Careers at Skechers

Mission

To be a global leader in the performance and lifestyle footwear industry

History

Founded by Robert Greenberg in 1992, Skechers is the second-largest athletic footwear brand in the United States. The company headquarters is located in Manhattan Beach, California and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the sign SKX. Prior to founding Skechers, Greenberg had founded another shoe company that went public in the 1980s when the aerobics obsession was in full swing. Prior to founding Skechers, Greenberg had already established an entrepreneurial track record. The son of a grocery store owner in Boston, Greenberg tried his hands at a number of businesses including denim, wigs and roller skates in his younger years.

Although he always wanted to live in Los Angeles, Greenberg did not make decision to move there until 1978, when a particularly harsh winter hit Boston. After packing up and moving to Los Angeles, Greenberg entered the roller skate business in the area. He attended his first shoe fair shortly after and noticed that it was a lucrative industry.

Seeing an opportunity in shoe manufacturing, Greenberg launched L.A. Gear, with one style of shoes that came in a number of colours. In its early days, Greenberg has no idea how to manage a shoe manufacturing company and largely followed his own instincts. However, over the years, he learned and built a shoe empire. In a matter of two years the company went from $70 million in revenue to $700 million.

The decision to go public in 1986 was a good one as the IPO turned out to be one of the most popular ones that year. It was in the early 1990s that Greenberg pioneered his particular brand of celebrity-led marketing. L.A. Gear formed partnerships with stars such as Michael Jordan, Paula Abdul and Kareem Abdul Jabar. Soon after going public, internal conflict led Greenberg to resign from L.A. Gear.

Knowing that the only thing he knew best was how to make great shoes, Greenberg decided to start another company in 1992. Based on his sons’ suggestion, the new company was named Skechers. Its first product was a utility boot, which became an icon of the grunge era. Soon after, Skechers released skate shoes and the brand would go on to become closely associated with skateboarding culture. It continued to grow through the 1990s through the use of celebrity-led advertising. In 2015, Skechers had an annual revenue of over $3 billion and 135 million in sales.

Benefits at Skechers