Shoe Carnival doubling down on Shoe Station ‘rebanner’ effort
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Evansville-based Shoe Carnival Inc. is expanding a previously announced initiative to convert more of its stores to the Shoe Station banner, the company announced Friday in its quarterly earnings report.
The footwear retailer said it now plans to have about 80% of its retail footprint under the Shoe Station banner by March 2027.
Shoe Carnival acquired Alabama-based Shoe Station Inc. in 2021 for $67 million and says the brand has been the industry’s fastest-growing retailer for the past two years.
During its 2024 fiscal year, the company piloted the rebanner effort by closing 10 underperforming Shoe Carnival stores and reopening them as Shoe Station locations. The move resulted in a 10% growth in sales and profit, the company said.
Earlier this year, Shoe Carnival said it planned to transition 175 stores to the Shoe Station banner over the next two years. In its fiscal first quarter, which ended May 3, the company completed the transition for 24 additional stores.
During the quarter, the company said its Shoe Station stores saw a 4.9% increase in net sales compared to the same quarter last year.
“The Shoe Station growth strategy is working exceptionally well, delivering industry-leading sales growth and accretive margins across diverse market types,” CEO Mark Worden said in a news release. “This consistent outperformance versus both Shoe Carnival and industry trends across all footwear categories has given us the confidence to accelerate our rebanner initiative.”
However, overall net sales for the company declined 7.5%, driven largely by a drop in sales from stores under the Shoe Carnival brand. Net income for the first quarter totaled $9.3 million, down from $17.3 million during the same period in 2024.
Under the expanded rebanner strategy, Shoe Carnival expects to have 120 stores under the Shoe Station banner by the end of the fiscal year
“We’re making these investments from a position of financial strength, with growing cash reserves and no debt,” Worden said. “This is a pivotal moment for our company as we transform from a traditional family footwear retailer to a premium brand-focused national leader in footwear.”
You can connect to the full earnings report by clicking here.