SKECHERS BREAKS GROUND ON CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS EXPANSION

Footwear maker Skechers USA celebrated a new era and commitment to global growth and its hometown community by breaking ground on an expansion of the Skechers Corporate Headquarters that will span several adjacent buildings in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, California. The project will more than double the company’s office, design and showroom space in the South Bay, bringing it to just over 330,000 square-feet.

“We started Skechers in a Manhattan Beach condominium in 1992, and now we’re a global brand with annual sales of over $4 billion in 2017,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “Through our years of incredible growth, we’ve called the South Bay home, so to be able to expand our headquarters where this Company was born, is important to who we are. This community inspires all that we do, and we share it with visiting customers from around the globe who shop and eat locally and fall in love with our beaches.”

“It’s been a challenge to meet the needs of our growing business with our existing space,” added David Weinberg, chief operating officer at Skechers. “This investment in our corporate headquarters allows us to better plan for the future and increase efficiencies. It will allow us to consolidate our teams, give us room to grow, and enhance our work, design, meeting and showroom space.”

At the centerpiece will be a more than 100,000-square-foot Design Center as well as neighboring executive offices on Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach. Additionally, there will be an expansion to the existing building at 330 South Sepulveda Boulevard and a new office across the street in Manhattan Beach.

All buildings are being developed with sustainability in mind to achieve LEED Gold certification upon completion. Earth-friendly features will include solar panels, daylight harvesting and motion-controlled lighting, high-performance glass, R30 insulation, and Forest Stewardship-certified wood. Additionally, landscaping will utilize drought-tolerant bio-filtration planters with low-water use plumbing and irrigation. And Skechers will continue its ongoing commitment to reduce waste at every level across the entire corporate headquarters—from recycling services to eco-friendly kitchen materials.

“As a fast moving, forward-thinking brand, it’s essential for Skechers to expand our office space to stay ahead of the curve,” said Robert Greenberg, chief executive officer of Skechers. “We have always focused on meeting the needs of consumers around the world, growing our business significantly including more than doubling our annual sales in four years, but we also believe there are numerous opportunities to strategically expand our business. The new Skechers Corporate Headquarters will give us the much-needed space to achieve this. And with completion anticipated for 2022, this beautiful new headquarters will mark the celebration of our 30th anniversary.”

A component of the project will be a beautification of the corridor that had become in disrepair due to the closing of several businesses. This will include a “Welcome to Hermosa Beach” sign at Longfellow Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway that will be designed by a local artist as well as the undergrounding of utilities plus improvements to benches, sidewalks and bus stops. The buildings will be designed with increased setbacks and landscaping. Additionally, the project includes subterranean on-site parking for all Skechers employees.

The new Skechers Corporate Headquarters has been designed by architect David Forbes Hibbert, founder of DFH Architects, an independent, award-winning architecture firm with over twenty years’ experience. The firm also designed and developed the original Skechers Corporate Headquarters building at 330 South Sepulveda Boulevard as well as notable projects like Universal Music Headquarters in Santa Monica and the k2LA Apartments in Koreatown.