In April, DBI announced a goal for brand-owned sales to double from 19% of the company’s revenue to almost one-third by 2026. In 2018, DBI acquired Camuto Group, which designs and develops the Vince Camuto brand and licenses footwear for Jessica Simpson and Lucky Brand.In Q2, owned brand sales grew 40% compared to 2021.
DBI’s current portfolio of brands with licensing deals also includes Reebok, Hush Puppies, Crown Vintage, JLO Jennifer Lopez, Mix No. 6 and Kelly & Katie. And in July, DBI made an investment in Le Tigre 360 Global to exclusively design and produce Le Tigre footwear that will be sold through DSW and The Shoe Company sales channels and through some wholesale accounts.
When it comes to national brands, DSW’s athletic assortment has continued to grow, despite Nike pulling out of the retailer earlier this year. New Balance, Skechers, Brooks and Ryka have been among the retailer’s big sellers in the athletic category.
“What excites me is the duality of our assortment,” Howe said. “We have a very large national brand portfolio, but then we continue to grow our own brands. And each of them has a role for the customer and they serve a different need.”
As the Hedwig store test out new concepts and layouts, DSW is still learning what resonates with customers. For example, Howe mentioned the company testing out organizing the store by trend or occasion as opposed to by brand.
“That’s what’s really powerful about having the agility within one store,” Howe said. “You can shift and pivot to be able to respond to where customers are kind of migrating. I think there’s gonna be a lot of opportunities, a lot of learnings, in that format.”