The story
Skechers was founded in 1992 by Robert Greenberg, who had previously founded LA Gear in 1983 (he stepped down as CEO of that company the same year he founded Skechers).
Greenberg sought to focus on men's street shoes; Skechers' early products were utility-style boots popular in grunge fashion. The firm quickly expanded to include women and children, with casual and athletic styles, and went public in 1999.
In 2011, it launched its performance sportswear line for athletes and signed Meb Keflezighi as a spokesman.
Skechers is the third largest footwear brand in the world by sales. In January 2019, the company started an expansion of its corporate headquarters to double its office, design and showroom space in the South Bay. In 2023, Skechers had its debut on the Fortune 500.
Litigation
In 2012, Skechers agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for $40 million based on a U.S. Federal Trade Commission complaint that it had misled customers with its Shape-Ups rocker bottom shoe advertisements.
In 2015, Adidas filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Skechers. Among the numerous infringements was the Skechers Onix, which was allegedly a copy of the Adidas Stan Smith. The parties reached a confidential settlement on May 30, 2018.
In 2019, Nike filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Skechers because, according to Nike, Skechers had infringed on the design of its VaporMax and Air Max 270 sneakers.
In 2024, Skechers filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Authentic Brands Group, claiming the Rockport Tristen Step Activated Slip On shoes infringe on Skechers' Slip Ins design patent.
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In 2025, Utah-based footwear company Kizik filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Skechers. According to the lawsuit, Kizik holds over 200 patents for shoes with a stabilizer for hands-free wear, and Skechers infringed on 7 of those patents with its Slip Ins.
In May 2026, a U.S. judge ordered Skechers to face a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the company of spamming consumers with misleading sales emails.
Skechers has tried to argue in court that it doesn't make sneakers, in order to avoid paying taxes in Massachusetts, but in July 2026 the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the appeals court ruling against the company.
Forced labor investigation
In 2021, French prosecutors launched an investigation into whether Skechers and other brands had concealed or profited from forced Uyghur labor. A December 2023 report by Sheffield Hallam University again found connections to forced Uyghur labor. Skechers has found no evidence of forced labor taking place. In September 2024, Skechers opened a store in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, amid criticism from the Worker Rights Consortium.
Privatization
On May 5, 2025, Skechers announced that it would be acquired by private equity firm 3G Capital. Following the closure of the transaction within the third quarter of that year, pending regulatory approval, Skechers would delist from the New York Stock Exchange and become a privately held company. The acquisition was finalized in September 2025.
From Wikipedia’s article on Skechers, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7