Sep 9, 2026 earnings call — Brand strength offsets Famous Footwear softness
Consolidated sales were $695 million, up 5.6% from last year.
Revenue $0.7B (est $0.7B) · EPS $0.47 (est $0.37)
Key quotes
"In our brand portfolio, we experienced broad-based gains across brands, with strength in wholesale, direct to consumer and international."
"The strength of our brand portfolio helped offset challenges we saw at Famous Footwear in the quarter."
"Our goal remains to achieve breakeven operating earnings in 2026, and we believe we have the foundation in place to get there."
Analyst Q&A 3
U.S. growth and wholesale orders
Q (Ashley Owens · KeyBanc): She asked for the domestic (North America) organic growth rate and for color on the domestic wholesale order book and retailer demand. She also asked about Famous Footwear: how big the athletic decline was and how promotion will flow between Q3 and Q4.
A: Management did not give a specific North America organic growth rate. They said international is "less than 10%" of total, and the order book is "consistent with our guidance for the third quarter" with no volatility. On Famous, athletic improved into August and through Labor Day, back-to-school spiked to "over 60%" of business then rightsizes toward "mid fifties" athletic and "mid forties" nonathletic; margins were "down about 100 basis points" year over year and the company expects continued promotional pressure into the back half.
"We will say that the order book is consistent with our guidance for the third quarter and we are not seeing any volatility in that." — John W. Schmidt (CEO)
Fashion buying and athletic trends
Q (Mitch Kummetz · Seaport Research Partners): He asked whether consumers now shop more by silhouettes versus specific hit items and if that helps the brand portfolio. He also asked which parts of lifestyle athletic are weakest or strongest, whether newness is showing positives, and what early boot trends look like.
A: They said it is both: big, key items remain very strong (example: Birkenstock and flats) while other fashion pieces are smaller but present. In athletic, performance remains strong (they called out Jordan and Brooks) and there were pockets of fashionable lifestyle strength—Adidas rebounded and they had some Samba access. On boots, they see small but encouraging early demand (dress boots showed interest in the Nordstrom anniversary and pickup in August), but receipts were later than usual so some Q3 boot business was delayed.
"We are still seeing very strong demand on those big items." — John W. Schmidt (CEO)
Stuart Weitzman integration and flare stores
Q (Dana Telsey · Telsey Advisory Group): She asked how Stuart Weitzman integration is progressing toward breakeven and whether Famous flare stores perform differently for athletic versus fashion (and whether Nike is the issue). She also asked about full-price versus promotions in the back half.
A: They said Stuart Weitzman integration is going well: the business is now fully integrated on platforms, global assortments are in place, fall product is coming in, and "receipts are flowing well." For flare stores, premium brands and products have been outperforming; they have not seen a big athletic vs nonathletic split yet. On pricing, they will stay aggressive clearing lifestyle athletic that is not working and keep assortments focused on newness, which should mean continued markdowns on weaker lifestyle athletic and less on the newer items.
"Receipts are flowing well, and I think we are in a much better shape." — John W. Schmidt (CEO)