Skechers was founded in 1992 in Manhattan Beach, California by Robert Greenberg, who had previously founded L.A. Gear, a popular athletic footwear brand of the 1980s. Greenberg launched Skechers with a focus on utility boots, which were popular in the early 1990s. The company's name was inspired by a slang term for a restless, young person.
Skechers quickly expanded beyond utility boots into casual and lifestyle footwear, developing a broad product range that appealed to children, teenagers, and adults. The company went public on NYSE in 1999 under ticker SKX, raising capital to fund its expansion.
Skechers gained significant market share in the 2000s through its focus on comfort and casual footwear, differentiating from Nike and Adidas by targeting consumers who prioritized comfort over athletic performance. The company's Shape-ups toning shoes became a major commercial success in 2009 and 2010, though the product line later faced controversy regarding marketing claims.
Skechers paid $40 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges in 2012 that it had made unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of its Shape-ups and other toning shoes. The settlement was one of the largest in FTC history at the time.
Despite the Shape-ups controversy, Skechers continued to grow strongly through the 2010s, driven by its core comfort footwear lines and international expansion. The company became the third-largest footwear company in the world by revenue, surpassing New Balance, ASICS, and other established brands.
Skechers introduced its Arch Fit technology in 2021, which became one of the company's most successful product lines. The Hands Free Slip-ins technology, introduced in 2022, also became a major commercial success, appealing to consumers seeking convenient, easy-to-wear footwear.
For full-year 2024, Skechers reported record annual sales of $8.97 billion. In Q1 2025, the company reported record net sales of $2.41 billion, a 7.1% increase from the prior year.
In May 2025, Skechers announced it would be acquired by 3G Capital, the Brazilian-American private equity firm known for its investments in consumer brands including Anheuser-Busch InBev, Kraft Heinz, and Restaurant Brands International. The deal valued Skechers at approximately $9.4 billion. Robert Greenberg and the Greenberg family retained a stake in the company.