Edward Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are pleased to have started off 2017 with a strong first quarter. The highlight was our Steve Madden Women’s wholesale footwear division, where we had another quarter of outstanding growth in a challenging retail environment. Steve and his design team have created an exceptional product assortment that is enabling us to outperform the competition and take market share with our flagship brand. As we look ahead to the balance of the year, we are taking a prudent approach to planning our business in light of retail industry headwinds. That said, the strength in our core business gives us confidence that we are well-positioned to navigate the uncertain environment.”

Net sales increased by 11.2% in the first quarter of 207, totaling 366.4 million US dollars, which compares to 329.4 million US dollars in the same period of 2016. Net income totaled 20.2 million US dollars, and adjusted net income 27.5 million US dollars.

Net sales for the wholesale business increased by 13.6% totaling 313.3 million US dollars in the first quarter of 2017. Excluding the results of the recently acquired Schwartz & Benjamin, wholesale net sales increased by 8.5% totaling 299.2 million US dollars, with strong gains in both wholesale footwear and wholesale accessories.

Retail net sales in the first quarter reached 53.1 million US dollars compared to 53.6 million US dollars in the first quarter of the prior year. Same store sales decreased by 6.0% in the quarter, which compares to a 10.7% same store sales increase in the first quarter of 2016.

During the first quarter, Steve Madden opened one full price store and one outlet location, and closed one full price store. The company ended the quarter with 190 company-operated retail locations, including four Internet stores.

Steve Madden continues to expect net sales in fiscal year 2017 to increase 8% to 10% over net sales in 2016.