MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (May 4, 2009)—The first quarter ended March 31 was a challenging one for Skechers USA, Inc. (SKX). Net sales dropped more than $40 million reaching $343.5 million compared to $384.9 million in the first quarter of 2008.

Girls' D'lish by Skechers

“In the first quarter, our focus was on reducing our inventory and expenses while maintaining our strong position in the domestic and international footwear markets with the goal of returning to profitability in the second half of the year,” says David Weinberg, COO of Skechers. “We have made significant improvements in our inventory, shown growth in several key international markets, and had a profitable quarter. We consider these positive achievements to be an indication of the focus of our global team and the strength of our brand. With more opportunities to grow our international business and a portfolio of well-recognized brands, we believe that we will continue to fare well in this difficult environment and that Skechers is well positioned for long-term profitability and growth.”

Gross profit for the first quarter of 2009 was $125.4 million or 36.5 percent of net sales compared to $172.2 million or 44.7 percent of net sales in the first quarter of last year.

Robert Greenberg, Skechers CEO, comments: “We are focusing on maintaining our position in the domestic and international markets by offering stylish product at a good value. We are also continuing to invest in our business globally with the launch of a new subsidiary in Chile; further establishing our brand in Brazil, a relatively new market for Skechers; continuing to open new points of sale in China and Hong Kong through our joint ventures; and selectively opening Skechers stores in the United States and other countries where we directly handle our distribution.”

“In spite of an extremely weak global retail environment, we were profitable in the first quarter and showed significant improvement over the fourth quarter of 2008. This demonstrates the continued strength and relevance of the Skechers brand,” adds CFO Fred Schneider. “In the first quarter, our intention was to evaluate our expenses and strengthen our balance sheet. We feel we are on track to achieving these goals that were outlined in our fourth quarter conference call. We are continuing to monitor our expenses and inventory levels to ensure maximum profitability in this soft economic environment, which we believe will continue to negatively impact our business.”

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