Palladium, K-Swiss and Supra brands sold by South Korean’owned E-Land Footwear USA.

Hong Kong-listed sportswear giant Xtep International has bought three US footwear brands from South Korea’s E-Land USA.

The Chinese company will pay US$260 million for all the outstanding shares in E-Land Footwear USA Holdings, which owns the K-Swiss, Palladium and Supra brands. Settlement is due by the end of July.

Xtep chairman and CEO Ding Shui Po said the purchase marked the company’s move into “a new era of business” following a three-year strategic transformation.

He said the brands would complement Xtep’s product portfolio “and elevate us as one of the leading global multi-brand sportswear companies”.

“Not only will it strengthen Xtep’s foothold in the expanding Chinese sportswear market, but will also provide us with growth opportunities in untapped overseas markets such as Southeast Asia. In other words, Xtep has what it takes to speed up business growth both domestically and overseas in the years to come.”

All three brands have global name recognition and are target the high end of the market.  

K-Swiss, a heritage athletic shoe brand which was founded in California in 1966, offers performance tennis footwear, lifestyle and fitness footwear targeting athletes and trendsetters. Palladium is one of the best-known global pampa boot brands established in France in 1947. Between them, the brands have a global presence covering more than 80 countries and territories.

Ding Shui Po said the brands’ distinctive positioning and different target customer groups are highly complementary to Xtep’s brand portfolio.