Skechers posts 24.4% increase in Q4 sales

Global footwear brand Skechers has announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year, ending 31 December 2021. The results show a year-over-year sales increase of 24.4%, reaching a total of £1.21 billion ($1.65 billion).

Fourth quarter sales increased 24.4% as a result of a 9.8% increase in domestic sales and a 34% increase in international sales. Domestic and international growth was driven by increases in both wholesale and direct-to-consumer, with the largest improvement attributable to international wholesale.

Sales grew across all segments, with increases to domestic wholesale of 4.6%, international wholesale of 30.1%, and direct-to-consumer of 30.3%.

Operating expenses increased £88 million ($119.4 million), up 20.1%, whilst selling expenses increased by £17.8 million ($24.2 million), up 24.7% due to higher global advertising costs. General and administrative expenses also increased by £70.2 million ($95.2 million), primarily as a result of higher labor costs, increased warehouse and distribution expenses, and the settlement of multiple legal matters.

David Weinberg, Chief Operating Officer of Skechers, said: "2021 was an outstanding year, with four quarterly sales records, including fourth quarter sales of $1.65 billion, and a new full year sales milestone of $6.29 billion. Fourth quarter growth was driven by increases of 30% in both our International Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer businesses, and 5% in Domestic Wholesale. The improvement in Domestic Wholesale was especially notable in the fourth quarter as we worked to alleviate supply chain disruptions.

"We attribute our global growth to the broad based demand as consumers look to Skechers for its comfort, innovation, style and quality at a reasonable price. As the demand for Skechers remains strong, our focus continues to be on the health and safety of our team, managing both supply chain disruptions and elevated freight costs where possible, all while profitably driving growth in 2022.

Robert Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer of Skechers, added: "We believe our accomplishments in 2021, including several comfort-focused new product launches and the further expansion of our global footprint, position Skechers for continued growth toward our goal of $10 billion in sales.

"In 2022, we’ll be introducing more innovative and comfort technology product, developing multi-platform marketing campaigns with our growing roster of ambassadors including recently announced Amanda Kloots, and rolling out more Skechers e-commerce sites around the world. We are finalising plans to enter the metaverse, creating an entirely new opportunity for the Skechers brand. With our creativity, product, operational support and global reach, we expect 2022 to be another record year.”

Year-to-date sales increased 36.7%, reflecting a 33.4% increase in domestic sales and a 39.0% increase in international sales, with the largest contribution derived from International Wholesale growth. For the fiscal year 2022, Skechers has confirmed it will achieve sales between £5.1 billion ($7.0 billion) and £5.3 billion ($7.2 billion).