At least Skechers has good company in announcing announces capital investment in China AFTER a 20% run in the Yuan. The narrative here is scary…

I think Skechers’ announcement that it is expanding its Asian JV with the Onwel Group is another nail in the coffin for this story. Let’s add this to the narrative of its growth slowdown… A) Shift in fashion towards low profile propels margins from 0% to 9%. B) Low profile growth slows after four years. C) Takes next leg of growth overseas. D) SKX becomes more litigious, suing a smaller brand after years of fighting against economic harm from knocking off styles. E) Opens up more company-owned retail stores to get product to consumers despite less interest from retail. F) Broadening wholesale distribution to more marginal channels (Goody’s, Mervyn’s). G) Bids for Heely’s. H) Now it grows more aggressively into Hong Kong and Macao with a goal to triple sales there in 3-years. Maybe they should have thought of this 3-years ago before a 20% run in FX? FX moves are always hindsight 20/20, but this is another example of a poorly managed company in this space deploying capital reactively. Proactive always wins in my book.

The biggest plus is that its partnership could secure it better capacity in an environment where plant space is becoming extremely more difficult to find. But this is not a positive – it simply helps mitigate a potentially massive negative.

Also, it was announced within a day of Coke offering a 195% premium for Huiyuan Juice Group.

Maybe Skechers and Coke borrow each other’s Macro analysis….
Investing in China at the top!