE:SKX), The Comfort Technology Company™ based
in Southern California, 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 over 180 countries and
territories through department and specialty stores, and direct to
consumers through digital stores and 4,308 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, Twitter,
and TikTok.
About Intersport
Since 1985, Intersport has been an
award-winning innovator and leader in the creation of sports,
lifestyle, culinary and entertainment-based marketing platforms.
With expertise in Sponsorship Consulting, Experiential Marketing,
Hospitality, Customer Engagement, Content Marketing,
Productions and Sports Properties, this Chicago-based Marketing & Media Solutions
Company helps their clients to create ideas, content and
experiences that attract and engage passionate audiences. To learn
more about Intersport, visit www.intersport.global, like us
on Facebook or follow us
on Twitter and Instagram.
About the APP Tour
Founded in 2019, the Association of
Pickleball Professionals (APP) serves amateurs, professionals, and
senior professionals in one of the fastest growing sports in the
country. It is the first and only officially sanctioned tour of
USA Pickleball. The APP also
prides itself on developing the next generation of champions
through its Next Gen Series and other youth initiatives. For more
information on the APP Tour, visit www.apptour.org.
About USA
Pickleball
USA Pickleball
is a non-profit organization established in 2005 to further the
sport's advancement in critical areas. As the National Governing
Body, USA Pickleball promotes the
growth of pickleball by maintaining playing rules, sanctioning
tournaments, setting player ratings and providing grassroots
support through a network of 2,000 ambassadors. Since 2013,
USA Pickleball membership has
grown 1,350% to nearly 60,000. For more information, visit
www.usapickleball.org.
About Major League Pickleball
Major League Pickleball (MLP) is the elite professional pickleball
competition that sees teams of two women and two men compete in a
unique format that set new standards in the fastest growing sport
in America. MLP's first-ever event, which took place in
November 2021, raised the bar for pro
pickleball, introducing broadcast and event production innovations
that earned MLP the title "Event of the Year" by The Dink. In
addition to MLP's goal to create engaging new platforms to showcase
the best professional female and male pickleball players worldwide,
MLP is also focused on helping build the grassroots of the sport,
attracting both new participants and fans to pickleball in the
USA and worldwide. For more
information on Major League Pickleball, go to
www.MajorLeaguePickleball.net and follow Major League Pickleball on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube.
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 challenging consumer retail markets in
the United States and the impact
of Russia's recent invasion of
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, 2021 and its quarterly
report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2022. 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.
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SOURCE Intersport Inc