"Our second quarter was a continuation of the strength we have seen in both our direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels and we were pleased with our topline results. We are seeing this trend continue into the third quarter as our back-to-school season, a new holiday period for Designer Brands, has been performing well, supported by an increased assortment of athletic and kid's products. We continue to successfully execute against our long-term plan to double sales of our Owned Brands by 2026 while maintaining sales of our top National Brand partners. The recent addition of Le Tigre to our portfolio of brands, coupled with our recently announced partnership with Reebok, supports our plan to build a very relevant and highly demanded Owned Brands assortment", commented Roger Rawlins, Chief Executive Officer.

Second Quarter Results

In the second quarter of fiscal 2022, Designer Brands' net sales increased by 5.1%, totalling 859.3 million US dollars, on a comparable basis to the same period of last year. In this period, comparable sales grew by 6.2%. The company highlighted that net sales from owned brands posted a growth of 40.4% over the second quarter of 2021.

By segment, in the three months to the 30^th of July, US retail net sales, which accounted for 83.5% of total sales, rose by 1.5%, reaching 734.1 million US dollars, Canada retail net sales amounted to 78.2 million US dollars, reflecting an increase of 35.9%, and the brand portfolio net sales rose by 31.3% to 66.4 million US dollars, as compared to the similar period of the prior year.

The company's gross profit totalled 295.7 million US dollars in this second quarter, on a comparable basis to 284.7 million US dollars in the same quarter of fiscal 2021. In the mentioned period, gross margin as a percentage of net sales was 34.4%, as compared to 34.8% in the second quarter of last year.

In the second quarter of the current fiscal year, Designer Brands' reported that net income amounted to 46.2 million US dollars, or diluted earnings per share of 0.62 US dollars. Adjusted net income was 46.1 million US dollars, or adjusted diluted earnings per share of 0.62 US dollars.

Fiscal 2022 Outlook

"As we look forward, we are well-positioned for the back half of the year and are confident in our ability to deliver our updated 2022 guidance", concluded Roger Rawlins, Chief Executive Officer.

For the full year 2022, the company is expecting comparable sales growth in the mid-single digits and diluted earnings per share in the range of 2.05 US dollars and 2.15 US dollars, up from the previous guidance of between 1.90 US dollars and 2.00 US dollars.