Owned Brands Net Sales up 32.1% for 2022 Compared to Last Year

2022 Gross Margin Up 400 Basis Points over 2019 as Brand Building Strategy Takes Hold

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI) (the “Company” and “Designer Brands”), one of the world’s largest designers, producers, and retailers of footwear and accessories, announced financial results for the three months and year ended January 28, 2023.

Roger Rawlins, Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Our 2022 results clearly showcase the power and success of our brand building strategy with our Owned Brands growing over 32% to last year while delivering gross margins 400 basis points higher than those we saw in 2019. These results showcase the successful execution of our strategy. I am incredibly proud of our team and their tireless efforts, and I am excited about what lies ahead for Designer Brands.”

Doug Howe, President of DSW and incoming Chief Executive Officer, added, “Looking ahead, we are confident in the strength of our business as we work to integrate new and recognizable names into the Designer Brands family, including Keds, Le Tigre, Topo Athletic, and Hush Puppies. Although we are navigating through a volatile environment, we are well-positioned to offer great value and a diverse assortment of product to our customers as we head into 2023. We will continue to be prudent in managing our expenses and inventory and drive growth in our portfolio of increasingly diversified Owned Brands.”

Fourth Quarter Operating Results (Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons are to the fourth quarter of 2021)

• Net sales decreased 7.5% to $760.5 million.
• Comparable sales decreased by 5.5%.
• Gross profit decreased to $222.0 million versus $254.2 million last year, and gross margin was 29.2% as compared to 30.9% last year.
• Reported net income attributable to Designer Brands Inc. was $45.1 million, or diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) of $0.66, including net benefits of $0.59 per diluted share from adjusted items, primarily related to the change in valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, partially offset by restructuring and termination costs and CEO transition costs.
• Adjusted net income was $4.7 million, or adjusted diluted EPS of $0.07.

Full Year Operating Results (unless otherwise stated, all comparisons are to full year 2021)

• Net sales increased 3.7% to $3.3 billion.
• Comparable sales increased by 4.4%.
• Gross profit was flat to last year at $1.1 billion, and gross margin was 32.6% as compared to 33.4% last year.
• Reported net income attributable to Designer Brands Inc. was $162.7 million, or diluted EPS of $2.26, including net benefits of $0.41 per diluted share from adjusted items, primarily related to the change in valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, partially offset by the loss on extinguishment of debt and write-off of debt issuance costs, restructuring and termination costs, CEO transition costs, and impairment charges.
• Adjusted net income was $133.7 million, or adjusted diluted EPS of $1.85.

Liquidity Highlights

• Cash and cash equivalents totaled $58.8 million at the end of 2022, compared to $72.7 million at the end of 2021, with $243.9 million available for borrowings under our senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility (“ABL Revolver”). Debt totaled $281.0 million at the end of 2022 compared to $225.5 million at the end of 2021.
• The Company ended the year with inventories of $605.7 million compared to $586.4 million at the end of 2021.

Return to Shareholders

•  For the year ended January 28, 2023, we repurchased 10.7 million Class A common shares (14.6% of Class A and Class B common shares at the beginning of the fiscal year) at an aggregate cost of $147.5 million, with $187.4 million of Class A common shares that remain authorized under the program as of January 28, 2023.

•  A dividend of $0.05 per share of Class A and Class B common shares will be paid on April 14, 2023 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2023.

Store Openings and Closings

During the fourth quarter of 2022, we closed three stores in the U.S. with no changes to the store count in Canada, resulting in a total of 501 U.S. stores and 138 Canadian stores at the end of 2022.

Outlook for 2023

The Company has announced the following guidance for the full year 2023:

Webcast and Conference Call

The Company is hosting a conference call today at 8:30 am Eastern Time. Investors and analysts interested in participating in the call are invited to dial 1-888-317-6003, or the international dial in, 1-412-317-6061, and reference conference ID number 5071723 approximately ten minutes prior to the start of the conference call. The conference call will also be broadcast live over the internet and can be accessed through the following link:

https://app.webinar.net/bkDVPKByrX8

For those unable to listen to the live webcast, an archived version will be available at the same location until March 23, 2023. A replay of the teleconference will be available by dialing the following numbers:

U.S.: 1-877-344-7529
Canada: 1-855-669-9658
International: 1-412-317-0088
Passcode: 2475851

