Skechers hit a new milestone in the first quarter of 2023 – hitting over $2 billion in quarterly sales for the first time. It marked a 10 percent increase over the same time last year.
The Los Angeles-based footwear company said that the gains were a result of “broad strength” in most markets globally, including regional sales improvements of 21 percent in both EMEA and APAC, which includes growth of 3 percent in China.
What’s more, net earnings in the first quarter were $160.4 million and diluted earnings per share were $1.02 compared with prior year net earnings of $121.2 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.77.
David Weinberg, chief operating officer of Skechers, said in a statement, pointed to the brand’s international direct-to-consumer business as the company’s main growth driver. “With an increase of 24.5 percent worldwide, direct-to-consumer performed particularly well due to the improved inventory availability in stores and strong demand for our fresh comfort product offering,” said Weinberg.
As for wholesale, Skechers reported sales in the segment grew 3.5 percent to $43.3 million, which includes a 20.1 percent increase in the EMEA region and a 24.1 percent gain in APAC, partially offset by a decrease of 13.2 percent in the Americas.
“With plans to reach $10 billion in annual sales by 2026, we couldn’t be more positive about the many meaningful growth opportunities we see ahead,” Weinberg said.
Skechers CEO Robert Greenberg added in the earnings release that none of the brand’s success would be possible without the global infrastructure and talented teams that we have in place.
“This year will bring challenges as certain markets wrestle with inventory backlogs, but I continue to believe that the trust and respect I have for this organization and the trust the consumers place in Skechers will result in another strong year for the brand,” Greenberg said.
Looking ahead, Skechers believes it will achieve sales between $1.85 billion and $1.90 billion and diluted earnings per share of between $0.40 and $0.50 in the second quarter. Further, the company believes that for the fiscal year 2023, it will achieve sales between $7.9 billion and $8.1 billion and diluted earnings per share of between $3.00 and $3.20.