Skechers U.S.A., Inc.

Who owns Skechers?
Skechers is majority-owned by 3G Capital, the Brazilian-American private equity firm that acquired the company in September 2025 in a deal valued at $9.42 billion. Robert Greenberg, who founded Skechers in 1992, retained a significant equity stake and continues as CEO. 3G Capital is known for its investments in consumer brands including Kraft Heinz, Burger King, and Tim Hortons.

Is Skechers publicly traded?
No. Skechers was publicly traded on NYSE under ticker SKX from 1999 until September 2025, when 3G Capital completed its acquisition. The company is now privately held and its shares no longer trade on any stock exchange. TD Cowen analyst John Kernan has suggested that Skechers may eventually return to public markets.

Who founded Skechers?
Skechers was founded in 1992 in Manhattan Beach, California, by Robert Greenberg. Greenberg had previously founded L.A. Gear, a popular athletic footwear brand of the 1980s. He launched Skechers with a focus on utility boots before expanding into comfort and lifestyle footwear. Greenberg remains CEO of the company.

Where is Skechers headquartered?
Skechers is headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, USA. The company has maintained its headquarters in Manhattan Beach since its founding in 1992 and continues to operate from that location following the 3G Capital acquisition.

How many brands does Skechers own?
Skechers operates as a single brand with multiple product lines rather than owning a portfolio of separate brands. Its key product lines include Arch Fit, Hands Free Slip-ins, Max Cushioning, Skechers Work, Skechers Kids, and Skechers Sport. The company sells products in more than 180 countries.

What is Skechers' revenue?
Skechers reported record annual revenue of $8.97 billion in fiscal year 2024, its last full year as a public company. In Q2 2025, the company reported net sales of $2.44 billion, a 13.1 percent increase year over year. Since going private in September 2025, Skechers no longer publishes quarterly financial results.

Where are Skechers shoes made?
Skechers shoes are primarily manufactured in China, Vietnam, and India through third-party manufacturing partners. The company does not own its own manufacturing facilities. This supply chain structure is common in the footwear industry but creates exposure to geopolitical risks, tariffs, and labor market conditions in those countries.

Skechers was founded in 1992 in Manhattan Beach, California, by Robert Greenberg. Greenberg had previously built L.A. Gear into one of the dominant athletic footwear brands of the 1980s before leaving that company. He launched Skechers with a focus on utility boots, a popular product category in the early 1990s. The company's name came from a slang term for a restless, energetic young person.

Within a few years, Skechers expanded beyond utility boots into casual and lifestyle footwear. The company developed a broad product range targeting children, teenagers, and adults. By the late 1990s, Skechers had established enough market traction to go public. The IPO on NYSE in 1999, under ticker SKX, raised capital to fund domestic and international expansion.

The 2000s were a period of significant growth but also controversy. Skechers gained market share through its focus on comfort and casual footwear, differentiating from Nike and Adidas by targeting consumers who wanted comfortable shoes rather than performance athletic gear. In 2009 and 2010, the company's Shape-ups toning shoes became a major commercial success. Shape-ups were marketed with claims that the curved-sole shoes could help wearers lose weight and tone muscles while walking.

Those marketing claims attracted regulatory attention. In 2012, Skechers paid $40 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it had made unsubstantiated health claims about Shape-ups and other toning shoes. The settlement was one of the largest in FTC history at the time. The company also faced class-action lawsuits related to the same product claims, which were resolved as part of the broader settlement.

Despite the Shape-ups setback, Skechers continued to grow through the 2010s. The company expanded internationally, building distribution networks across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Its core comfort footwear lines, particularly the Skechers Go Walk series, drove consistent revenue growth. Skechers surpassed New Balance, ASICS, and other established brands to become the third-largest footwear company in the world by revenue.

The company introduced Arch Fit technology in 2021, developed with input from podiatrists and based on arch support principles. Arch Fit became one of Skechers' most successful product lines. In 2022, the company launched Hands Free Slip-ins, a technology that allows wearers to step into shoes without using their hands. This product appealed to consumers with mobility limitations and to anyone seeking convenience in daily footwear.

Skechers reported record annual sales of $8.97 billion in fiscal year 2024. In the first quarter of 2025, the company reported net sales of $2.41 billion, a 7.1 percent increase year over year. In the second quarter of 2025, net sales reached $2.44 billion, up 13.1 percent from the prior year. The second quarter results beat analyst expectations, which had called for sales between $2.3 billion and $2.38 billion. Wholesale sales grew 15 percent in Q2, while direct-to-consumer sales grew 11 percent. By region, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa saw the biggest increase at 48.5 percent, while China sales decreased 8.2 percent.

In May 2025, Skechers announced the agreement to be acquired by 3G Capital. The deal valued the company at approximately $9.42 billion, or $63 per share in cash, representing a 28 percent premium to the stock's last closing price before the announcement. The Federal Trade Commission granted antitrust clearance in June 2025. A shareholder lawsuit attempted to block the transaction, claiming that Skechers executives did not provide adequate information about the merger. A California federal judge ruled against the investor in July 2025, allowing the deal to proceed. The shareholder group filed a motion to dismiss the case on August 8, 2025.

The transaction closed on September 12, 2025. Skechers shares were delisted from NYSE. Under the deal structure, shareholders could elect to receive either $63 per share in cash or $57 per share in cash plus one nontransferable equity unit in a newly formed parent entity. Robert and Michael Greenberg both remained with the company, and Skechers kept its headquarters in Manhattan Beach.

In April 2026, Skechers proposed a settlement of $65 per share to resolve remaining hedge fund litigation from investors who challenged the 3G Capital buyout price. The offer was $2 per share above what 3G Capital paid in the buyout.

Skechers publishes sustainability information through its corporate website and ESG reports. The company has made commitments related to responsible sourcing, waste reduction, and energy efficiency in its operations and supply chain.

Skechers is not a Certified B Corporation. The company does not have publicly verified carbon neutrality commitments or Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approval. Its sustainability efforts are primarily self-reported through corporate communications rather than independently certified.

As a footwear company manufacturing primarily in China, Vietnam, and India through third-party partners, Skechers faces supply chain scrutiny common to the footwear industry. Labor practices, environmental compliance, and working conditions at manufacturing facilities are ongoing concerns for all major footwear brands operating in these regions. Skechers has a supplier code of conduct and conducts audits of its manufacturing partners, though the company does not publish detailed audit results.

The most significant regulatory action against Skechers was the 2012 Federal Trade Commission settlement. Skechers paid $40 million to settle FTC charges that it made unsubstantiated health claims about its Shape-ups toning shoes, including claims that the shoes could help wearers lose weight and strengthen muscles. The settlement was one of the largest in FTC history at the time. The company also resolved related class-action litigation as part of the broader settlement. The matter is closed.

The 3G Capital acquisition generated shareholder litigation. Investors filed lawsuits claiming that Skechers executives did not provide adequate information about the proposed merger. A California federal judge ruled against an investor seeking to delay the closing in July 2025. The shareholder group subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the case on August 8, 2025. In April 2026, Skechers proposed a settlement of $65 per share to resolve remaining hedge fund litigation, $2 per share above the 3G Capital buyout price.

3G Capital's ownership has raised questions about potential cost-cutting measures. The firm's approach at Kraft Heinz and other portfolio companies has involved significant workforce reductions and operational consolidation. How this model will be applied at Skechers remains under discussion among retail industry analysts.