About Designer Brands

Designer Brands is one of the world’s largest designers, producers and retailers of the most recognizable footwear brands and accessories, transforming and defining the footwear industry by inspiring self-expression across every facet of its enterprise. Through its portfolio of world-class owned brands, led by the industry-setting Vince Camuto brand, Designer Brands delivers on-trend footwear and accessories through its robust direct-to-consumer omni-channel infrastructure, featuring a billion-dollar digital commerce business and nearly 650 stores across the U.S. and Canada. Its retailing operations under the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and The Shoe Company banners deliver current, in-line footwear and accessories from most of the largest national brands in the industry and hold leading market share positions in key product categories across Women’s, Men’s and Kid’s in the U.S. and Canada. Designer Brands also distributes its owned brands through select wholesale relationships while leveraging its design and sourcing expertise to build private label product for national retailers. Designer Brands is also committed to being a difference maker in the world, taking steps forward to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the footwear industry and supporting our global community and the health of our planet through donating more than six million pairs of shoes to the global non-profit Soles4Souls. More information can be found at www.designerbrands.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Certain statements in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking words such as “outlook,” “could,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” or the negative version of those words or other comparable words. These statements are based on the Company’s current views and expectations and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: uncertain general economic conditions, including inflationary pressures and rising interest rates, and the related impacts to consumer discretionary spending, as well as supply chain disruptions and pressures; risks and uncertainties related to the ongoing coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, any future COVID-19 resurgence, and any other adverse public health developments; our ability to anticipate and respond to fashion trends, consumer preferences and changing customer expectations; our ability to maintain strong relationships with our vendors, manufacturers, licensors, and retailer customers; risks related to losses or disruptions associated with our distribution systems, including our distribution centers and stores, whether as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, reliance on third-party providers, or otherwise; our ability to manage our Chief Executive Officer transition, retain our existing management team, and continue to attract qualified new personnel; risks related to cyber security threats and privacy or data security breaches or the potential loss or disruption of our information technology (“IT”) systems; risks related to the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system (“ERP”) software solution and other IT systems; our reliance on our loyalty programs and marketing to drive traffic, sales, and customer loyalty; our ability to protect our reputation and to maintain the brands we license; our competitiveness with respect to style, price, brand availability, and customer service; risks related to our international operations, including international trade, our reliance on foreign sources for merchandise, exposure to political, economic, operational, compliance and other risks, and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to comply with privacy laws and regulations, as well as other legal obligations; domestic and global political and social conditions and the potential impact of geopolitical turmoil or conflict; risks associated with climate change and other corporate responsibility issues and uncertainties related to future legislation, regulatory reform, policy changes, or interpretive guidance on existing legislation. Risks and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements are described in the Company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K or other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the time when made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect any future events or circumstances.

Non-GAAP Measures

To supplement amounts presented in our consolidated financial statements determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”), the Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted operating expenses, adjusted operating profit, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted earnings per share as shown in the table above. These measures adjust for the effects of: (1) CEO transition costs; (2) restructuring and termination costs, including severance charges other than those included in CEO transition costs; (3) acquisition-related costs and target acquisition costs; (4) impairment charges; (5) loss on extinguishment of debt and write-off of debt issuance costs; (6) foreign currency transaction losses; (7) the net tax impact of such items; (8) the change in the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets; and (9) net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest. The unaudited adjusted results should not be construed as an alternative to the reported results determined in accordance with GAAP. These financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology and are not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to both management and investors to increase comparability to prior periods by adjusting for certain items that may not be indicative of core operating measures and to better identify trends in our business. The adjusted financial results are used by management to, and allow investors to, evaluate the operating performance of the Company compared to prior periods, when reviewed in conjunction with the Company’s GAAP statements. These amounts are not determined in accordance with GAAP and therefore should not be used exclusively in evaluating the Company’s business and operations.

Comparable Sales Performance Metric

We consider the change in comparable sales from the same previous year period, a primary metric commonly used throughout the retail industry, to be an important indicator of the performance of our retail and direct-to-consumer businesses. We include in our comparable sales metric stores in operation for at least 14 months at the beginning of the fiscal year. Stores are added to the comparable base at the beginning of the year and are dropped for comparative purposes in the quarter in which they are closed. Comparable sales include stores temporarily closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as management continues to believe that this metric is meaningful to monitor our performance. Comparable sales also include e-commerce sales. Comparable sales for the Canada Retail segment exclude the impact of foreign currency translation and are calculated by translating current period results at the foreign currency exchange rate used in the comparable period of the prior year. Comparable sales for the Brand Portfolio segment include the direct-to-consumer e-commerce site www.vincecamuto.com. The calculation of comparable sales varies across the retail industry and, as a result, the calculations of other retail companies may not be consistent with our calculation.

SOURCE Designer Brands Inc.