SKECHERS Announces Preliminary Ruling in adidas Lawsuit
- Ruling Applies Only to Three Commercially Insignificant and Discontinued SKECHERS Styles
- There Will Be No Disruption to Skechers Business
- Skechers Plans to Appeal
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX), a global footwear leader and the second largest footwear brand in the United States, today announced that adidas obtained a preliminary injunction prohibiting Skechers from selling two already discontinued styles from its vast footwear collection and from using the word “Supernova” in connection with a third minor discontinued style.
“The Court’s ruling is preliminary, not final,” stated Michael Greenberg, President of Skechers. “Further, it involves only three minor and commercially insignificant Skechers styles that have already been discontinued, and does not create any disruption in our business or have any impact on sales whatsoever. While this is a non-issue from a commercial standpoint, we are disappointed in the ruling and fully intend to appeal it in order to ensure that our footwear designers retain the freedom to use common design elements that have long been in the public domain.”
In September 2015, adidas sued Skechers in federal district court in Portland, Oregon, alleging that two Skechers styles and use of the word Supernova infringed adidas’ intellectual property rights. adidas sought a preliminary injunction prohibiting Skechers from selling the shoes pending the final outcome of trial. The Court held a hearing in December 2015 and, despite the overwhelming evidence showing that the Skechers styles did not infringe adidas’ intellectual property rights and did not cause likelihood of confusion with adidas’ styles, the judge granted the injunction.
“Skechers is an ardent brander that goes out of its way to distinguish its products from those of its competitors,” continued Mr. Greenberg. “We believe that none of our styles infringe adidas’ intellectual property and that there is no likelihood that consumers who see the Skechers styles will be confused in the slightest. We believe the final outcome of this legal proceeding will vindicate our position.”
Skechers offers two distinct footwear categories across more than 3,000 styles: a lifestyle division which includes comfort-focused, trend-right product for men, women and kids, and the Skechers Performance Division which offers Skechers GOrun and Skechers GOwalk footwear.
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 1,340 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 13 wholly-owned subsidiaries in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan, Latin America 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 domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion and opening of new stores, the completion of the Company’s European distribution center, and advertising and marketing initiatives. 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 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015. 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
VP of Corporate
Communications
Jennc@skechers.com
Source: SKECHERS USA, Inc.
Released Feb 15, 2016 • 9:00 pm EST