DSW ANNOUNCES 3-YEAR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, CHANGES NAME TO DESIGNER BRANDS

Footwear retailer DSW Inc. presented the company’s three-year strategic priorities at its annual Investor Day designed to leverage its unique business model to unlock value and deliver 2021 adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.65 to $2.75.

The company also today unveiled its new corporate name – Designer Brands Inc., which supports its vision for the future and reflects its expertise in building brands and delivering differentiated experiences, powered by one of North America’s largest footwear enterprises.

In conjunction with its corporate name change, Designer Brands will change the company’s ticker symbol from “DSW” to “DBI,” effective at the start of trading on April 2, 2019, which has been approved by the New York Stock Exchange. As of that date, the “DSW” trading symbol will no longer be active.

As outlined in today’s presentations, Designer Brands’ strategic priorities over the next three years include: controlling the company’s destiny through differentiated products and experiences; grow market share through positive comparable store sales, new direct-to-consumer opportunities and continued partnership with other retailers; and leveraging the scale of the Designer Brands enterprise.

“The long-term plan we announced today represents a new chapter for our company as we take greater control of our destiny in today’s changing retail landscape,” said Roger Rawlins, chief executive officer of Designer Brands. “Over the next three years and beyond, we will leverage our integrated enterprise to continue delivering differentiated products and experiences while significantly expanding our gross margin by bringing the production of our private brands in-house through our industry-leading Camuto Group and increasing the sales penetration of all of our produced brands across our retail channels. We look forward to continuing to drive innovation and increase market share by delivering positive comp sales while also growing complementary categories and markets.”

Rawlins continued, “With DSW’s world-class omni-channel capabilities and loyal customer base, combined with Camuto Group’s leading design and sourcing capabilities and The Shoe Company’s powerful last-mile solution, Designer Brands has a strong platform to grow and lead the footwear market.”

For fiscal 2019, which is the 52-week period ending February 1, 2020, the company expects to achieve low double-digit revenue growth as compared to fiscal 2018 revenue of $3.2 billion, which included a $189 million contribution from the Canada retail segment and a $96 million contribution from the new brand portfolio segment. The company anticipates increasing comparable store sales in the low single-digit range.