Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE:DBI) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript June 8, 2023 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Justin Fischer - Director of Investor Relations

Doug Howe - Chief Executive Officer

Jared Poff - Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Jay Sole - UBS

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to the Designer Brands Inc. First Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. [Operator Instructions] After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note this event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Justin Fischer, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Justin Fischer

Good morning. Earlier today, the company issued a press release comparing results of operation for the 13 week period ending April 29, 2023 to the 13 week period ended April 30, 2022. Please note that the financial results that we will reference during the remainder of today's call exclude certain adjustments recorded under GAAP unless specified otherwise. For a complete reconciliation of GAAP to adjusted earnings, please reference our press release.

Additionally, please note that remarks made about the future expectations, plans, and prospects of the company constitute forward-looking statements. Results may differ materially due to various factors listed in today's press release and the company's public filings with the SEC. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Joining us today are Doug Howe, Chief Executive Officer; and Jared Poff, Chief Financial Officer.

Now let me turn over the call to Doug.

Doug Howe

I want to begin by thanking our team for their continued hard work throughout the quester. Given the strength of our first quarter last year which was propelled by the strong return of fashion, coupled with this year's broad based pressure on the consumer, we anticipated our first quarter would face headwinds. That being said, the environment was slightly more difficult than we expected.

I was pleased with how our team stepped up to read and react to an increasingly promotional environment, and at the same time, manage our inventory level appropriately across both our retail and brand segment. In the first quarter, Designer Brands net sales declined 10.7% compared to the first quarter last year. As I just mentioned, the first quarter of 2022 was a robust period where we saw a net sales growth of 18.1% year-over-year. Additionally, our US retail store traffic was up 22% last year, significantly outpacing the market.