According to the Q2 2024 financial report released by American sports brand SKECHERS at the end of July, the brand's Q2 sales reached $2.16 billion (approximately RMB 15.668 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.2%; Calculated at a fixed exchange rate, the sales revenue reached 2.19 billion US dollars, an increase of 8.7% compared to the same period in 2023.
Looking at channels, in the second quarter, Skechers' direct to consumer business (DTC business) sales increased by 9.2% year-on-year; Wholesale sales increased by 5.5%.
Looking at different regions, Skechers achieved growth in all markets, with a 7% increase in the Americas market, a 14% increase in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) market, and a 2% increase in the Asia Pacific market. In the financial report, Skechers focused on the performance of the Chinese market: data shows that in the first half of 2024, the Chinese market achieved a sales growth of 8.2%.
Skechers China partner and CEO of Skechers China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, Chen Weili, said, "Skechers remains confident in the development potential of the Chinese market and will accelerate digital transformation to improve quality and efficiency in multiple dimensions such as retail, logistics, services, and research and development
From 2020 to 2023, Skechers' annual sales growth has remained relatively stable. In the context of more cautious overall consumption, industry giants such as Nike and Adidas have experienced periods of weak growth, which is particularly rare. Chen Xiaozhe, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Sales Operations at Skechers China, believes that Skechers' ability to grow against the trend in the Chinese market is largely due to the brand's differentiated management.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Skechers has made many changes in its brand and products, such as increasing investment in the sports field and establishing football and basketball divisions. Compared with top traditional sports brands, Skechers has differentiated its operations by upgrading its products around comfort technology, increasing investment, and upgrading its store image. "Chen Xiaozhe told Interface News.
Interface News noticed that Skechers has been intentionally emphasizing its positioning as a "comfort technology company" in its external promotion. In recent years, Skechers' flagship technologies such as Air Cool Memory Foam and Goga Mat have mainly been applied in leisure and daily commuting scenarios, distinguishing the brand's products from professional sports brands that follow a "hardcore" style.
While using comfort products to stabilize their base, American brands have also been exploring new areas in the past two years: the brand first signed its first top football star, English star Harry Kane, in August 2023, and later signed NBA players Randall and Mann to gain more exposure on the NBA court. In the Chinese market, Skechers has identified street dance and pickleball as two emerging sports, and has held consecutive B. events in China I. Multiple events such as the S International Street Dance Competition and the Pickball National Grand Prix.
It is worth mentioning that in July this year, Skechers opened its largest brand flagship store in the Asia Pacific region in Chengdu, Sichuan. By choosing Chengdu instead of the traditional Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen to open the largest brand flagship store in the Asia Pacific region, Skechers has sent a signal that it is more focused on second tier cities and lower tier markets.
In the future, Skechers' brand strategy will tilt more towards second tier cities such as Xi'an, Chengdu, Changsha, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Shenyang, etc. There are more than 300 prefecture level cities and over 2000 county-level cities in China, and the sinking market is a relatively blank market for Skechers, but also a huge opportunity. Skechers will work with strategic partners to explore it, "said Chen Xiaozhe.
According to Skechers' latest development plan, it is expected that by 2026, Skechers will achieve a global annual sales volume of 10 billion US dollars and an annual sales volume of 30 billion yuan in the Chinese market. To achieve this goal, Skechers needs greater room for growth. It is particularly important to explore new and lower tier markets beyond comfort products at this time.