3/06/12

Web sales continue a downhill trend in 2011 for Skechers

The fitness shoe manufacturer and retailer reports web sales fell 27%.

Lower prices on toning shoes and unmet domestic sales targets in the fourth quarter contributed to an overall sales decline in 2011 for Skechers Inc. The loss in sales online was particularly dramatic.

For the year ended Dec. 31, Skechers, No. 336 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, reported:

• Online sales were $20.1 million in 2011, a 27.2% decrease from $27.6 million in 2010.
• Total sales were $1.60 billion, down by about 20% from $2.01 billion.
• Net loss for 2011 was $67.5 million compared with net earnings of $136.1 million in 2010.
• E-commerce sales made up about 1% of total sales in 2011 and 2010.

For the fourth quarter:

• Skechers did not break out Q4 web sales in its annual report filed recently with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But based on earlier year-to-date sales, Internet Retailer calculates web sales in the fourth quarter declined 28.8%, to $4.7 million from $6.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.
• Total sales were $283.2 million, a 37.7% decrease from $454.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.
• Net loss was $57.7 million compared with net earnings of $3.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Based on the calculations above, the web accounted for 1.7% of total Q4 sales, compared with 1.5% of total sales in the prior year quarter below.

“Fourth quarter 2011 net sales were down 37.7%, which is attributable to a difficult comparison against a record fourth quarter 2010 that included higher-priced toning footwear, combined with lower than expected sales across many of our other Skechers footwear lines primarily in our domestic wholesale business,” says David Weinberg, chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

Skechers expects international expansion to pay off in 2012, led by efforts in Japan, says Robert Greenberg, CEO. “We are continuing to expand in key international markets, including the recent transition of our business in Japan from a third-party distributor to a wholly owned subsidiary,” Greenberg says.

The company sells its products in more than 100 countries and territories through a network of distributors, subsidiaries in Canada, Brazil, Chile, Japan and Europe, and through joint ventures in Asia.