Skechers Donates a Million Masks in Partnership With United Way of Greater Los Angeles and Charities
Masks Will Go to Communities in Need in the United States After Fans Dance to Hit Song “Skechers” by DripReport on TikTok—A Track Shared More Than a Billion Times to Date
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Skechers got the world dancing for a cause after dropping a TikTok dance challenge set to the track “Skechers” by DripReport that concluded with the lifestyle company donating one million masks to essential workers and communities in need. Skechers is partnering with the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and more charities across the country to deliver the masks directly to those who will most benefit.
Skechers face masks were distributed through United Way of Greater Los Angeles to Supplies Save Lives in July. Masks provided to first responders and homeless in Los Angeles were among the million in total donated by Skechers to communities in need across the United States. (Photo: Business Wire)
The one million masks, which are non-medical, triple-layer surgical style, will be donated to non-profit organizations that typically do not receive PPE from government institutions, with a focus on economic hardship. This includes community and public education centers, health and rehab outreach facilities, plus homeless shelters and food banks in the greater Los Angeles area as well as planned distributions in Chicago, New York City, Detroit and several cities in Florida and New Jersey.
“We’ve been watching TikTok become a driving force that’s keeping so many people connected during this difficult time,” said Robert Greenberg, CEO of Skechers. “After the viral success of DripReport’s ‘Skechers’ on the platform, I knew we had to transform the momentum into a give-back effort—one that ended up involving fans also giving back just by sharing a dance. It’s a beautiful thing, and we’re excited to be working with the United Way and all of our partners on donating a million masks, as we all make a difference together.”
“Throughout the pandemic, two things have flourished: creativity and care," said Elise Bulk, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. “It's heartwarming to see fans from around the world express themselves to raise awareness in concert with the charitable efforts of a local business with a global reach like Skechers. As case numbers increase across the Los Angeles area, United Way is proud to partner with Skechers, donating masks where they can protect front-line workers and the most vulnerable people in our community.”
The United Way of Greater Los Angeles will be distributing Skechers masks to shelters, clinics, community centers and food banks throughout the metropolitan region from San Gabriel to Long Beach over the next month. The remaining masks will be distributed to facilities in key vulnerable communities identified and supported by charity partners across the country.
The #MillionMaskChallenge campaign started with announcements by some of the most influential TikTokers including Addison Rae, Loren Gray, Spencer X, Maiko, Avani and the Croes Brothers among others with a combined following of more than 350 million. They asked their fans to create a video dancing to the hit viral track “Skechers” by DripReport, and for every “Skechers” dance shared, the Company agreed to donate up to a million Skechers face masks to essential workers and organizations within communities in need. A congratulatory video from the influencers can be seen here.
“From the start, I wanted to turn this moment into a movement,” said DripReport, who signed with Arista Records earlier this year for the official release of “Skechers”—his first original track. “Part of my goal with the track was to show you can make whatever you wear cool and share a message about self-confidence over material things. When I originally released ‘Skechers’ in January, the world was in a different place. After the track blew up, I love that Skechers and I succeeded in making it stand for so much more.”
The “Skechers” track by DripReport has been nothing short of a phenomenon. “Skechers” spent five weeks on top of the Spotify US Viral Chart—breaking a record set by Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” Rolling Stone declared it “the most-streamed song in history about…sneakers” and it went on to be shared more than a billion times on TikTok with millions creating and sharing their own dances. GRAMMY®-nominated rapper, singer and songwriter Tyga dropped his own remix of the track in May and DripReport also released his own remix with an animated music video that heavily features Skechers. DripReport first appeared as an Instagram page for sharing remixes of popular hip-hop songs, and eventually grew in popularity with hundreds of millions of views on YouTube and social media for his content.
About Skechers USA, Inc.
Based in Manhattan Beach, California, Skechers (NYSE: SKX) designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The Company’s collections are available in the United States and over 170 countries and territories via department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through 3,615 Company- and third-party-owned retail stores and e-commerce websites. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia, Israel and Mexico, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, India, Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
About United Way of Greater Los Angeles
United Way of Greater Los Angeles is a nonprofit organization fighting to end poverty by preparing students for high school graduation, college, and the workforce, housing our homeless neighbors, and guiding hard-working families towards economic mobility. United Way identifies the root causes of poverty and works strategically to solve them by building alliances across all sectors, funding targeted programs and advocating for change. For more information, visit UnitedWayLA.org and EveryoneInLA.org.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Skechers’ 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, opening of new stores and additional expenditures, 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 the disruption of business and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic; international economic, political and market conditions including the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States; 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, especially in the highly competitive performance footwear market; 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 Skechers’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2020. More specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic has had and is currently having a significant impact on Skechers’ business, financial conditions, cash flow and results of operations. Forward-looking statements with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic include, without limitation, Skechers’ plans in response to this pandemic. At this time, there is significant uncertainty about the COVID-19 pandemic, including without limitation, (i) the duration and extent of the impact of the pandemic, (ii) governmental responses to the pandemic, including how such responses could impact Skechers’ business and operations, as well as the operations of its factories and other business partners, (iii) the effectiveness of Skechers’ actions taken in response to these risks, and (iv) Skechers’ ability to effectively and timely adjust its plans in response to the rapidly changing retail and economic environment. Taking these and other risk factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, the dynamic nature of these circumstances means that what is stated in this press release could change at any time, and as a result, actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and we cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business 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.
Jennifer Clay
Skechers USA, Inc.
310.937.1326
Julie Cozort
United Way of Greater Los Angeles
jcozort@unitedwayla.org
Source: Skechers USA, Inc.
Released Aug 20, 2020 • 9:00 am EDT