Steve Madden wholesale boosted by accessories, apparel

Dive Brief:

• Steve Madden revenue increased 17.6% in its second quarter to $523.6 million, according to a news release Wednesday.
• The footwear giant’s results were driven by “exceptional growth” in its accessories and apparel categories, CEO Edward Rosenfeld said in the release.
• Steve Madden acquired apparel brand Almost Famous last year, which resulted in significant growth in the company’s wholesale channel. Revenue for wholesale accessories and apparel increased 86% in Q2, or nearly 30%, excluding Almost Famous.

Dive Insight:

Revenue for the overall wholesale business was up 22.5% to $385.3 million, and excluding Almost Famous, wholesale revenue increased 8.2%. Meanwhile, the company’s core footwear segment increased its wholesale revenue by 0.9%.

DTC, which had been a pain point for Steve Madden for the bulk of its 2023 fiscal year, saw a 6.4% increase for the quarter to $136.4 million. The company’s DTC results began to turn around in Q4 last year, after five consecutive quarters of declines.

The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2024 outlook and said it expects a revenue increase of between 11% and 13% year over year. 

“While the near-term operating environment remains choppy, we are confident that our core strengths — our brands, business model and people — will enable us to drive sustainable revenue and earnings growth over the long term,” Rosenfeld said.

Apart from its namesake brand, Steve Madden also owns Dolce Vita, Betsey Johnson, Blondo and Greats. It licenses the footwear and handbag categories for the Anne Klein brand. Prior to Steve Madden’s Almost Famous acquisition, Almost Famous had been the exclusive licensee of Steve Madden subbrand Madden NYC.