Designer Brands (DBI) FY22 EPS Guidance Tops Consensus, Outlines Long-Range Plan – StreetInsider.com

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StreetInsider.com Top Tickers, 4/13/2022
Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI) (the “Company” and “Designer Brands”), one of North America’s largest designers, producers, and retailers of footwear and accessories, today will host an Investor Day at the New York Stock Exchange. At the event, Designer Brands will outline its updated long-range plan to leverage its acute focus on its customers, ability to build unparalleled brands, and initiatives focused on optimizing speed and efficiency to drive anticipated growth.

“At Designer Brands, we have truly taken control of our destiny as we have transformed into a brand builder, marrying our world-class design and sourcing capabilities to our industry leading direct-to-consumer infrastructure. We know our customers like our best friends, and utilize the data, feedback and insights gleaned from our nearly 30 million loyalty members to efficiently design top quality product suited specifically for them and engaging with them in innovative ways across any and all mediums they desire. Our nimble business model and agile team have the ability to pivot with our consumers’ preferences and meet them where they want to shop,” said Roger Rawlins, Chief Executive Officer of Designer Brands.
“Our Owned Brands are the key driver of growth over the next five years, and we plan to double sales of these brands by fiscal 2026. This growth is complemented by maintaining our relationships with top National Brand partners who utilize our leading omni-channel capabilities in their own DTC efforts in ways unique to DBI. In addition to our updated and differentiated assortment, we are expanding upon our already dominant sourcing and supply chain capabilities, leading to quicker speed to market with new designs and faster delivery times. Designer Brands’ mission to inspire self-expression is supported by our integrated organization, and this will meaningfully grow shareholder value over the long-term.”
Event Overview
During the event, Designer Brands’ management team will provide a deeper look at the Company’s differentiated capabilities that will drive growth, demonstrated by the goal to double sales of Owned Brands in all channels and maintain sales in National Brands. In addition, the management team will outline the Company’s specific initiatives to meaningfully grow shareholder value.
Long-Term Financial Outlook
During the Investor Day, Designer Brands will outline a five-year financial roadmap through which the Company expects to deliver significant bottom-line growth, building upon the investments Designer Brands has made over the past several years and the integration work that has been completed resulting in a transformed business. Designer Brands is announcing the following financial targets, which the Company anticipates reaching by fiscal 2026 (fiscal year ending January 30, 2027).
We expect that this growth will be driven by doubling our Owned Brand sales, from 19% of the Company’s total revenue to nearly one-third, with most of that business happening within our own DTC channels. This growth is highly margin accretive and is expected to drive our operating margin higher over the longer-term.
Updated Fiscal 2022 Financial Outlook
Designer Brands is updating its fiscal 2022 outlook. For the fiscal 2022 full year, EPS is now expected to be in the range of $1.80 to $1.90.
(Consensus sees FY22 EPS of $1.75)
Reinstatement of Cash Dividend
The Company today announced that the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) has approved the reinstatement of the Company’s regular quarterly cash dividend to shareholders, starting in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. A dividend of $0.05 per share of Class A common stock will be paid on May 6, 2022 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 22, 2022. The dividend will be paid out of the Company’s capital surplus as defined under the Ohio General Corporation Law.
Future declarations of dividends are subject to Board approval and may be adjusted based on the Company’s results of operations, financial position, or market conditions. As it is customary, details regarding the record and payment dates for any future quarterly dividends will be announced at the time such dividends are declared by the Board.
Share Repurchase Program
During the first quarter of fiscal 2022 and through April 6, 2022, Designer Brands has repurchased 1.5 million shares of its Class A common stock at an average price per share of $13.71 pursuant to its Board-authorized $500 million share repurchase program. As of April 6, 2022, $313.6 million remained available for repurchase under the Board-authorized program.
Webcast Information
During the Investor Day, Roger Rawlins, Chief Executive Officer, will discuss the Company’s overall mission, vision, strategies and growth opportunities; Julie Roy, Chief Marketing Officer, will discuss the Company’s customer base and related strategies; Jim Weinberg, Chief Merchandising Officer and Sarah Rosen, SVP of Marketing and Communications, Camuto Group, will talk about our approach to building our Owned Brands; Bill Jordan, President and Chief Growth Officer, will review the Company’s vision relating to sourcing and supply chain; Christina Jackson, Leader of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, will discuss the Company’s culture and ESG initiatives; and Jared Poff, Chief Financial Officer, will review long-term financial targets for the Company. Formal presentations will be followed by a question and answer session.
Today’s Investor Day presentation will be available via webcast at investors.designerbrands.com at 9:45 a.m. ET (Eastern Time) and is expected to last approximately three hours. The webcast and presentation materials including our investor deck and infographic, can be accessed through Designer Brands’ Investor Relations website. A replay of the webcast will be available following the event for 60 days at investors.designerbrands.com.

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