General Financial Releases
Brown Shoe Raises Full-Year Earnings Guidance to $2.48 to $2.50 Per Share; Reports January and Year-End Retail Sales
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, February 6, 2003 -- Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS) today announced retail sales results for the four-week period, fourth quarter and 52-week fiscal year ended February 1, 2003. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance to $2.48 to $2.50 per share, from its previous guidance of $2.35 to $2.40 per share.The increased full-year guidance results from better-than-anticipated margins in January, higher wholesale shipments, and the completion of several Project IMPACT* initiatives at a lower cost than originally reserved. Brown Shoe therefore anticipates after-tax recoveries of approximately $0.07 per diluted share from the company's fiscal 2001 non-recurring charges associated with closing under-performing Naturalizer stores and consolidating redundant back office functions. Excluding these recoveries, earnings per share is expected to be $2.41 to $2.43.
"While pleased to have implemented these initiatives at a lower-than-anticipated cost, it was more important to beat January forecasts and end the year with strong momentum," said Ron Fromm, Chairman and CEO of Brown Shoe. "At Famous Footwear, our January margins strengthened significantly, as consumer response to our fresher inventories pushed gross margin dollars well ahead of plan and last year. This was accomplished despite lower traffic levels and a same-store sales decline. Our wholesale footwear divisions benefited from broadly based increases in demand, leading to higher-than-anticipated shipments. Lastly, we benefited from continuing strength at Naturalizer Retail, as the improvement in same-store sales accelerated."
Famous Footwear Retail Sales
Retail sales for Famous Footwear, the company's 918-store chain selling brand name footwear for less, were $57,700,000 for the four-week January period ended February 1, 2003 compared to $59,600,000 for the comparable period ended February 2, 2002. Same-store sales for the period decreased 6.1 percent.
Fourth-quarter sales for Famous Footwear for the 13-week period reached $242,300,000 compared to $241,500,000 last year, and were down 2.9 percent for the quarter on a same-store basis. Sales for the 52-week fiscal year reached a record $1,075,200,000 compared to $1,044,700,000 for fiscal 2001. Same-store sales for the year were down 1.3 percent.
Naturalizer Retail Store Sales
January sales at Brown Shoe's domestic Naturalizer chain were $6,800,000 on a base of 79 fewer stores compared to $7,500,000 last January. Same-store sales increased 7.3 percent.
Naturalizer's fourth-quarter sales for the 13-week period were $30,800,000 compared to $34,300,000 the same period last year. Same-store sales for fourth quarter increased 8.1 percent. Full-year sales for the Naturalizer chain were $134,400,000 for the 52 weeks, versus $145,100,000 for last year. Same-store sales for the year were up 4.3 percent.
MONTH, QUARTER AND YEAR-TO-DATE SALES (millions)
 | FY 2002 (2/01/03) | FY 2001 (2/02/02) | Same-Store % Change | Stores Open 02/01/03 vs. 02/02/02 |
| Jan. –Famous Footwear | $ 57.7 | $ 59.6 | (6.1) | 918 vs. 920 |
| 4th Q –Famous Footwear | 242.3 | 241.5 | (2.9) | |
| Y-T-D –Famous Footwear | 1,075.2 | 1,044.7 | (1.3) | |
| | | | |
| Jan. –Naturalizer | $6.8 | $7.5 | 7.3 | 217 vs. 296 |
| 4th Q –Naturalizer | 30.8 | 34.3 | 8.1 | |
| Y-T-D –Naturalizer | 134.4 | 145.1 | 4.3 | |
Brown Shoe is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings at 4:05 p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 26. A conference call to discuss fourth-quarter and full-year results will be held at 4:30 p.m. EST that same afternoon. While the question-and-answer session of the call will be limited to institutional analysts and investors, retail brokers and individual investors are invited to the live web-cast, hosted by www.companyboardroom.com. At the website, click on the Individual Investor Center to locate the broadcast.
*Note to Investors on Project IMPACT: In late 2001, Brown Shoe began implementation of enterprise-wide initiatives, called Project IMPACT, to reengineer inventory management processes, close 106 under-performing Naturalizer Retail stores, improve logistics systems, eliminate redundant infrastructure and better leverage its operating platform.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These include general economic conditions, competition, consumer apparel and footwear buying trends, and political and economic conditions in Brazil and China, which are significant footwear sourcing countries. The company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission contain detailed information relating to such factors.
Brown Shoe is a $1.76 billion footwear company with worldwide operations. The company operates the 900-store Famous Footwear chain, which sells brand name shoes for less. It also operates 400 Naturalizer stores in the U.S. and Canada that sell the Naturalizer brand of shoes and accessories. Brown Shoe, through its wholesale divisions, owns and markets leading footwear brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, Connie, Buster Brown; it also markets licensed brands including Dr. Scholl's and Carlos by Carlos Santana for adults, and Barbie, Spider-Man and Bob-the-Builder character footwear for children. Brown Shoe press releases are available on the company's web site at www.brownshoe.com.