Steve Madden meets earnings guidance in fiscal 2017, sales up 10.5%

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Jan 9, 2018

Steven Madden Ltd. preannounced on Monday strong sales results for the fourth-quarter and fiscal yea, ended December 31, 2017.
 

The designer and marketer of fashion footwear and accessories saw net sales climb 10.5 percent during the full fiscal year, hitting $1.5 billion.
 
Wholesale net sales increased 12.1 percent to $1.3 billion, or 5 percent to $1.2 billion excluding results from Schwartz & Benjamin, which the company acquired in January of last year.

Retail net sales increased 3.6 percent to $272.2 million, while retail comparable store sales fell 3.2 percent. Chairman and CEO Edward Rosenfeld noted that strength in the firm’s wholesale business was offset by expected softness in the retail segment, driven by weakness in the boot category, resulting in a retail comparable store sales fall. 
 
For the fourth quarter, net sales were $364.4 million, up 8.3 percent compared to the same period of 2016. Net sales for the wholesale division and retail were equally up, while retail comparable store sales for the fourth quarter were again down by 5.1 percent.
 
“Overall, 2017 was a strong year for Steve Madden. We delivered robust sales and earnings growth driven by the outstanding performance of our flagship Steve Madden brand in the wholesale channel,” said Rosenfeld.
 
“We also took a number of steps to position the Company for future growth, including the acquisition of Schwartz & Benjamin and the formation of new joint ventures in China and Taiwan. As we look ahead, we are confident that our strong brands and increasingly diversified business model position us to continue to drive top- and bottom-line gains for years to come.”