“While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a negative impact on our business, we were pleased with our results in the fourth quarter, which exceeded our expectations and showed strong sequential improvement from the third quarter. We faced unprecedented challenges in 2020, but we relied on our strengths – an agile business model, a strong balance sheet, and our talented and resourceful employees – to successfully navigate the crisis. We continued investing in our brands and our digital capabilities while reducing expenses in other areas, and we utilized our test-and-react strategy and speed-to-market capability to quickly adjust our product mix to align with changing consumer preferences”, commented Edward Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Fourth Quarter Results

Revenue for the wholesale business decreased by 16.2% to 263.0 million US dollars in the fourth quarter of 2020, including a 19.7% decline in wholesale footwear and a 5.9% decline in wholesale accessories/apparel. Gross margin in the wholesale business decreased to 28.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to 29.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019 due to the disposal of excess inventory resulting from COVID-19 disruption.

Retail revenue decreased by 14.9% to 86.1 million US dollars in the fourth quarter of 2020 due to a significant decline in the brick-and-mortar business, partially offset by continued strength in the e-commerce business. Retail gross margin rose 400 basis points to 65.6% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to 61.6% in the fourth quarter of 2019 due primarily to less discounting.

Full Year Results

For the full year ended on the 31^st of December 2020, revenue decreased by 32.8% to 1.2 billion US dollars from 1.8 billion US dollars in 2019. Net loss attributable to Steven Madden was (18.4) million US dollars, or (0.23) US dollars per basic share, for the year ended on the 31st of December (compares to 141.3 million US dollars, or 1.69 US dollars per diluted share in 2019).

Steve Madden ended the quarter with 218 company-operated retail locations, including seven Internet stores, as well as 17 company-operated concessions in international markets.