Designer Brands

Designer Brands Inc. is a prominent figure in the North American footwear and accessories market, operating as one of the largest designers, producers, and retailers in the industry. The company's core mission is to inspire self-expression by offering a wide array of brand name and designer footwear and accessories. Its primary retail concept, DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW), first opened its doors in Dublin, Ohio, in 1991 and has since expanded to operate nearly 500 stores across 45 states in the United States. In addition to its U.S. presence, Designer Brands also manages The Shoe Company and DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse locations in Canada, totaling nearly 150 stores. The company's operations extend beyond traditional retail through its Affiliated Business Group, which services footwear departments in other retail locations.

A significant transformation occurred in 2018 with the acquisition of Camuto Group, a renowned product design and brand development organization, famous for the Vince Camuto® brand and licensed footwear for Jessica Simpson® and Lucky Brand®. This strategic move elevated Designer Brands into a major footwear entity in North America, equipped with comprehensive global capabilities in product design, development, sourcing, and production. The company boasts a diversified portfolio of owned and licensed brands, including Keds, Topo Athletic, Le Tigre, and Hush Puppies, among others. Publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'DBI' since 2005 (previously 'DSW' before the corporate name change from DSW Inc. in 2019), Designer Brands leverages a robust direct-to-consumer omnichannel infrastructure, including a significant billion-dollar digital commerce business across multiple domains. This infrastructure supports its extensive network of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and The Shoe Company stores, ensuring delivery of current, in-line footwear and accessories from leading national brands and maintaining strong market share in key product categories for women, men, and children. The company also distributes its brands internationally via select wholesale and distributor relationships and utilizes its design and sourcing expertise to develop private label products for other national retailers.