DSW is officially ready for the big back-to-school rush.
The discount shoe retailer announced today that it has completed its nationwide rollout of DSW Kids, a project that kicked off in 2016. During its most recent earnings call on May 30, the Columbus, Ohio-based company revealed that it had added DSW Kids departments to 109 locations in the first quarter, with another 94 set to be installed by the close of the second quarter, bringing the chainwide rollout to completion. The expansion of the kids’ category helped drive a nearly 3 percent increase in Q1 sales.
“With DSW Kids establishing a nationwide presence this year, we will be positioned to market the addition of kids’ [product] at a national level,” CFO Jared Poff told investors during the call. “DSW remains significantly underpenetrated in kids, and these results give us confidence and optimism for this category’s long-term prospects.”
DSW Kids stocks a wide assortment of infant, toddler and youth styles from a range of fashion and athletic brands including Vans, Nike, New Balance, Steve Madden and Crocs, as well as DSW’s in-house children’s labels, Olivie & Edie and Max + Jake. The departments, which also feature socks, backpacks and other accessories, are branded with a special logo and outfitted with instructive shoe-fitting islands and wider aisles to make shopping more convenient for families. An even larger children’s selection is available to shop on DSW’s website, which utilizes True Fit technology to help customers make sure they are purchasing the correct size. The option to buy online and ship to stores is also available.
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“[After] testing and perfecting our kids’ program in select markets the past few years, we are thrilled to launch this great program in time for back-to-school,” added COO Michele Love. “This program launch is a great example of us listening to our customer: More than half of DSW’s 25 million VIP Rewards members have at least one child in the household, and they tell us they want to buy the whole family’s footwear in one place. By adding kids’ shoes — and a great selection of backpacks and lunchboxes — we’ve made it easier for busy moms and dads to find everything they need to start the whole family off on the right foot this fall.”
As an added incentive, DSW is offering rewards members 50 points toward their next reward if they donate a pair of gently used shoes. The retailer is partnering with nonprofit Soles4Souls on the charity initiative.
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