Sugar Ray Leonard Enters the Ring for SKECHERS
Iconic Boxer Signs On to Appear in Global Relaxed Fit® Footwear Campaign
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX) is staging the ultimate comeback: signing boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard for a knockout campaign in SKECHERS’ popular Relaxed Fit collection. The legendary showdown will highlight the all-star fighter in a worldwide marketing campaign starting in Fall 2015 that will extend across all media through December 2016.
Sugar Ray Leonard signs on with SKECHERS (Photo: Deborah Wald and SKECHERS USA)
Leonard is the first boxer to lace up for Relaxed Fit footwear, whose marketing “Hall of Fame” currently includes Pete Rose, Joe Montana, Joe Namath and Ringo Starr. “I am looking forward to being a part of this campaign with SKECHERS,” said Sugar Ray Leonard. “I love going toe-to-toe with the best – and I’m ready to put on a pair of shoes as comfortable as Relaxed Fit and go a few rounds for this brand.”
“Sugar Ray is a natural media magnet: his charm and charisma have kept him on the air for more than 30 years as America’s boxing icon,” said Michael Greenberg, president of SKECHERS. “Now that he’s delivering blow-by-blow commentary on NBC Sports’ Premier Boxing Champions series, it’s the perfect time for millions to see his signature style in Relaxed Fit footwear. We’re excited to have a champ like Sugar Ray in our corner.”
Famed for his quick agility in the ring, Leonard won the gold medal in the light-welterweight class at Montreal’s 1976 Olympic Games. Known as “Boxer of the Decade” in the 1980’s, the International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee has won 36 out of 40 professional matches in his career along with numerous amateur titles, including three National Golden Gloves titles, two Amateur Athletic Union championships and the 1975 Pan-American Games crown. His defeat of Marvin Hagler for the World Boxing Council's middleweight title in 1987 is known as one of the greatest professional boxing matches in history. Leonard has always been devoted to the community and to helping those in need. He founded the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation to raise funds for research and awareness towards a cure for Type 1 diabetes and also participates in a variety of national and international causes benefiting children's charities.
Coming soon, baseball great Mariano Rivera will be featured in a SKECHERS Relaxed Fit footwear campaign. Previous SKECHERS men’s campaigns have featured Ronnie Lott, Tommy Lasorda, Mark Cuban, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Fox, Wayne Gretzky and Meb Keflezighi.
Known for fashionable designs, a roomier fit and a unique SKECHERS Memory Foam footbed for instant comfort, the Relaxed Fit from SKECHERS collection is available in SKECHERS retail stores as well as department stores and footwear retailers around the globe.
About SKECHERS USA, Inc.
SKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear for men, women and children, as well as performance footwear for men and women. SKECHERS footwear is available in the United States and over 120 countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores, more than 1,000 SKECHERS retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce website. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia, and 12 wholly-owned subsidiaries in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan and throughout Europe. For more information, please visit skechers.com and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/SKECHERS) and Twitter (twitter.com/SKECHERSUSA).
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company’s future growth, financial results and operations, its development of new products, future demand for its products and growth opportunities, its planned opening of new stores, advertising and marketing initiatives, and the expansion and automation plans for the Company’s European Distribution Center. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will result,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international economic, political and market conditions including the uncertainty of sustained recovery in Europe; entry into the highly competitive performance footwear market; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. The risks included here are not exhaustive. The Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of all such risk factors on their respective businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.
SKECHERS USA, Inc.
Jennifer Clay, 310-937-1326
Source: SKECHERS USA, Inc.
Released Apr 16, 2015 • 9:00 am EDT