SKECHERS PERFORMANCE DIVISION SIGNS ON AS SPONSOR OF HOUSTON MARATHON
HOUSTON, TX – June 19, 2013 – SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX) today announced a multi-year partnership with the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. under which the Skechers Performance Division will become the official footwear and apparel sponsor for the Chevron Houston Marathon.
As part of the agreement, the Skechers Performance Division will have a high- visibility presence at all race events including the annual Houston Marathon EXPO. The Company will also exclusively design, distribute and sell products featuring the Chevron Houston Marathon logo. This includes outfitting course volunteers with branded merchandise and providing the finishers’ shirts for runners.
“This partnership further solidifies our position as a major player in the performance footwear business,” began Michael Greenberg, president of SKECHERS. “Since launching the Skechers Performance Division in 2011, our award-winning innovative footwear has been embraced by the media, elite runners like Meb, and casual fans of the sport. The exposure created via this sponsorship is a huge opportunity to engage with runners as we continue to develop the next generation performance products on our Skechers GO platform.”
As one of the most decorated distance runners in U.S. history, Meb’s career highlights include 2004 Olympic medalist, 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials champion and fastest American marathon runner at the London Olympics. He helped open lottery registration for the 2014 Chevron Houston Marathon during a National Running Day Event held on June 5. Meb, who competes wearing his signature Skechers GOrun speed footwear, led a 3-mile fun run at the event.
“Houston is where I earned a PR and the chance to represent the United States in London,” began Meb, who provides expert insight by testing and consulting on the design of Skechers Performance running shoes. “I ran that race wearing Skechers Performance shoes so it’s perfect that this great footwear company is now partnered with a key city in my career.”
“We’re extremely thrilled to welcome the Skechers Performance Division to our team,” added Steven Karpas, managing director for the Houston Marathon Committee. “Skechers shares our vision and is totally committed to ensuring that Chevron Houston Race Weekend is a can’t miss event on the running circuit for years to come.”
The first Skechers Performance appearance as sponsor will be at the Chevron Houston Marathon’s annual “Run for a Reason” Kickoff Party on Saturday, June 29. The brand will operate a booth at the annual event for visitors to experience its running footwear.
Skechers Performance footwear for men and women is available in sporting goods, department and specialty athletic stores around the world. Learn more at skechersperformance.com and follow the Skechers Performance Division on Facebook (facebook.com/SkechersPerformance) and Twitter (twitter.com/skechersGO).
About the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc.
Established in 1972, the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. (HMC), a Running USA Founding Member, annually organizes the nation’s premier winter marathon, half- marathon, and 5K. Over 250,000 participants, volunteers and spectators make Chevron Houston Marathon Race Day the largest single day sporting event in Houston. Race Weekend generates over $50 million in economic impact for the region annually. In 2013, the Run For a Reason Charity Program raised $2.2 million and the HMC garnered Gold Certification from the Council of Responsible Sport for industry-leading sustainability initiatives. Host to 12 U.S. Half Marathon Championships since 2005 and the 1992 women’s Olympic Trials Marathon, HMC conducted the nationally-televised 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, which featured men and women competing on the same course simultaneously for the first time, vying for the chance to represent Team USA at the 2012 Olympic Games.
For more information, visit www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com or call 713.957.3453.
ABOUT SKECHERS USA, INC.
SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE: SKX), based in Manhattan Beach, California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of footwear for men, women and children under the SKECHERS name. SKECHERS footwear is available in the United States via department and specialty stores, Company-owned SKECHERS retail stores and its e- commerce website, and over 100 countries and territories through the Company’s global network of distributors and subsidiaries in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan, and across Europe, as well as through joint ventures in Asia.
For more information, please visit www.skechers.com, and follow us on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/SKECHERS) and Twitter (twitter.com/SKECHERSUSA).
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or simply state future results, performance or achievements, and 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 resignation of the Company’s former independent registered public accounting firm, and its withdrawal of its audit reports with respect to certain of the Company’s historical financial statements; international, national and local general economic, political and market conditions including the ongoing global economic slowdown and market instability; 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, 2012 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2013. 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.
