DSW Parent Grows by Adding Own Brands to Retail Offering

The company best known for its retail stores called DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse has reportedly been growing its margins by also producing goods and selling them through other retailers as well as its own brick-and-mortar and online stores.

Beginning four years ago, in response to footwear brands selling their products directly to consumers, Designer Brands began boosting the number of its own brands, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday (Sept. 8).

“We get to buy it at cost and sell it at retail, and control the distribution,” Chief Financial Officer Jared Poff said in the report.

Over the past four years, Designer Brands acquired Camuto Group, invested in Le Tigre 360 Global in a deal that includes footwear licensing rights, and entered into an agreement with Hush Puppies that made it the exclusive retail distributor for that brand’s shoes, per the report.

The company recorded a 40% year-over-year increase in sales of its own branded products during the most recent quarter and is working to double the sales of its own brands by 2026 compared to 2021, according to the report.

During Designer Brands’ most recent quarterly earnings call, which took place Aug. 31, Poff said six of the company’s fashion footwear brands are now in the top 50, including one that’s in the top 10 — and only one of those brands existed in 2019.

“So, when you marry together the brand building and design and sourcing with the infrastructure of our [direct-to-consumer (D2C)] infrastructure, it really is a powerful combination,” Poff said during the call.

Designer Brands CEO Roger Rawlins added during the call that the company has proven that it can build a brand portfolio with great products, marketing and partners that want to buy the products. Beyond that, the company’s D2C business increased 45% year over year during the quarter.

“That is remarkable,” Rawlins said. “And it is because of the combination that we have of an amazing store fleet and amazing digital experience and the ability to make, design and source our own shoes.”

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