SHOO Steven Madden Ltd

- Matt Joyce Appointed President of Steve Madden Women's Wholesale Division - LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO), a leading designer, wholesaler and marketer of fashion footwear for women, men, and children, today announced the appointment of Matt Joyce to President of Steve Madden Women's Wholesale Division. Mr. Joyce will report directly to Amelia Newton Varela, Executive Vice President of Wholesale Sales. With 25 years of experience in the footwear business, Mr. Joyce has extensive experience managing wholesale divisions and has strong relationships with key customers. Most recently, Mr. Joyce spent the last two years as a Group President at Nine West, managing a variety of segments including Easy Spirit, Mid-Tier, and private label. Prior to that, Mr. Joyce held senior positions with Intershoe, Inc. and Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. In conjunction with this appointment, Rob Schmertz, who has served as both President of Steve Madden Women's Wholesale Division and Brand Manager, has been promoted to Brand Director. In this position, Mr. Schmertz will now focus his efforts exclusively on further building and leveraging the Steve Madden brand. He will continue to report directly to Jamieson Karson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are very pleased to welcome Matt Joyce, who has in-depth experience and a very strong and impressive track record within the footwear business," commented Jamieson Karson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Matt is joining Steven Madden, Ltd. at an exciting time when our Company is well positioned for growth. We are confident that he will contribute to the continued success of Steve Madden Women's -- which is at the core of our Company and is integral to our overall success. "Rob has been critical to the success of our business and has played an instrumental role in building the Steve Madden brand. We are therefore thrilled that Rob will now focus exclusively on enhancing the brand and finding ways to successfully leverage it across various concepts and platforms as we work to evolve into a global branded lifestyle company." Steven Madden, Ltd. designs and markets fashion-forward footwear for women, men and children. The shoes are sold through company-owned retail stores, department stores, apparel and footwear specialty stores, and on-line at http://www.stevemadden.com/. The Company has several licenses for the Steve Madden brand, including handbags, eyewear, hosiery, and belts, and owns and operates 99 retail stores, including its online store. The Company is also the licensee for l.e.i. Footwear, Candie's Footwear and UNIONBAY Men's Footwear. Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements which explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties readers are urged to consider statements labeled with the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact: DATASOURCE: Steven Madden, Ltd. CONTACT: Ed Rosenfeld, Vice President, Strategic Planning and Finance, of Steven Madden, Ltd., +1-718-446-1800; or Investor Relations: Cara O'Brien or Lauren Puffer, or Press: Melissa Merrill, all of Financial Dynamics, +1-212-850-5600, for Steven Madden, Ltd. Web site: http://www.stevemadden.com/

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