Designer Brands Inc. Names Doug Howe as President of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI), one of North America's largest designers, producers and retailers of footwear and accessories, today announced that Doug Howe has been named President of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and Executive Vice President of Designer Brands. 

Howe's appointment brings continued strength and momentum to Designer Brands putting customers, brands and speed at the forefront of the retailer's 519 U.S. store locations and direct-to-consumer channels. As President of DSW, Doug will be responsible for day-to-day leadership of the company and bringing DSW's differentiated customer experience and desired brands to life across direct-to-consumer channels. Doug will report directly to Designer Brands' CEO Roger Rawlins, and his appointment is effective in late May.

Howe is a 30+ year retail veteran with deep experience in vertical and national brand building and direct-to-consumer growth. He most recently served as Chief Merchandising Officer at Kohl's, and held prior leadership positions across merchandising, design, product development and planning at Qurate Retail Group, Old Navy, Walmart and May Department Stores. Howe is a graduate of Creighton University with a degree in business administration and management.

"I'm privileged to join DSW as we evolve retail to the next level, with a determined focus on customers, offering the best owned and national brands and delivering products with incredible speed," said Howe. "DSW is more than just a place to buy shoes, it's an innovative enterprise on multiple fronts. With so much synergy fueling DSW's business plans, I'm excited to partner with all DSW associates to continue the momentum and growth for the future."

"Designer Brands and DSW are hyper-focused on maintaining our edge across the competitive landscape," added Rawlins. "I have the highest confidence in Doug's leadership to guide us in our stores and ecommerce operations to benefit our owned brands, while focusing on the athletic and fashion brands that our 28 million loyalty customers love. DSW has a bright future ahead with Doug's proven retail experience helping advance our business priorities of customers, brands and speed."

About Designer Brands
Designer Brands is one of North America's largest designers, producers, and retailers of footwear and accessories. Designer Brands operates a portfolio of retail concepts in nearly 700 locations under the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse®, The Shoe Company®, and Shoe Warehouse® banners. Designer Brands designs and produces footwear and accessories through Camuto Group, a leading manufacturer selling in more than 5,400 stores worldwide. Camuto Group owns licensing rights for the Jessica Simpson® footwear business and footwear and handbag licenses for Lucky Brand®. In partnership with a joint venture with Authentic Brands Group, Designer Brands also owns a stake in Vince Camuto®, Louise et Cie®, and others. More information can be found at www.designerbrands.com.

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Certain statements in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking words such as "outlook," "could," "believes," "expects," "potential," "may," "will," "should," "would," "approximately," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates," "targets" or the negative version of those words or other comparable words. These statements are based on the Company's current views and expectations and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: risks and uncertainty related to the ongoing coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic, any future COVID-19 resurgence, and any other adverse public health developments; uncertain general economic conditions, including inflation and supply chain pressures, domestic and global political and social conditions and the potential impact of geopolitical turmoil or conflict, including the war in Ukraine, and the related impacts to consumer discretionary spending or other adverse macroeconomic factors; our ability to anticipate and respond to fashion trends, consumer preferences and changing customer expectations; maintaining strong relationships with our vendors, manufacturers, licensors, and retailer customers; risks related to losses or disruptions associated with our distribution systems, including our distribution centers and fulfillment center and stores, whether as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, reliance on third-party providers, or otherwise; our reliance on our loyalty programs and marketing to drive traffic, sales and customer loyalty; failure to retain our key executives or attract qualified new personnel; risks related to the loss or disruption of our information systems and data and our ability to prevent or mitigate breaches of our information security and the compromise of sensitive and confidential data; our ability to protect our reputation and to maintain the brands we license; risks related to restrictions imposed by our credit facility that could limit our ability to fund operations; our competitiveness with respect to style, price, brand availability and customer service; our ability to provide customers with cost-effective shopping platforms; risks related to our international operations, including international trade, our reliance on foreign sources for merchandise, exposure to political, economic, operational, compliance and other risks, and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to protect the health and safety of our associates and our customers, which may be affected by current or future government regulations related to stay-at-home orders and/or orders related to the operation of non-essential businesses; our ability to comply with privacy laws and regulations, as well as other legal obligations; and uncertainty related to future legislation, regulatory reform, policy changes, or interpretive guidance on existing legislation. Risks and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements are described in the Company's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K or other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the time when made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect any future events or circumstances.

SOURCE Designer Brands Inc.