INDUSTRY NEWS

ST. LOUIS, MO— Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE:BWS) announced its third quarter financial results Tuesday morning. The company posted a net sales decrease of 1 percent over the previous third quarter report—$625.6 million versus $631.7 million one year ago. Net sales for Brown’s specialty retail division increased 1.4 percent to $66.5 million, however net sales at the company’s wholesale division decreased 16.5 percent to $169.9 million. Famous Footwear posted net sales of $389.2 million, an increase of 7.3 percent over the year-ago third quarter. The increase was driven by a 4.7 percent same-store sales increase and 10 more stores in operation over the year-ago period.

Ron Fromm, Brown Shoe’s chairman and chief executive officer, stated in a press release, “We are pleased that we delivered better-than-expected sales and earnings during the third quarter. Our strategies to offer trend-right product, an enhanced store experience, and the increased reach of our marketing communications helped deliver a strong back-to-school selling season at Famous Footwear. In addition, improved consumer reaction to our Naturalizer product and our other wholesale brands drove better sell-thrus at retail and, in particular, strong same-store sales results at our Naturalizer stores. This, coupled with our expense and inventory disciplines, drove greater gross margins and improved operating performance in the quarter. 

“Although the timing of economic recovery remains uncertain, we are continuing these strategies into the fourth quarter and holiday season, as we expect consumers will continue to shop later in the season. In addition, we believe the brands across our portfolio are well-positioned to gain market share, given their strong value propositions to consumers at diverse price points and channels of distribution.”

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