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Imagine it as a Nordstrom Rack or Kohl's, but exclusively for a vast selection of shoes and accessories.

Think of it as a Zappos or Foot Locker that also designs and manufactures many of the footwear brands it sells.

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• Footwear: Designs, manufactures, and retails various types of shoes including dress, casual, and athletic styles.
• Accessories: Sells a range of fashion accessories for women, men, and kids.
• Handbags: Offers a selection of handbags.

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Designer Brands (DBI) primarily sells its products directly to individual consumers through its owned and operated retail stores (such as DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, The Shoe Company, and Shoe Warehouse) and e-commerce websites (including dsw.com, dsw.ca, theshoecompany.ca, and vincecamuto.com).

The company serves the following categories of customers:

• Women seeking a wide range of footwear (dress, casual, athletic) and accessories, often from its portfolio of owned and licensed brands like Vince Camuto, Jessica Simpson, Lucky, and JLO Jenifer Lopez.
• Men looking for various styles of footwear, including dress, casual, and athletic options.
• Kids in need of footwear.

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Doug Howe
Chief Executive Officer

Doug Howe has served as Chief Executive Officer of Designer Brands since April 2023. He joined the Company in May 2022 as President of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and Executive Vice President of Designer Brands. Mr. Howe has over 30 years of retail experience, holding prior leadership positions across merchandising, design, product development, and planning at various companies. Before joining Designer Brands, he served as Chief Merchandising Officer at Kohl's for four years. His career also includes leadership roles at Qurate Retail Group, Gap Inc., Walmart, and May Department Stores.

Sheamus Toal
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Principal Financial Officer

Sheamus Toal will join Designer Brands as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Principal Financial Officer, effective February 16, 2026. He brings deep financial and operational experience from decades of leadership in CFO and COO roles across large, complex public and private companies. Most recently, Mr. Toal served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of The Children's Place. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Saatva.com, where he led public-company readiness efforts and executed major financing transactions. Earlier in his career, he spent over a decade in senior leadership roles at New York & Company, including 12 years as Chief Financial Officer, and later served as CEO.

Deborah L. Ferrée
Vice Chairman and Chief Product Officer

Deborah L. Ferrée was named Chief Product Officer in February 2023. She has also served as Vice Chair since January 2006. Ms. Ferrée joined DSW in 1997 as Vice President of Merchandising and held various executive merchandising and leadership roles, including President of Camuto Group, Chief Merchandising Officer, and President and Chief Merchandising Officer. Her extensive retail experience spans over 20 years with organizations such as Burdines, Ross Stores, and The May Company.

Laura T. Davis
Executive Vice President, Designer Brands and President, North America Retail of DSW Shoe Warehouse, Inc.

Laura T. Davis holds the position of Executive Vice President, Designer Brands and President, North America Retail of DSW Shoe Warehouse, Inc.

Mary J. Turner
Executive Vice President, Designer Brands and President, Designer Brands Canada

Mary J. Turner serves as Executive Vice President, Designer Brands and President, Designer Brands Canada.

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Here are the key risks to Designer Brands (DBI):

1. High Financial Leverage and Debt Burden: Designer Brands Inc. faces significant financial leverage and a high debt-to-equity ratio, which can lead to interest coverage risk. The company has taken on debt, particularly since the pandemic, and has been posting slower sales and falling margins, further exacerbating this risk.

2. Macroeconomic Headwinds and Challenging Retail Environment: The company is vulnerable to macroeconomic headwinds that directly impact consumer spending. It has experienced a soft start to recent fiscal years due to an unpredictable macro environment and deteriorating consumer sentiment, leading to sales declines and pressure on margins.

3. Intense Competition and Shifting Consumer Preferences: Designer Brands operates in a highly competitive footwear market. It faces challenges from national brands increasingly focusing on direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, which creates uncertainty for wholesale retailers like DBI. Additionally, the company must continually adapt to evolving fashion trends and consumer preferences, such as the shift from dress shoes to more casual and athletic footwear, to remain relevant.

