Skechers USA hired crisis PR firm Sitrick & Co. as a further PR offensive to respond to other critics who question the effectiveness of toning shoes, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. The company had already hired defamation attorney Anthony Glassman and high-powered litigator Daniel Petrocelli, famous for his victory in the O.J. Simpson civil case, to fend itself against lawsuits claiming marketing around Shape-ups exaggerates their benefits.
The hiring comes after Skechers launched a fierce counterattack to a study by the American Council on Exercise that found that wearers don't get much of a workout from Skechers' Shape-ups and similar “toning” shoes. According to its 10Q, Skechers is also fighting two lawsuits alleging the advertising for Shape-ups violates California law. The suits, which were filed by individuals but seek class-action status, claim that Skechers' advertising for Shape-ups violates California's Unfair Competition Law and the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act. They both seek damages and a correction in the company's advertising.
“We believe that we've been unjustifiably attacked by a couple of random experts and one flimsy study,” Leonard Armato, president of Skechers' fitness group, told the Los Angeles Business Journal. “We want to set the record straight.”
Armato said the company has received more than 12,000 unsolicited testimonials from customers saying that Shape-ups have helped them lose weight, tone their muscles and improve their posture. Last week, Skechers said an independent panel in New Zealand found that Skechers' claims about the fitness benefits of Shape-ups are not likely to mislead consumers. It's also set up a website with studies showing the physical benefits of rounded-sole shoes such as Shape-ups.
