Sales also fell in the second quarter (Q2) ending 2 August to $658.5m from $683.3m.
Operating income fell to $9.3m from $43m year-on-year, as the retailer recorded a restructuring and special charge of $6.8m which was absent from results for the same period a year earlier.
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Caleres said its brand portfolio sales fell 3.5% in Q2 with gains in women’s fashion footwear market share and strong performance from Lead Brands in total, and approximately $10m in tariff impact.
Famous Footwear sales declined 4.9%, with comparable sales down 3.4%.
“While we did experience headwinds due to market uncertainty, we demonstrated the strength and resilience of our company this quarter. Sales trends improved sequentially in both segments of our business and we saw market share gains in women’s fashion footwear and in shoe chains. We experienced strength in Lead Brands, our Brand Portfolio direct-to-consumer channels, and international. We also saw significant improvement in sales trends at Famous Footwear in July and continuing through August,” said Jay Schmidt, president and CEO.
“As we look to address the changes in the operating environment, we completed our previously announced structural cost savings initiatives that will deliver annualised savings of $15m and support a more efficient operating structure. Just after quarter-end, we completed the acquisition of Stuart Weitzman, adding a new Lead Brand to our portfolio that aligns with our strategic focus on premium, direct-to-consumer, and international business,” added Schmidt.
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By GlobalDataPlus, he said: “Longer term, we will continue looking for ways to leverage our greatest capabilities across our portfolio, and we are confident in our ability to execute our strategic plan, invest to fuel our growth initiatives, and drive sustained value for our shareholders.”
The retailer chose to suspend annual guidance on the back of “uncertainty in the environment”.
“We expect ongoing gross margin pressure in Brand Portfolio from tariffs for the balance of the year. We anticipate third quarter Brand Portfolio gross margin, excluding Stuart Weitzman, to be down similar to second quarter, with improvement in the fourth quarter as we realise more of the benefit from our mitigation strategies,” it said.
