Shoe Carnival Plans 10 New Store Openings This Year

Shoe Carnival pointed to sales growth above pre-pandemic levels in its fiscal 2022 first-quarter report, according to a company press release Wednesday (May 18).

The company’s sales grew 25.1% to $317 million between the first quarter of fiscal 2019 and Q1 of fiscal 2022, with the company saying 2020 and 2021 were fraught with volatility, making the 2019 to 2022 comparison “the most relevant indicator of the company’s strength.”

Shoe Carnival’s stores were closed for more than half of the first quarter of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and net sales jumped 122.7% in the first quarter of 2021, when stores were fully reopened as well as the injection of federal government stimulus money and expanding market share.

“Our strategies to double our operating profit compared to the levels before the pandemic have worked,” Shoe Carnival President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Worden said in the company press release. “Our first quarter results demonstrate the structural profit transformation and increased scale our plans have achieved compared to pre-pandemic results.

“With gross profit margins in the mid-thirties, double-digit operating profit margin and store productivity above $300 per square foot, we are incredibly optimistic about our future growth and long-term profit potential. Both of our store banners exceeded expectations despite the quarter’s economic headwinds and global uncertainties. Based on the strong start versus our plans, we are raising our annual EPS guidance and reiterating our sales growth guidance for 2022,” he said.

Shoe Carnival also opened two new stores in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. The company plans to open 10 new stores in fiscal 2022, expects no store closures and to boost its store count to more than 400 stores by the end of fiscal 2022.

It also plans to have more than half of its stores modernized by the summer of 2023 and to complete its modernization plans by the end of fiscal 2024. Almost one-third of the modernization is done as of Q1 of fiscal 2022.

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In other footwear news, Nike and StockX, the respective leaders of the new and used categories, are actively embroiled in litigation and Foot Locker and Adidas announced an enhanced partnership that will see the German sporting goods company and the operator of 2,900 stores working together in new ways to develop and sell exclusive products.