Designer Brands Inc. designs produces and retails footwear and accessories for women men and kids. The company operates the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse The Shoe Co. and Rubino banners through physical stores and e commerce platforms. It offers a broad assortment of dress casual and athletic shoes as well as handbags and other accessories.
Revenue comes from two primary channels. The Retail segment generates sales by selling footwear and accessories directly to consumers in…
Designer Brands Inc. designs produces and retails footwear and accessories for women men and kids. The company operates the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse The Shoe Co. and Rubino banners through physical stores and e commerce platforms. It offers a broad assortment of dress casual and athletic shoes as well as handbags and other accessories.
Revenue comes from two primary channels. The Retail segment generates sales by selling footwear and accessories directly to consumers in stores and online. The Brand Portfolio segment earns money by wholesale of exclusive and licensed brands to external retailers to the company’s own Retail segment and to international distributors and by direct to consumer e commerce for the Vince Camuto Keds and Topo brands. In fiscal 2025 the Retail segment derived 89% of its net sales from VIP members while the Brand Portfolio segment sourced 10% of its merchandise from its own exclusive and licensed brands.
The company operates through the following segments: Retail segment and Brand Portfolio segment.
- Retail segment: This segment operates the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse The Shoe Co. and Rubino banners in stores and online offering dress casual and athletic footwear and handbags to consumers and providing omni channel services such as buy online pick up in store drop ship fulfillment and loyalty programs.
- Brand Portfolio segment: This segment designs develops and sources footwear and accessories for exclusive and licensed brands sells them wholesale to retailers to the Retail segment and to international distributors and also runs direct to consumer e commerce sites for the Vince Camuto Keds and Topo brands while managing licensing rights for labels such as Lucky Brand and Jessica Simpson.
We hold a competitive position in the highly fragmented footwear market by combining an integrated retail wholesale model with a strong portfolio of exclusive and licensed brands. Our advantages include a large omni channel footprint a loyal customer base driven by reward programs and a flexible sourcing network that adapts to trade conditions. Competitors include online pure plays department stores specialty shoe chains and other multi channel retailers. As of January 31 2026 the company employed approximately 13,000 associates worldwide.
The company serves individual shoppers through its DSW The Shoe Co. and Rubino stores and e commerce sites. It also sells to wholesale customers such as department stores specialty retailers and international distributors. While specific partner names are not disclosed the Brand Portfolio segment notes that five customers accounted for 38% of its segment net sales in 2025.