Caleres CEO: Back-to-School Season, Kids’ Business Will Bring Gains for Famous Footwear

Caleres is banking on its kid’s business at its Famous Footwear banner to deliver a strong back-to-school season. Jay Schmidt, president and CEO of Caleres, told analysts on the company’s quarterly conference call on Thursday that despite overall consumer softness at Famous Footwear in the first quarter, its kid’s business remained a bright spot. “This important and growing category once again outpaced the rest of our business as families prioritize purchases of kid’s footwear,” Schmidt noted. The St. Louis-based footwear company reported that overall sales in the first quarter fell 9.8 percent to $662.7 million compared to the same time last year. At Famous Footwear, net sales declined 9.2 percent, due to soft consumer demand in shoe chains. “Even with the weakness in shoe chains, we expect Famous to deliver a significantly stronger earnings contribution in the second quarter as consumer activity accelerates due to typical seasonal drivers, including warm weather and back-to-school beginning in mid-July,” Schmidt said. To that end, Schmidt told analysts that the company has taken a number of steps to ensure that Famous Footwear leverages its strength in kids and delivers for back-to-school, including naming a new kid’s merchant to “closely maximize all opportunities” and a new head of stores

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