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SKECHERS, the Nation's No. 2 Footwear Brand, Announces Shape-ups Marketing Campaign Featuring Legendary NHL Player Wayne Gretzk

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  Published in House and Home on Tuesday, January 11th 2011 at 6:12 GMT by Market Wire
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MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--SKECHERS USA (NYSE:SKX), a global leader in the lifestyle footwear industry and the number two footwear brand in the United States*, today announced that hockey great Wayne Gretzky will be the next sports legend to make a aComebacka in Shape-ups fitness footwear. Gretzky will be featured in a global Shape-ups campaign that spans television, print, viral and outdoor through 2011.

"Shape-ups are the perfect tool to help get your body back on track and after wearing Shape-ups, I feel greata"from my legs to my core. Ia™m proud to stand behind the entire Shape-ups product line because of one simple facta"they really work."

aI want everyone out there to know ita™s never too late to make a comeback,a said Wayne Gretzky. aShape-ups are the perfect tool to help get your body back on track and after wearing Shape-ups, I feel greata"from my legs to my core. Ia™m proud to stand behind the entire Shape-ups product line because of one simple facta"they really work.a

A worldwide phenomenon, the patented SKECHERS Shape-ups fitness footwear line offers a variety of styles and specialized features to meet the varied workout needs of every individual. The Shape-ups aComebacka campaign will feature Gretzky sharing the benefits of Shape-ups as a tool thata™s helping him prepare for a return to the ice. The spots will air nationwide on major networks beginning spring 2011.

aWea™re incredibly excited to be introducing yet another sports legend to our Shape-ups aComebacka™ rostera"and it doesna™t get any more legendary in the hockey world than Wayne Gretzky,a began Michael Greenberg, president of SKECHERS. aEndorsements from Wayne and all the athletes in this campaign help us reach not only sports fans, but also new fitness-minded consumers who may be unfamiliar with the benefits of Shape-ups.a

Nicknamed "The Great One" and widely considered to be the best player in the history of the National Hockey League, Gretzky retired with forty regular-season records, fifteen playoff records, and six All-Star records. After a storied twenty-one season professional career, Gretzky was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999 and his jersey number, 99, has been retired by every team in the NHL.

Gretzky represents a new chapter in the Companya™s successful Shape-ups aComebacka multi-faceted marketing campaign. It all started a year ago when Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana made his acomebacka to the gridiron and continued in fall 2010 as basketball superstar Karl Malone made his acomebacka to the court with a little help from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Launched by the SKECHERS Fitness Groupa", Shape-ups are patented technical walking shoes designed to strengthen muscles, promote weight loss, and improve posture. Featuring a rocker-bottom outsole and Resamaxa" kinetic wedge that together simulate walking on soft sand, Shape-ups provide a constant natural instability, activating muscles with every step. The line has expanded to include shoes designed for walking, training, hiking, working and running. This means therea™s a Shape-ups style to meet the fitness requirements of any individual. The Shape-ups fitness footwear collection for men and women is available in sporting goods and department and specialty athletic stores worldwide.

ABOUT SKECHERS USA, Inc.

SKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of footwear for men, women and children under the SKECHERS name, as well as under several uniquely branded names. SKECHERS footwear is available in the United States via department and specialty stores, Company-owned SKECHERS retail stores and its e-commerce website, as well as in over 100 countries and territories through the Companya™s global network of distributors and subsidiaries in Canada, Brazil, Chile, and across Europe, as well as through joint ventures in Asia. For more information, please visit [ www.skechers.com ].

*Sporting Goods Intelligence, June 21, 2010

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or simply state future results, performance or achievements, and can be identified by the use of forward looking language such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "project," "will be," "will continue," "will result," "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 international, national and local general economic, political and market conditions including the global economic slowdown and the ongoing financial crisis and market instability; entry into the highly competitive performance footwear market; 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; 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 the Companya™s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and the Companya™s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. The risks included here are not exhaustive. The Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of all such risk factors on their respective businesses 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.

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