The Company kicks off the sophomore year of its popular contest for college designers, welcoming its first scholarship winners to the judges’ panel
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Skechers continues to connect young creatives across the country to the Company’s lifesaving BOBS movement with the second year of its national Skechers Paws for a Cause Design Scholarship. Officially kicking off today, the program engages students as designers to create animal-themed prints for the BOBS collection that build awareness for shelter pets as part of its philanthropic offering.
The second year of the program will include last year’s scholarship winners Maki S. and Teeny N., who will join the judging panel to aid in the selection of the next generation of talent.
Said new student judge Maki, whose rescue pups inspired her winning “Bark ‘n’ Drive” design: “The scholarship I received from Skechers is now helping to fund my current school year—and their mentorship has helped me learn how to take my ideas to a professional level. It’s been invaluable to go from designing styles in school to seeing what it takes to create them for consumers—and it was so exciting to get press for the first produced print I’ve ever made.”
“It’s hard to believe that the loss of my best friend Firefly has inspired such an incredible journey of growth in my life,” added Teeny, who designed her winning feline print in honor of her childhood shelter cat. “She meant the world to me—and to see the style she inspired in stores and on animal lovers across the country has been such a profound gift. To join this year’s panel of judges on top of everything we’ve received has made this experience even sweeter. I look forward to seeing more students share their hearts and designs this fall, and to play a role in helping them achieve their dreams, just like Skechers has for us.”
Established to enable young creatives and designers to further their education and help shelter pets through their personal stories, the BOBS from Skechers Paws for a Cause Design Scholarship will select BOBS from Skechers prints designed by two winning college students for production in the 2025 collection. The winners will each receive a $10,000 college scholarship from the Skechers Foundation and one-on-one corporate mentorship sessions.
Skechers’ scholarship program is open to students who are presently enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States and will be enrolled in the 2025/2026 academic year. The application consists of creating a dog- or cat-themed print for a BOBS from Skechers shoe, as well as writing about the design and why the BOBS from Skechers mission is important to them. Applications will be accepted through October 31, 2024; winners will be announced in early 2025.
With $11 million donated since 2015, BOBS from Skechers has now helped save and support over 2 million shelter dogs and cats and continues to impact animals through sales of the collection. A supporter of Petco Love’s network of 4,000 animal welfare organizations in the United States, Skechers has given funds to help provide pet adoptions, vaccination events, check celebrations for organizations, and even flight transport for animals to reach future homes.
BOBS from Skechers product is available at Skechers stores and retailers nationwide. For every specially marked item purchased in 2024, a donation is made to support shelter pets and animal welfare organizations in the United States, Canada and select international markets. To learn more, follow BOBS from Skechers on Facebook and Instagram, or visit BOBSfromSkechers.com.
* No purchase necessary. Application period starts September 3, 2024 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time (PST) and ends October 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM PST. Two winners will be chosen; approximate retail value (ARV) of each prize is $10,555 ($21,110 total ARV for both prizes). Full rules can be found at https://my.reviewr.com/site/bobsfromskechersdesignscholarship.
About Skechers U.S.A., Inc.
Skechers (NYSE:SKX), The Comfort Technology Company® based in Southern California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The Company’s collections are available in 180 countries and territories through department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through skechers.com and approximately 5,200 Skechers retail stores. A Fortune 500® company, Skechers manages its international business through a network of wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint venture partners, and distributors. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
About BOBS® from Skechers®
BOBS from Skechers’ charitable collection of shoes, apparel and accessories have improved animals’ lives: over the past eight years, Skechers has contributed more than $11 million to help over 2 million shelter pets, including saving more than 1.6 million rescued animals in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Japan. It all started in 2011, when Skechers launched a movement to support children impacted by natural disasters and poverty—a cause that has helped the Company donate more than 16 million new pairs of shoes to kids in more than 60 countries worldwide. To learn more about BOBS from Skechers’ commitment to making a difference, visit BOBSfromSkechers.com and follow the brand on Facebook and Instagram.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, Skechers’ future domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion, opening of new stores and additional expenditures, and advertising and marketing initiatives. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” “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 disruption of business and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic; delays or disruptions in our supply chain; international economic, political and market conditions including the effects of inflation and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations around the world, the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States, and the impact of wars, acts of war and other conflicts around the world; 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, especially in the highly competitive performance footwear market; 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 Skechers’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q in 2024. Taking these and other risk factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, the dynamic nature of these circumstances means that what is stated in this press release could change at any time, and as a result, actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and we cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business 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.
Contacts
Jennifer Clay
SKECHERS U.S.A., Inc.
jennc@skechers.com
