Skechers U.S.A. Inc. reported record fourth-quarter sales of $1.88 billion on Thursday, wrapping off a year of rapid expansion for the footwear company with double-digit annual sales growth.
The Los Angeles-based company reported that sales grew 13.5% for the three months that ended on December 31 due to growth in domestic sales of 22.3% and in international sales of 8.7%, driven by strength in wholesale sales. All segments saw growth, with direct-to-consumer gaining 10.8% and wholesale increasing 15.7%.
The biggest contribution came from wholesale sales, which accounted for the majority of the 18% growth in total sales, which were up 20% domestically and 16.6% overseas. Direct-to-consumer and wholesale both saw growth: 10.2% for direct-to-consumer and 23.2% for wholesale. The corporation reported $373 million in net earnings for the year.
The year 2022 was another important turning point for Skechers as we set a new annual sales record of $7.4 billion. Four consecutive quarters of record sales, including $1.88 billion in the fourth quarter, contributed to this gain of $1.1 billion, or 18%, over the previous year, according to Skechers’ chief operating officer David Weinberg.
“Growth in the fourth quarter was fueled by rises of 16% in wholesale and 11% in direct-to-consumer. The U.S., foreign distributors, Germany, India, Mexico, and Spain all had double-digit increase, which was the main driver of the wholesale performance. Domestic sales were the main factor in our direct-to-consumer business’s success.
“The growth within the quarter was largely offset by a 23% decline in our China sales, which were hit by Covid-related limitations, including the temporary closure of more than 1,000 Skechers stores in November.
With the recent repeal of the zero-Covid policy, the company predicted that its operations in China will grow during 2023.
“Furthermore, despite the fact that managing the inventory issues at our domestic distribution centre has been challenging, we are already witnessing improvements and are still confident in the power of our brand and the demand for our products. Strong year-end performance has us anticipating continued growth in 2023 “Weinberg tacked on.
