(Yicai Global) Dec. 23 -- Skechers expects to maintain double-digit sales growth in China over the next five years as the American sports shoe brand’s sales in the country accounted for almost half of its global turnover last year, The Paper reported yesterday, citing the chief executive officer of Skechers China, South Korea and Southeast Asia.

Last year, the firm’s worldwide sales reached a record high of USD5.22 billion, 48 percent of which came from its 3,000 stores in China, said Willie Tan.

And China sales continued to grow this year despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, up 23.9 percent in the first three quarters from the same period last year.

As a result, California-based Skechers plans to expand its footprint in the country and will open more super stores, or shops with a floor area of between 1,000 and 3,000 square meters, in smaller Chinese cities. They will offer sportswear, leisurewear, fashion items and children’s clothing.

The main reason for targeting lower-tier cities is that first-tier cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, have no space for such large shops, Tan said. Skechers will not hesitate to open mega stores in these municipalities if other companies close their outlets due to the pandemic, he added.

However, consumers in third and fourth-tier cities also have strong spending power, he said. The firm’s new stores in Xiaoyi in northern Shanxi province and Anshan in northeastern Liaoning province have performed much better than expected, he added.

Skecher’s China sales surpassed the country’s premier sports brand Li Ning last year, but still lag behind sports giants the US’ Nike, Germany’s Adidas and China’s ANTA Sports. Oregon-based Nike logged revenue of USD6.2 billion in China in 2019, while Xiamen-based ANTA broke the CNY30 billion (USD4.6 billion) mark for the first time, nearly reaching CNY34 billion.

China’s sports shoes and apparel market grew 12.6 percent year on year to USD45.95 billion last year, according to UK market research firm Euromonitor International. Yet per capita spending on sports footwear and clothing accounted for just half that of the US and one fifth that of the UK and Germany. There is room for the Chinese market to expand at least another five times, it said.

Skechers opened its first store in mainland China in 2008 through a joint venture with Hong Kong-based Luen Thai Enterprises, an investment firm that mainly focuses on the apparel sector. Tan is the second son of Tan Siu Lin, founder of Luen Thai.

Editor: Kim Taylor