Yahoo Finance senior reporter Brooke DiPalma sits down with Skechers (SKX) CFO John Vandemore at Goldman Sachs's Global Retailing Conference to discuss the shoe manufacturer's business and its operations.

Vandemore emphasizes that Skechers is "focused on delivering style, comfort, and quality at a reasonable price." This approach has allowed consumers to remain resilient, with Vandemore noting, "our consumer is doing pretty well" despite broader consumer pressures.

"Within our portfolio, we're actually seeing consumers trade up into some of our higher-end comfort technologies. From what we see, the consumer still looks really quite strong," he tells Yahoo Finance.

Regarding pricing strategies, Vandemore states that Skechers remains "cautious." With prices having risen post-COVID, the brand is careful not to further burden an already "annoyed" consumer. However, he highlights that Skechers continues to innovate: "That's actually resonating with consumers so that they're consciously choosing to pay more" and emphasizing this as a value strategy rather than a pricing strategy.

"I don't think we want to see any overt price increases that pressure the consumer further after having dealt with so much inflation over the last couple of years," Vandemore adds.

Addressing the slowdown in the Chinese market, Vandemore explains that the nation is still recovering from weakness tied to its own COVID lockdowns. "Long-term, nothing has diminished our appetite to continue penetrating in China. We think that our brand there resonates really well with the consumer," though he notes it will be a "rocky" road in the short term.

With the election underway and potential new tariffs impacting retail operations in 2025, Vandemore acknowledges that this is a cost that can be "passed down to consumers." However, while the brand doesn't want to significantly increase costs, he states, "[if] it's the choice between sustaining margins and being able to continue to deliver innovation and comfort, we may have to take action on price."

Catch more of Brooke DiPalma's coverage from the 31st Annual Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference.

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This post was written by Angel Smith