“2021 was an outstanding year, with four quarterly sales records, including fourth quarter sales of 1.65 billion US dollars, and a new full year sales milestone of 6.29 billion US dollars (…) 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”, commented David Weinberg, Chief Operating Officer of Skechers.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, sales grew by 24.4%, totalling 1.6 billion US dollars, as a result of an increase by 9.8% in domestic sales and a rise by 34.0% in international sales, on a comparable basis to the same period of 2020. On a constant currency basis, the company’s total sales increased by 24.5%.

In the three months to the 31^st of December, sales improved across all segments, as compared to similar period of the prior year. Domestic wholesale revenue increased by  4.6% thanks to higher unit sales volume and higher average selling prices. International wholesale growth of 34.1% was driven by an increase of 123.5% in distributor sales, by 61.3% in Europe and by 8.6% in China. Direct-to-Consumer sales rose by 30.3% as result of an increase across domestic and international retail stores, which, in turn, were driven by double-digit increase in the average selling price stemming from reduced promotions and higher prices. Direct-to-Consumer comparable same store sales increased by 31.1%, driven by an increase of 15.2% domestically and of 35.5% internationally.

Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2021 corresponded to 48.6%. Net earnings in the period totalled 402.4 million US dollars and diluted earnings per share were 2.56 US dollars.

Full Year Results

In the financial year 2021, sales grew by 36.7%, reaching 6.3 billion US dollars, reflecting an increase of 33.4% in domestic sales and of 39.0% in international sales, on a comparable basis to fiscal 2020. On a constant currency basis, Skechers’ total sales increased by  33.7%.

In the twelve months of 2021, sales improved across all segments, as compared to similar period in the prior year. Domestic wholesale revenue grew by 27.6% due to higher unit sales volume. International wholesale recorded growth of 34.0% thanks to the performances in China (up by 35.0%) and in Europe (up by 23.6%). Direct-to-Consumer sales increased by 50.2%, as the impact of COVID-19 continued to ease, propelled by higher units sold and higher average selling prices. Direct-to-Consumer comparable same store sales increased by 38.0%, driven by an increase of 39.5% domestically and of 34.1% internationally.

Gross margin increased 170 basis points over the period to 49.3% thanks to higher average selling prices in direct-to-consumer sales, partially offset by declines in international wholesale and domestic wholesale, due to higher average costs per unit. Net earnings totalled 741.5 million US dollars and diluted earnings per share were 4.73 US dollars.

Outlook for 2022

Skechers is expecting to achieve sales between 1.67 billion US dollars and 1.73 billion US  and diluted earnings per share of between 0.70 US dollars and 0.75 US dollars in the first quarter of 2022. For the fiscal year, it is forecasting sales between 7.0 billion US dollars and 7.2 billion US dollars and diluted earnings per share of between 2.70 US dollars and 2.90 US dollars.