How a Fired Founder Built a Global Footwear Empire: Why Skechers' $9.4B Sale Is a Wake Up Call

What does it take to build a $9.4 billion empire? For Robert Greenberg, it started with rejection.

What does it take to build a $9.4 billion empire?

For Robert Greenberg, it started with rejection.

In 1992, he was pushed out of LA Gear, the company he founded. At the time, LA Gear was a cultural phenomenon. Think flashy high-tops, celebrity endorsements, and every kid in America wanting a pair. But the business model cracked, the hype faded, and Greenberg was shown the door.

Instead of retreating, he bet on himself.

He launched Skechers that same year, gritty, practical, and unglamorous. No celebrity glitz, no shiny billboards. Just the belief that everyday people around the world wanted comfort, durability, and value in their shoes.

Thirty years later, that same company was just sold for $9.4 billion to 3G Capital. And Robert is walking away with over $1 billion in cash

Let’s be clear, this isn't just a feel good comeback story. This is one of the most important CPG exits of the decade. And if you're a brand builder, founder, investor, or operator, there’s gold in this playbook.

Let’s break down the deeper lessons that rarely get talked about.

1. Revenge Isn’t the Goal. Reinvention Is.

Greenberg didn’t start Skechers to get back at LA Gear.

He started it because he still had a vision. He still loved the business of building. And even after public humiliation, he didn’t let ego define his next move. That kind of resilience is rare, especially in an industry as fickle and trend-driven as footwear.

Most entrepreneurs quit after their first failure.

He doubled down.

2. Skechers Was Never Cool and That Was the Advantage

The sneaker industry worships hype.

Nike, Adidas, Yeezy, New Balance, all locked in a never-ending cultural arms race. But while they fought for the next drop, Skechers built distribution. Logistics. Durable supply chains. They optimized for scale, not hype.

Today, Skechers operates 4,700+ stores in over 170 countries, with most of its $9 billion in annual sales coming from international markets.

You read that right most of the revenue is from outside the US.

In other words, they didn’t chase virality. They chased global scale. And they did it profitably.

This is what so many startup brands miss. You don’t need to be the trendiest brand in the room to win. You need to be the most useful, the most accessible, the most consistent.

That’s how you build something that outlasts you.

3. The Founder Stayed in the Driver’s Seat On His Terms

Despite being a public company since 1999, Skechers remained founder led and family driven.

Robert Greenberg only owns 12% of the stock. But through a dual class voting structure, he kept control. He even brought in his son, Michael Greenberg, as President, turning this into a generational business.

In a world where most founders are forced to step aside after raising capital or going public, this is rare air.

It’s a powerful reminder You can stay in control
But it takes foresight, the right legal structure, and a clear vision for where you're going.

4. 3G Capital Isn’t Just Buying a Brand. They’re Assembling a Machine.

This isn’t a private equity firm flipping distressed assets.

3G is a global operator with a very specific playbook. They build empires through aggressive rollups, cost discipline, and shared infrastructure.

They’ve already transformed:

• Anheuser Busch InBev

• Kraft Heinz

• Burger King Tim Hortons Popeyes (under Restaurant Brands Intl.)
  

Now they’re entering the footwear space.

Why? Because the category is ripe for consolidation.

Footwear is an unsexy, unfragmented, high margin business with massive global upside. Unlike fashion or food, it's less dependent on taste and more on habit, comfort, and repeat purchase behavior.

With Skechers as the foundation, 3G could go on to acquire other players in this space, maybe Crocs, maybe Asics, maybe someone else we’re not even watching.

That’s likely why CROCS stock jumped after the announcement. The market knows consolidation is coming.

And if you're in the business of consumer goods, especially something physical, repeatable, and habit forming, you should be watching this closely

5. What Can You Learn From This As a Founder?

Here’s the deeper truth Skechers succeeded not in spite of its boring brand but because of it

Greenberg didn’t get distracted by trends. He stayed focused on scale. On infrastructure. On margins. On supply chains. On international expansion.

Every entrepreneur today is told to chase branding first.

But the Skechers story proves something different brand without operations is just theatre

Here’s what founders and brand leaders should take from this:

• Resilience compounds You can fail, get fired, and still build a billion-dollar empire.
  
  

• Founder led doesn’t mean founder obsessed It means visionary leadership anchored in structure.
  
  

• Global expansion isn’t optional it’s the moat Especially in a world of rising customer acquisition costs.
  
  

• Staying “uncool” can be a strategy If you can win on price, distribution, and reliability, you’ll never go out of style.

And finally…

• Your best bet might not be your first Robert Greenberg’s greatest success came after he lost everything.

Let that sink in.

In a market obsessed with early exits and unicorn valuations, Skechers reminds us what real longevity looks like.

A $9B global brand
3 decades of growth
Built by a man who once got fired by his own company

Let this be a wake up call for all of us chasing what's next
There’s no substitute for time, patience, and operational excellence

See you at the next billion

Till then,

Keep Building