More Articles

Birkenstock Files for IPO

Birkenstock, whose brand is synonymous with its footbed and its long German heritage dating back to 1774, filed for a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.

Designer Brands Eyes Own Brands Development

Despite experiencing a 7.8 percent drop in Q2 sales to $792.2 million, impacted by ongoing macroeconomic pressures on consumers and an “extremely promotional” retail environment, Designer Brands executives...

Caleres Making Progress with Brand Portfolio

Although Caleres’ Brand Portfolio sales fell by 9 percent in H1 to nearly $626.4 million, the segment realized 460 basis points year-over-year improvement in gross margin to 42.8 percent. H1 operating profit declined by 1.8 percent to $69.5 million.

Genesco Gets Mixed Q2 Results, New Journeys Prez in 2024

Nashville-based Genesco, which will see its 44-year employee, Mario Gallione, retire as its Journeys Group president sometime in Feb. 2024 after six years in the position, is holding the line on its FY24 outlook despite difficult results within the teen footwear business in Q2.

A Tale of Two Customers for Shoe Carnival

Family shoe chain Shoe Carnival, which has now reached 400 doors for the first time since 2018, is gaining traction with higher-income households but seeing its urban, under $30K household income customers struggle and subsequently purchase fewer pairs of footwear.

Evolving Merchandise Mix Key to Foot Locker’s Strategy

Foot Locker, which lowered its financial outlook for the remainder of its fiscal year after reporting poor Q2 results, is continuing to make investments in technology and key vendor partnerships as it works toward shifting its merchandise mix to 40 percent non-Nike products by 2026.

Foot Locker Loses $5 Million in Q2, Lowers FY Guidance

Numerous factors contributed to poor quarterly results for Foot Locker, which were “broadly in line” with the retailer’s expectations.

Hufnagel Charged with Turning Around Wolverine

Flagging Wolverine Worldwide made an abrupt change in its executive suite last week and announced the closure of its Boston office by year-end as the company struggles to get its financial house in order and work more on brand building.

On’s Growth Continues in Specialty Run Channel and Beyond

The Swiss brand On, which celebrates its second anniversary as a public company next month, increased its Q2 sales in the Americas by 60 percent to the equivalent of $337.8 million for the three months ended June 30.

Softening Global Demand Impacts Globe’s Largest Footwear Producer

Yue Yuen, which suffered a 12 percent sales decline to $4.15 billion and a 52 percent drop in profitability to $83.6 million for the six months ended June 30...

Adidas’ Return to Profitability Remains a Work in Progress

There were signs of progress for Adidas in the company’s recent second quarter financials, but the North American market was not one of them.

Under Armour Initiates Strategy to Ignite U.S. Sales

With the brand’s current strength in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, Under Armour is implementing a strategy under new CEO Stephanie Linnartz that will put its U.S. business back on a growth path.

Asics, Mizuno Make Gains in Running

Asics, which now anticipates its current FY sales to reach the equivalent of $3.84 billion, reported 20 percent first half growth in its performance running business to $1.03 billion.

B-T-S Shoe Shopping Commences with More Looking for In-Store Deals

Changing economic conditions and spending power are key influences on the intended buying habits of Back-To-School shoppers this year, according to a new survey of 1,000 U.S. families with school-aged children.

Hoka Takes ‘Moving Together’ Ethos to More Consumers Worldwide

Deckers Brands-owned Hoka, which reported a 27 percent Q2 sales increase to $427.5 million, continues to benefit from shifting a greater proportion of its revenue mix to the Direct-To-Consumer channel.

Crocs Working to Terminate “Gray Market” Selling of Heydude Styles

Crocs Inc. generated more than $1 billion in Q2 revenues on 12 percent constant-currency growth. The company increased its annual revenue guidance to surpass the $4 billion mark, but its share price plummeted more than 14 percent on July 27.

Skechers Sees Sales Momentum Pendulum Swing Toward International in Q2

A difficult year-over-year comparison and industrywide footwear inventory issues plagued Skechers’ Q2 results in the Americas where wholesale revenues fell 19 percent, but the company was still able to achieve more than $2 billion in revenues and...

Beverage Mogul Takes Majority Stake in Nobull

Impact Capital, the private equity arm of billionaire Mike Repole, last week acquired an unspecified majority stake in Nobull, a training footwear and apparel brand co-founded by ex-Reebok executives Marcus Wilson and Michael Schaffer in 2015.

Converse’s FY23 D-T-C Sales Rose 5 Percent

Parent company Nike provided details about Converse’s annual results for the 12 months ended May 31 in its annual report that filed last week. Fiscal year revenues for the All-Star brand rose by 3 percent to nearly $2.43 billion with footwear accounting for nearly 89 percent of the total.

Performance Footwear, Fueled by Running, Gains in Q2

Overall sales of U.S. footwear declined 5 percent to $10.3 billion in Q2, according to Circana, but the performance segment posted a 5 percent increase to $1.9 billion with running shoes responsible for 40 percent of its growth.

How Perfectionists See It

Footwear Insight, in its quest to get the lowdown on the current state of the retail footwear industry, reached out to some of the best seeking answers.

Nike Takes Legal Fight to Online Counterfeiters

Nike is attempting to combat e-commerce sellers on global platforms who continue to sell unauthorized and unlicensed Swoosh merchandise using counterfeit and infringing versions of the company’s federally registered trademarks.

Footwear Imports to Plunge Despite Higher Consumer Spending

The percentage increase of U.S. footwear imports is likely to plummet into negative territory this year to below 2.0 billion pairs after nearly 30 percent growth in 2022 to nearly 2.75 billion pairs, according to data from the U.S.

Crocs Sues Rival, Former Employee for Stealing Trade Secrets

In a 29-page complaint filed in federal court in Denver on July 6, Crocs alleges that defendants Joybees LLC and Kellen McCarvel, a former mid-level manager for Crocs, stole thousands of documents containing “highly confidential and proprietary” business information from the company.

DSW Names New President

Laura Denk, most recently chief merchandising officer for Michaels Stores, Inc., has been named president of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) and Executive Vice President of Designer Brands. Her appointment is effective July 24.