COLUMBUS, Ohio,
July 10,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE:
DBI) (the "Company" and "Designer Brands"), one of the world's
largest designers, producers, and retailers of footwear and
accessories, today announced that Laura
Denk has been named President of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse
("DSW") and Executive Vice President of Designer Brands, with her
appointment to be effective as of July 24,
2023.
As President of DSW, Denk will be responsible for leading DSW's
nearly 500 U.S. store locations and e-commerce channel, DSW.com,
furthering the Company's ongoing strategy of delivering compelling
brands and exceptional experiences across all customer touchpoints.
Her responsibilities will include day-to-day leadership of DSW, in
addition to helping to further elevate Designer Brands' Owned
Brands and top National Brands within the retailer's differentiated
customer offering. Denk will report directly to Designer Brands'
Chief Executive Officer, Doug
Howe.
"I am thrilled to be joining DSW at such an exciting time in
DSW's journey to becoming a brand builder, while leveraging its
strong footprint of stores and omni-channel platform," said Denk.
"The opportunity to partner with the DSW team to transform and
reimagine the customer experience, especially by shining a light on
Designer Brands' unique Owned Brands within DSW will help us build
value for our customers and our shareholders. I am
continually impressed by the breadth of assortment and must-have
brands, coupled with a convenient and easy shopping experience, and
I look forward to jumping right into the business."
Howe said, "I am confident in Laura's ability to lead the DSW
organization forward in ways that will further elevate and grow the
profile of our Owned Brands, while ensuring we maintain our
critical, core relationships with our top National Brands within
our retail footprint. Our 30 million loyalty customers can expect
an exciting future ahead for DSW, with Laura's expertise driving us
to the next phase of growth, while maintaining our position as a
leader in the footwear space."
Denk brings to the Company an extensive background in
merchandising and an affinity for building strong vendor
partnerships, along with significant experience in augmenting
customer experiences and elevating private brands. She most
recently served as Chief Merchandising Officer and Executive Vice
President at Michaels Stores, Inc. ("Michaels"). Prior to that, she
was Michaels' General Merchandise Manager. She has also held
leadership positions at Claire's Stores, Inc. and Macy's, Inc. Denk
is a graduate of Indiana University
Bloomington, with a Bachelor's Degree from the Kelley School
of Business.
About Designer Brands
Designer Brands is one of the
world's largest designers, producers and retailers of the most
recognizable footwear brands and accessories, transforming and
defining the footwear industry through a mission of inspiring
self-expression. With a diversified, world-class portfolio of
coveted brands, including Keds, Lucky Brand, Crown Vintage,
Vince Camuto, Topo Athletic,
Jessica Simpson, Le Tigre and others, Designer Brands designs and
produces on-trend footwear and accessories for all of life's
occasions delivered to the consumer through a robust
direct-to-consumer omni-channel infrastructure and powerful
national wholesale distribution. Powered by a billion-dollar
digital commerce business across multiple domains and nearly 640
DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and The Shoe Company stores in
North America, Designer Brands
delivers current, in-line footwear and accessories from the largest
national brands in the industry and holds leading market share
positions in key product categories across Women's, Men's and
Kids'. Designer Brands also distributes its brands internationally
through select wholesale and distributor relationships while also
leveraging design and sourcing expertise to build private label
product for national retailers. Designer Brands is committed to
being a difference maker in the world, taking steps forward to
advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the footwear industry
and supporting a global community and the health of the planet by
donating more than seven million pairs of shoes to the global
non-profit Soles4Souls. To learn more, visit
www.designerbrands.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
Certain statements in this press
release may constitute forward-looking statements and are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these
forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking words such
as "outlook," "could," "believes," "expects," "potential," "may,"
"will," "should," "would," "approximately," "plans," "estimates,"
"anticipates," "targets," or the negative version of those words or
other comparable words. These statements are based on the Company's
current views and expectations and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results,
performance, or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied
by the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are
not limited to: uncertain general economic conditions, including
inflationary pressures and rising interest rates, and the related
impacts to consumer discretionary spending, as well as supply chain
disruptions and pressures; risks and uncertainties related to the
ongoing coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic, any future COVID-19
resurgence, and any other adverse public health developments; our
ability to anticipate and respond to fashion trends, consumer
preferences and changing customer expectations; our ability to
maintain strong relationships with our vendors, manufacturers,
licensors, and retailer customers; risks related to losses or
disruptions associated with our distribution systems, including our
distribution centers and stores, whether as a result of reliance on
third-party providers, or otherwise; our ability to manage our
Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") transition, retain our existing
management team, and continue to attract qualified new personnel;
risks related to cyber security threats and privacy or data
security breaches or the potential loss or disruption of our
information technology ("IT") systems; risks related to the
implementation of an enterprise resource planning system software
solution and other IT systems; our reliance on our loyalty programs
and marketing to drive traffic, sales, and customer loyalty; our
ability to protect our reputation and to maintain the brands we
license; our competitiveness with respect to style, price, brand
availability, and customer service; risks related to our
international operations, including international trade, our
reliance on foreign sources for merchandise, exposure to political,
economic, operational, compliance and other risks, and fluctuations
in foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to comply with
privacy laws and regulations, as well as other legal obligations;
domestic and global political and social conditions, global
pandemics, and the potential impact of geopolitical turmoil or
conflict; risks associated with climate change and other corporate
responsibility issues and uncertainties related to future
legislation, regulatory reform, policy changes, or interpretive
guidance on existing legislation. Risks and other factors that
could cause our actual results to differ materially from our
forward-looking statements are described in the Company's latest
Annual Report on Form 10-K or other reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements
speak only as of the time when made. Except as may be required by
applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or
revise the forward-looking statements included in this press
release to reflect any future events or circumstances.
For further information:
Investor Relations: Edelman
Smithfield for Designer Brands,
DesignerBrandsIR@Edelman.com
Media: mediarelations@designerbrands.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/designer-brands-inc-names-laura-denk-as-president-of-dsw-designer-shoe-warehouse-301873085.html
SOURCE Designer Brands Inc.