COLUMBUS, Ohio,
Jan. 22,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE:
DBI) (the "Company" and "Designer Brands"), one of the world's
largest designers, producers, and retailers of footwear and
accessories, today announced that Andrea
O'Donnell has been named to the role of Brands President and
Executive Vice President of Designer Brands, with her appointment
to be effective as of January 29,
2024.
As Brands President, O'Donnell will be globally responsible for
Designer Brands' full suite of Owned and licensed brands, which
includes Keds, Vince Camuto, Topo
Athletic, Hush Puppies, Le TIGRE, Lucky Brand, Jessica Simpson, Kelly & Katie, Crown
Vintage, Mix No. 6 and others. She will be responsible for all
aspects of the Company's brand portfolio, from design and sourcing
to sales, both wholesale and DTC. O'Donnell will report directly to
Designer Brands' Chief Executive Officer, Doug Howe.
"Joining Designer Brands at this stage of their brand building
journey is such a unique and exciting opportunity for me," said
O'Donnell. "Designer Brands has long been a power player in the
footwear industry and has now thoughtfully built a diverse and
complementary brand portfolio to meet diverse and ever-changing
consumer preferences. I am thrilled to begin working with the
entire Designer Brands team to continue to build our trend-right
and growing brand portfolio."
Howe said, "With Andrea's appointment as Brands President, we
are bringing into our organization a distinctive and crucial
skillset that we believe will enable us to accelerate our roadmap
as we continue growing as a brand builder. Her deep experience and
tremendous track record, which includes the revitalization of the
powerhouse brand, Ugg, will be a critical asset for us moving
forward. The passion for design and storytelling she brings to the
table will further bolster our strategy of delivering a unique,
omni-channel customer experience."
O'Donnell brings to the Company an extensive background in
merchandising, brand marketing, and commercial planning. She joins
Designer Brands from Everlane, a fashion retailer, where she has
served as Chief Executive Officer since 2021. Prior to Everlane,
O'Donnell led the expansion of Ugg and Koolaburra brands at Deckers
as President of Fashion Lifestyle – during her tenure, Ugg expanded
annual revenue by $500 million to
over $2 billion. Prior to Deckers,
Andrea served as President, Global Merchandising at DFS Group, a
multibillion-dollar retailer majority owned by LVMH. Earlier, she
served as the Executive Director of Lane
Crawford, where she was responsible for merchandising,
merchandise planning, marketing, CRM and store planning for the
Asia Pacific region across a
portfolio of 500 brands. Andrea has also held various posts at
retail brands, including John Lewis,
Hackett London, Jaeger, and
Debenhams.
O'Donnell currently sits on the Board of Directors for
Fashionphile. She holds an MBA from the London
Business School and a bachelor's degree from the
London School of Economics.
About Designer Brands
Designer Brands is one of the
world's largest designers, producers and retailers of the most
recognizable footwear brands and accessories, transforming and
defining the footwear industry through a mission of inspiring
self-expression. With a diversified, world-class portfolio of
coveted brands, including Crown Vintage, Hush Puppies, Jessica Simpson, Keds, Kelly & Katie, Le
TIGRE, Lucky Brand, Mix No. 6, Topo Athletic, Vince Camuto and others, Designer Brands designs
and produces on-trend footwear and accessories for all of life's
occasions delivered to the consumer through a robust
direct-to-consumer omni-channel infrastructure and powerful
national wholesale distribution. Powered by a billion-dollar
digital commerce business across multiple domains and nearly 640
DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and The Shoe Company stores in
North America, Designer Brands
delivers current, in-line footwear and accessories from the largest
national brands in the industry and holds leading market share
positions in key product categories across Women's, Men's and
Kids'. Designer Brands also distributes its brands internationally
through select wholesale and distributor relationships while also
leveraging design and sourcing expertise to build private label
product for national retailers. Designer Brands is committed to
being a difference maker in the world, taking steps forward to
advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the footwear industry
and supporting a global community and the health of the planet by
donating more than nine million pairs of shoes to the global
non-profit Soles4Souls. To learn more, visit
www.designerbrands.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
Certain statements in this press release
may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking
statements by the use of forward-looking words such as "outlook,"
"could," "believes," "expects," "potential," "may," "will,"
"should," "would," "approximately," "plans," "estimates,"
"anticipates," "targets," or the negative version of those words or
other comparable words. These statements are based on the Company's
current views and expectations and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results,
performance, or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied
by the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are
not limited to: uncertain general economic conditions, including
recession concerns, inflationary pressures and rising interest
rates, and the related impacts to consumer discretionary spending;
supply chain challenges; risks related to adverse public health
developments; our ability to anticipate and respond to fashion
trends, consumer preferences, and changing customer expectations;
our ability to maintain strong relationships with our vendors,
manufacturers, licensors, and retailer customers; risks related to
losses or disruptions associated with our distribution systems,
including our distribution centers and stores, whether as a result
of reliance on third-party providers or otherwise; our ability to
retain our existing management team, and continue to attract
qualified new personnel; risks related to cyber security threats
and privacy or data security breaches or the potential loss or
disruption of our information technology ("IT") systems; risks
related to the implementation of an enterprise resource planning
system ("ERP") software solution and other IT systems; our reliance
on our loyalty programs and marketing to drive traffic, sales, and
customer loyalty; our ability to protect our reputation and to
maintain the brands we license; our competitiveness with respect to
style, price, brand availability, and customer service; risks
related to our international operations, including international
trade, our reliance on foreign sources for merchandise, exposure to
political, economic, operational, compliance and other risks, and
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to
comply with privacy laws and regulations, as well as other legal
obligations; domestic and global political and social conditions;
geopolitical tensions, including relating to the ongoing war in
Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war;
risks associated with climate change and other corporate
responsibility issues; and uncertainties related to future
legislation, regulatory reform, policy changes, or interpretive
guidance on existing legislation. Risks and other factors that
could cause our actual results to differ materially from our
forward-looking statements are described in the Company's latest
Annual Report on Form 10-K or other reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements
speak only as of the time when made. Except as may be required by
applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or
revise the forward-looking statements included in this press
release to reflect any future events or circumstances.
For further information:
Investor Relations: Edelman
Smithfield for Designer Brands,
DesignerBrandsIR@Edelman.com
Media: mediarelations@designerbrands.com
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SOURCE Designer Brands Inc.
