The company’s Famous Footwear segment saw a decline of 9.2% in the period, with comparable sales down 8.5%, which Caleres attributed to consumer demand. The Brand Portfolio segment was down by 11%.
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales represented around 68% of total net sales. Gross profit for the quarter totalled US$302.7 million, with a gross margin of 45.7%. The gross margin for Famous Footwear was 45.6% while the Brand Portfolio segment had a margin of 44.2%.
Reportedly, Caleres has taken steps to reduce expenses in response to the more challenging operating environment, including eliminating open corporate positions, reducing non-merchandise procurement costs, realising additional Brand Portfolio synergies and lowering depreciation expense.
These are expected to result in US$20 million in savings this financial year. The company also expects better-than-expected freight costs to result in an additional US$10 million in savings.
Looking forward to the second quarter of the year, Caleres is forecasting consolidated net sales down by 4-5%.
President and CEO Jay Schmidt said: “The Caleres team delivered a solid financial performance at the upper end of our earnings per share guidance driven by record quarterly profit from the Brand Portfolio and despite a challenging operating environment at Famous Footwear. These first quarter results underscore the value of our diversified structure, the strength of our omnichannel capabilities and the power of our portfolio.”
