Skechers, the US-based athleisure company, plans to increase its investment and deepen localization efforts in China, its largest overseas market, to tap growing consumer demand for sports, health, and comfort-related products. The company aims to shift its focus from expanding store numbers to pursuing higher-quality growth by optimizing store locations, upgrading outlets, and expanding direct-to-consumer and instant retail operations in more urban areas across China.
Willie Tan, CEO of Skechers China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, outlined a five-year strategy centered on strengthening local research and development (R&D), enhancing manufacturing capabilities, and improving the supply chain and retail network. Over 90 percent of products sold in China are made locally, supported by an integrated supply chain covering innovation, manufacturing, warehousing, and retail. This approach allows Skechers to respond efficiently to changing consumer preferences and manage operating costs more effectively.
Under its expansion plan, Skechers intends to grow its product portfolio in professional and youth sports categories, including running, soccer, basketball, and pickleball. The company also plans to leverage artificial intelligence and big data technologies to optimize supply chain management, membership services, product recommendations, and demand forecasting.
Tan emphasized the importance of stable and predictable economic and trade relations between China and the United States, stating that such an environment would provide a stronger foundation for long-term investment decisions by US companies and reduce uncertainties related to supply chains and operations. This, in turn, would enable businesses to allocate more resources toward product innovation, retail expansion, and consumer services, enhancing their competitiveness in the Chinese market.
Since beginning operations nearly two decades ago, Skechers has invested more than 4.2 billion yuan (approximately $627 million) in its China Logistics Center located in Taicang, Jiangsu province. The company has also expanded its R&D capabilities and livestreaming business in Dongguan, Guangdong province.
According to Guan Lixin, a marketing and consumption researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, the rising consumer focus on sports and health-related products presents significant growth opportunities for foreign brands with strong localization strategies. Guan noted that companies combining global expertise with local research, manufacturing, and digital capabilities are better positioned to meet the increasingly diversified and quality-driven demands of Chinese consumers.
China’s government aims to increase total retail sales of consumer goods to around 60 trillion yuan by 2030 and cultivate markets worth 10 trillion yuan in green, smart, and health-related consumption. This policy directive was outlined in an implementation guideline issued jointly by the Ministry of Commerce and six other departments in late August, supporting broader market growth in sectors relevant to Skechers’ strategic focus.