• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, May 15, 2024

Skechers is hitching its wagon to a new brand partner and plans to roll out a Skechers X John Deere collection this summer. The collaboration is the latest example of how Skechers keeps finding ways to broaden its audience, giving it a firmer foothold in both the work shoe and fashion trend categories.

The mashup conveniently plays off the tractor company’s “Nothing runs like a Deere” slogan and features co-branded shoes designed for agriculture pros, construction workers and outdoor enthusiasts. With sturdy construction and waterproof elements, the shoes include protective and comfort features. And because they feature both companies’ colorful branding elements, the shoes will likely find their way to the feet of the hipsters who have made John Deere hats a regular feature in urban brew pubs.

“Skechers x John Deere is the union of two trusted American brands—bringing their appeal, their technologies, their style—all to deliver comfort that performs to millions who need and want it,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers, in the announcement. “As the country’s No. 1 work footwear brand, this new offering is a natural for us, but Skechers x John Deere also epitomizes the outdoors and fashion for millions of followers and fans.”

Skechers keeps proving the power of finding new audiences in its financial results. In the company's recently released first-quarter earnings, sales hit another record, climbing 13% to $2.25 billion, up from $2 billion in 2023. Direct-to-consumer sales, which include revenue from Skechers stores and ecommerce transactions, jumped 17%. The company also sells shoes through wholesale agreements with other retailers, with those sales rising 10%.

At a time when many shoe companies are struggling to win sales from cash-strapped shoppers in the U.S., Skechers notched an 8% sales gain.

Net earnings rose to $240.4 million, up from $190.3 million in the year-ago period.

The company continues to expand its store base and now operates more than 5,200 stores, compared to 5,168 in the year-ago period.

Based in Los Angeles, Skechers credits sales gains to canny marketing and high-profile partnerships. That includes the impact of Super Bowl advertising, which this year starred Mr. T and Tony Romo. It also debuted the company’s first Skechers Basketball campaigns starring NBA players Julius Randle and Terence Mann; expanded into cricket, sponsoring men’s and women’s teams in India; and added to its roster of Premier League footballers with Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The company also continued a signature capsule with Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg and added high-performance cleats for more MLB players. And it keeps building on its Hands Free Slip-in footwear, which is also featured in some John Deere shoes.

“With our focus on evolving and innovating our extensive product offering, best-in-class partnerships with our distribution network, and exceptional global demand, we are confident that Skechers will have another record-breaking year,” Greenberg says in Skecher’s earnings report.

Skechers also recently joined forces with Super League, which creates immersive content, for Skechers' first virtual store. Visitors to Livetopia’s Topia Mall on Roblox can design their own fashions, play games to win Skechers digital items and create looks inspired by Skechers products. In the first five weeks, the Skechers store had 3.4 million visits, 4 million try-ons, and generated nearly 45 million impressions.