Skechers founders Robert Greenberg (left) and Michael Greenberg (right) started the brand more than 30 years ago in Manhattan Beach.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
On Monday, Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital, whose past bets include Burger King and Tim Hortons, agreed to pay nearly $9.5 billion to buy Skechers – known for its trendy and comfortable footwear – in a deal that will also take the company private.
Skechers was founded in 1992 in Manhattan Beach, California by father-son duo Robert and Michael Greenberg, who will continue to run the newly private company together as CEO and president, respectively, after the deal closes. Along with their immediate family, they own 12% of the shoe maker and are set to pocket $1.1 billion in cash and stock from the deal.
The Greenbergs agreed to 3G’s offer to swap each of their nearly 18 million public Skechers shares for $57 in cash plus one share of the newly private company that will become the parent of Skechers, according to a company press release. They will walk away with $1 billion in cash and about $100 million in equity in the new private company. 3G had also offered the Greenbergs (and other Skechers shareholders) the option to cash out entirely at $63 per share.
The riches the Greenbergs end up with will be divided between Robert, Michael and Robert’s five other children – Jennifer Greenberg Messer, Scott Bruce Greenberg, Jeffrey Alan Greenberg, Jason Aaron Greenberg and Joshua Adam Greenberg – who are all listed as beneficiaries of two trusts that hold the family’s Skechers shares. Josh and Jason are also executives at Skechers, while the rest of the family trusts’ beneficiaries except for Scott, have non-executive positions at the company, according to Skechers’ latest proxy statement.
Before Skechers, Robert Greenberg tried many different ways to get rich. After beginning his career as a hairstylist in Brookline, Massachusetts, the Greenberg patriarch opened his own hair salon in 1962 followed by a mail-order wig-and-toupee business. He then tried (in some cases with moderate success) selling antique clocks imported from South Korea, electronic tweezers, jeans, roller skates and “E.T.”-themed shoe laces.
One business he started, L.A. Gear, which sold a copycat version of Reebok sneakers, took off, briefly surpassing $800 million in sales in 1990. But it came crashing down a year later, ultimately leading to Robert being forced out of the business. That’s when Greenberg and his son Michael started Skechers. Originally founded as a distributor of Doc Martens shoes and boots, the cofounders soon found a niche importing footwear from Asia mimicking popular American styles at a cheaper price. They took the company public in 1999 and have since grown it into one of the biggest footwear companies in the world.
The Skechers sale is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. It follows a period of impressive growth for the company, which reported a record $9 billion in revenue last year.
Today, Skechers sells a wide variety of both fashion and athletic shoes with prices that range from around $45 to $125, according to Skechers’ website. “Over the last three decades, Skechers has experienced tremendous growth,” Robert Greenberg said in a statement in the Monday announcement. “Our success has been due to our commitment to excellence and innovation across the entire Skechers organization, in-demand comfort-focused product offering, and loyal partners.”
Some 62% of Skechers’ sales came from outside the U.S., and that portion looks set to increase in years to come. In a recent investor presentation on future growth, the company highlighted its global business, including its presence in 180 countries and the fact that its EMEA business (Europe, Middle East and Africa) grew at a compound annual growth rate of double the U.S. over the past four years.
The deal with 3G comes at a time of economic uncertainty as retailers deal with punishing tariffs levied by the Trump administration, including a 145% tariff on products imported from China. Skechers in particular revealed in its 2024 annual report that “substantially all” its sales for the year in 2024 were derived from footwear manufactured outside of the U.S. Around 40% are sourced from China, the highest percentage of the Sports & Lifestyle Brands group tracked by analysts at Stifel, which also notes that the geographic diversity of Skechers’ revenue outside the U.S. should help mitigate its tariff impact somewhat. Last month, Skechers withdrew its annual outlook, saying it could not predict its earnings “due to macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from global trade policies.”
Investment firm 3G appears to be betting on Skechers’ long-term growth but the Greenbergs may be cashing in at a good time.
Update, 05/06/2025: This story has been updated to reflect the Greenbergs’ decision to receive cash and stock in exchange for their Skechers shares.
