Xtep International to Expand K-Swiss in China

K-Swiss’ new owners see a wealth of opportunity for the brand in China. On Friday, Xtep International Holdings, a Hong Kong-based Chinese sportswear retailer, finalized its acquisition of KSGB, the Los Angeles-based footwear company that owns K-Swiss, Palladium and Supra, for $260 million. The two parties agreed to the terms of the deal in May, and officially closed the deal on Aug. 2. As a result of the acquisition, KSGB will have access to Xtep Group’s resources in retail, supply chain, and research and development in China. K-Swiss president Barney Waters said Xtep’s robust supply chain makes “45 million pairs of shoes a year” and “40 million apparel pieces a year” at its own factories. He said the plan for K-Swiss is to “find success in China and expand that in other markets.” In March of 2018, K-Swiss had operated some 200 branded stores in Japan, the Philippines and Thailand under a distributorship arrangement and had plans to double that number. However, Waters said the brand is “not strong in China,” a position it hopes to change under Xtep. “We have business but we’ve been missing the biggest opportunity in China. Xtep will help us unlock that,” he said. “To have an American brand

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