12 Jun Skechers Honored at Drapers Footwear Awards
Skechers USA, Inc. named 2015 Mainstream Women’s Footwear Brand of the Year at The Drapers Footwear Awards. This achievement follows a year when Skechers won multiple top industry awards in the United Kingdom, including Footwear Brand of the Year and Fashion Footwear Brand of the Year at the Footwear Industry Awards in February 2015, as well as company of the Year awards from leading American trade publications Footwear News and Footwear Plus.
“We are incredibly honored to have been recognized as a leading footwear brand for trend-focused women across the U.K. and Ireland. It’s our first Drapers Footwear Awards win, and an incredible one to start with,” commented Peter Youell, Managing Director of Skechers United Kingdom and Ireland. “It’s a privilege to receive this recognition amongst such notable brands that were shortlisted in our categories. This award is a testament to the strength and growth of the Skechers brand in the U.K. and Ireland, and the ongoing support from our retail partners to reaffirm and elevate Skechers as a demanded and desired name in lifestyle and fashion footwear.”
The Drapers Footwear Awards recognize and celebrate outstanding performance, innovation and creativity among retailers, brands and individuals in this fast-paced sector, and Skechers won over a strong competitive field that included CAT, Keds, Havaianas and Sperry.
“Receiving this award from Drapers is thrilling; it tops a banner year for our brand,” added David Weinberg, Skechers COO and CFO. “We ended 2014 with record annual revenues of $2.4 billion, and started 2015 with first quarter sales of $798 million, the highest quarterly sales in the company’s 23-year history. A big driver of this growth is international, and within international, the U.K. is one of our leading markets with strong growth over the past 18 months. This honor from the U.K.’s premier fashion voice truly validates that we’re firing on all cylinders around the globe.”
The prestigious annual awards event was held on Thursday, June 4 at The Pavilion in the Tower of London supported by the British Footwear Association (BFA) and charity partner Footwear Friends.
Skechers offers two distinct footwear categories: a lifestyle division which offers comfort-focused trend-right product for men, women and kids including Relaxed Fit®, Skechers Memory Foam footwear and the philanthropic line BOBS from Skechers, and the Skechers Performance Division which includes Skechers GOrun and Skechers GOwalk footwear.
Celebrity product endorsees for Skechers’ collections include legendary drummer Ringo Starr, multi-platinum recording artist Demi Lovato, as well as model and actress Kelly Brook. In addition, elite marathon champion and Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi represents the Skechers Performance Division