Skechers Surpasses $10 Million in Animal Welfare Donations
The Company celebrates the milestone with a year-long campaign to drive awareness, starting with a design scholarship that will help animals in need
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Skechers, The Comfort Technology Company™, announced that its philanthropic BOBS from Skechers division has donated more than $10 million since the program’s launch in 2015—funds that have helped save and support 1.9 million dogs and cats in need. To celebrate the milestone, Skechers is kicking off a year-long awareness campaign with the BOBS from Skechers Paws for a Cause Design Scholarship, which will give college creatives the opportunity to design styles that improve shelter animals’ lives.
Since 2015, the Company has donated more than $10 million—funds that have helped save and support 1.9 million shelter pets through animal welfare organizations. (Photo: Business Wire)
“This $10 million achievement is thanks to the passionate pet lovers who have been part of the BOBS story for the past eight years. They saw BOBS from Skechers as a positive, practical way to save lives—and their purchases have made a tremendous difference,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “Rising costs have created new challenges for animals in need and their organizations—but thanks to the community we’ve built together, we’re now in a position to do even more. From supporting shelters at home and abroad to funding flights that help pets reach their forever homes, BOBS will continue to find creative, ambitious ways to save millions.”
Over the past eight years, BOBS from Skechers has grown into a year-round movement—uplifting communities with round-up donations, vaccination events, check celebrations for organizations, and even animal transports to future homes. Through sales of BOBS footwear, apparel and accessories, the Company has funded pet adoptions to help save over 1.4 million dogs and cats, and has nurtured 450,000 more at nurseries, sanctuaries and medical care facilities. The brand supports Petco Love’s network of 4,000 animal welfare organizations in the United States and Canada, as well as rescue pets in the UK through Woodgreen Pets Charity and shelter animals in Japan through Alma.
Added Greenberg: “Our BOBS animal-themed prints have been at the heart of our message, inspiring pet lovers to wear and share our collections. We thought it would be wonderful to feature personal designs from young artists who have experienced firsthand how shelter pets change lives. The BOBS from Skechers Paws for a Cause Design Scholarship is a special way that students can use their creative talents to produce unique cat or dog prints that can help save animals across the country.”
The BOBS from Skechers Paws for a Cause Design Scholarship will give two students the opportunity to see their shoe designs produced and sold in the 2024 collection, and will provide $10,000 scholarships from the Skechers Foundation, one-on-one corporate mentorships and donations to local animal welfare organizations. Open to students at United States colleges and universities who will be enrolled in the 2024/2025 academic year, the BOBS from Skechers Paws for a Cause Design Scholarship will accept applications from September 1 through October 15, 2023.
BOBS from Skechers footwear, apparel and accessories are available online, at Skechers stores, and at department and specialty locations. For every specially marked BOBS from Skechers item purchased, a donation is made to support shelter pets and animal welfare organizations in the United States, Canada and select international markets. To learn more, follow BOBS from Skechers on Facebook and Instagram, or visit BOBSfromSkechers.com.
About SKECHERS U.S.A., Inc.
Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX), a Fortune 500® company based in Southern California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Collections from The Comfort Technology Company™ are available in over 180 countries and territories through department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through digital stores and over 4,700 Company- and third-party-owned physical retail stores. The Company manages its international business through a network of wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint venture partners, and distributors. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
About BOBS from Skechers
BOBS from Skechers’ charitable collection of shoes, apparel and accessories have improved animals’ lives: over the past eight years, Skechers has contributed more than $10 million to help 1.9 million shelter pets, including saving more than 1.4 million rescued animals in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Japan. It all started in 2011, when Skechers launched a movement to support children impacted by natural disasters and poverty—a cause that has helped the Company donate more than 16 million new pairs of shoes to kids in more than 60 countries worldwide. To learn more about BOBS from Skechers’ commitment to making a difference, visit BOBSfromSkechers.com and follow the brand on Facebook and Instagram.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, 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 may 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,” “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; delays or disruptions in our supply chain; international economic, political and market conditions including the effects of inflation and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations around the world, the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States and the impact of Russia’s war with Ukraine; 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, 2022 and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q in 2023. 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.
jennc@skechers.com
Lauren Weissman
R&CPMK
lauren.weissman@rcpmk.com
Source: Skechers U.S.A., Inc.
Released Aug 30, 2023 • 9:15 am EDT