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• The proliferation of direct-to-consumer (DTC) footwear and accessory brands that bypass traditional multi-brand retailers, challenging Designer Brands' DSW, The Shoe Company, and Shoe Warehouse banners by offering alternative purchase channels directly from brands.
• The rise of ultra-fast fashion retailers, such as Shein and Temu, which leverage rapid production cycles and aggressive pricing to offer trendy footwear and accessories at significantly lower costs, putting competitive pressure on Designer Brands' pricing and responsiveness to fashion trends.

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Designer Brands Inc. operates primarily in the footwear and accessories markets in North America. The addressable markets for their main products in this region are substantial.

Footwear Market

• The North American footwear market was estimated at approximately USD 116.05 billion in 2024. This market is projected to grow to about USD 145.23 billion by 2030, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% from 2025 to 2030.
• In the U.S. specifically, the footwear market generated a revenue of approximately USD 94.54 billion in 2024. It is expected to reach around USD 117.38 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 3.7% from 2025 to 2030.
• For Canada, the footwear market size was approximately USD 8.58 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach about USD 10.91 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.1% from 2025 to 2030. Another estimate for Canada's footwear market in 2024 was USD 10.34 billion.

Fashion Accessories Market (including Handbags)

Designer Brands also specializes in accessories, particularly handbags.

• The North American fashion accessories market generated revenue of approximately USD 283.01 billion in 2024. This market is anticipated to grow to approximately USD 440.80 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2025 to 2030.
• Focusing on the U.S., the fashion accessories market was valued at about USD 222.07 billion in 2024. It is projected to reach approximately USD 342.99 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.8% from 2025 to 2030. Separately, the U.S. handbag market alone was estimated at USD 14.26 billion in 2024.
• In Canada, the handbag, luggage, & accessory stores market was valued at USD 2.2 billion in 2024. This market is projected to reach USD 2.3 billion in 2025.

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Designer Brands Inc. (DBI) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several strategic initiatives across its segments and brand portfolio.

One key driver is the **strategic growth of its owned brands and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels**. Designer Brands aims to double the sales of its owned brands, such as Topo Athletic, Keds, Vince Camuto, and Jessica Simpson, by fiscal year 2026, primarily through direct-to-consumer channels. Significant investments have been made in acquiring and developing these brands, with a focus on repositioning some, like Keds, within the comfort casual category and integrating new technology-infused athleisure offerings to achieve double-digit growth.

Another significant driver is **continued expansion in the Canadian retail market**. The company has actively pursued growth in Canada, including the acquisition of 28 Rubino stores in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, bringing the total store count in Canada to 175 as of February 1, 2025. This expansion is projected to result in mid-to-high single-digit sales growth for the Canada Retail segment in fiscal 2025.

A third anticipated driver is the **modernization and optimization of its U.S. Retail segment, focusing on enhanced assortment, marketing, and omnichannel experience**. For its U.S. Retail segment, Designer Brands projects low-single-digit net sales growth and comparable sales increases in 2025. This growth is supported by strategies to improve inventory availability, enhance product assortment—particularly with increased athleisure penetration and strengthened partnerships with top national brands like Birkenstock and Nike—and optimize marketing efforts to boost DSW awareness. The company also emphasizes an integrated omnichannel experience, where a significant portion of digital demand is fulfilled by stores and e-commerce returns are processed in-store, further driving customer engagement and traffic.

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1. Share Repurchases
   • Designer Brands Inc. repurchased Class A common shares at an aggregate cost of $68.6 million in fiscal year 2024 (ended February 1, 2025), with 10.3 million shares repurchased.
   • As of February 1, 2025, $19.7 million of Class A common shares remained available for future repurchase under the existing share repurchase program.
   • The company repurchased $147.549 million in shares in 2023 and $102.188 million in 2024, according to some data sources.
2. Outbound Investments
   • Designer Brands Inc. announced a $2 million investment in advancing action-oriented Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives.
   • The company has focused on investing in high-growth brands like Topo Athletic, which grew over 70% in 2024.
3. Capital Expenditures
   • Capital expenditures for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2025, were $11.981 million.
   • In the third quarter of 2025, the company maintained a disciplined approach to managing capital investments.
   • For fiscal year 2025, the company plans to focus capital investments on initiatives aimed at enhancing the customer experience and product offerings, revitalizing and modernizing assortments, optimizing marketing, and improving omnichannel capabilities.