Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3 - 114

retail skechers
Skechers is expanding its
headquarters in Manhattan
Beach, Calif., slated to open in
2022. It has been designed to
achieve LEED Gold certification

converted several markets from
distributors to its wholly-owned
subsidiary model, including those
in Latin America and central Europe in 2015, South Korea in 2016,
and India in early 2019.
After converting its Panama
distributor into a subsidiary, the
company needed to upgrade its
distribution capabilities in Latin
America and opened new distribution centers in Colon and Lima.
Skechers is also expanding its
headquarters in Manhattan Beach,
Calif., slated to open in 2022.
Designed to achieve LEED Gold
certification, the new buildings
will double the company's office
and showroom space in Hermosa
Beach and Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Skechers is also investing heavily
to support its e-commerce growth.
"When we built our facility in Moreno Valley, Calif., e-commerce was
nothing like it is today," Senior Vice
President of Global Distribution
Paul Galliher explains. "We were
competing in that area and had our
own little niche, selling what no one
else did. But now we've decided that
it could be a much bigger piece of
our business and we're investing a
lot more heavily in our infrastructure to help us to compete."
To get product to consumers
faster, Skechers is adding 760,000
square feet to its existing facility
in Moreno Valley. "We will be
putting in a whole different kind of
sortation system that will allow for
smaller orders and to accommodate apparel," Galliher says.
"Apparel is relatively new to
our business," he continues. "We
knew that some of it was coming,
but that's another area that's
expanding pretty quickly. The new
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Supply Chain World VOLUME 7, ISSUE 3

building will be fully operational in
about two years."
In Belgium, Skechers also recently completed another round of
enhancements to its material handling system that will be operational
by the first quarter of 2020. "For
the first half of 2019, our European
business achieved higher sales than
China and grew at a steady pace.
It's important we keep an eye on
the possibilities in all our markets,"
Galliher notes. "We have made
investments in material-handling
systems in the United States, China
and Europe, and will probably look
at Japan in the future."

Hiring the Best
As Skechers continues to grow,
Galliher says he can't find high-caliber talent fast enough. "I've been
here for over 25 years, and I can
count the turnover of my staff on
one hand; I have well over 100 people who have been here 20 years or
more, but we're always in need of
more qualified people," he says.
Galliher attributes his employees' tenure to a culture that
allows people to grow personally
and professionally. "They aren't

micromanaged and are encouraged
to make decisions," he says. "We
have a great group from a communication standpoint. I give the people
who work for me an area or territory
and expect them to run it like it was
their own business. So far for me,
it's worked well. When it comes to
hiring the right people, it's a matter
of finding those who have the talent
to run their own business."
To attract new talent, Skechers
partners with local agencies and
universities. For example, a local
university has altered some of its
curriculum to accommodate Skechers' needs and, more specifically,
trains people who are interested
in that work. "Distribution has
become more automated," Galliher
says. "The people we do need are of
much higher caliber and more technically astute. The whole skillsets
we look for has changed dramatically over the last 5 to 10 years."

Continuing to Evolve
Skechers was founded in 1992, with
one logger boots style for men. It
quickly grew to include women's
and then kids.
Today, Skechers designs, de-
Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3

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