Mark Worden to succeed Cliff Sifford as Chief Executive Officer,
effective September 30, 2021
Cliff Sifford to continue to serve as Vice Chairman of the
Company’s Board of Directors
Board of Directors increases quarterly cash dividend 56%
Shoe Carnival, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCVL) (the “Company”), a leading
retailer of moderately priced footwear and accessories, today
announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously elected Mark
Worden, the Company’s President and Chief Customer Officer, as its
next President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 30,
2021. Mr. Worden will succeed Cliff Sifford, who will step down as
the Company’s Chief Executive Officer effective September 30, 2021
but will continue to serve in the role of Vice Chairman of the
Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Sifford began his career with the
Company in 1997 and has served as the Company’s Chief Executive
Officer since 2012.
J. Wayne Weaver, Chairman of Shoe Carnival’s Board of Directors
since 1988, commented, “Cliff has been an extraordinary leader in
the shoe industry for over four decades and at Shoe Carnival for
the past 24 years. We cannot express our gratitude and admiration
enough. His deep knowledge of the industry and passion for the
Company elevated Shoe Carnival to its position as a leader in
family footwear and we are grateful for his continued guidance as
Vice Chairman.”
Under Mr. Sifford’s leadership, the Company achieved many
milestones, including growing revenues to over $1 billion and
achieving eleven consecutive years of comparable store sales growth
leading into fiscal 2020, and increasing merchandising margins, all
while sustaining a disciplined capital management throughout
various economic cycles. At the same time, he oversaw the strategic
investments in the Company’s industry-leading CRM system and the
launch of its e-commerce platform. His commitment to Shoe
Carnival’s employees and local communities, customers, and vendors
has been instrumental in the Company’s success and has positioned
it for long-term growth.
Mr. Weaver continued, “We are thrilled to have Mark assume the
role as Chief Executive Officer, and have the utmost confidence in
his ability to lead the Shoe Carnival team and deliver strong
performance as we enter this new chapter. He and Cliff have worked
tirelessly over the last three years to develop an industry-leading
management team, and the Board believes they will achieve great
things as they work together in their new roles going forward.”
“I would like to thank the Board of Directors and Cliff for
their unwavering support and am honored to have the opportunity to
lead this great company,” said Mr. Worden. “Over Cliff’s 24 years
at Shoe Carnival, he built an organization full of talented,
seasoned, customer-centric team members. He has been a great
partner to me since I joined the Company in 2018, and I am thrilled
to continue our relationship as we transition to new
responsibilities. I believe our organization is set up very well to
drive long-term shareholder value and gain market share as we
execute our strategic growth plans.”
Together, Mr. Sifford and Mr. Worden achieved record sales and
profit results in fiscal 2019 and significantly advanced the
Company’s strategic priorities in fiscal 2020, despite the impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy. Shoe Carnival is
currently in a position of strength because of their relentless
focus on operational excellence.
"When Mark joined Shoe Carnival nearly three years ago, our
objective was to bring onboard an executive officer who would be
positioned to take over as CEO at the right time. Mark has made
tremendous contributions to Shoe Carnival, and I have enjoyed
working alongside him over the past several years. I have the
greatest confidence in his ability to lead the Company as we embark
on this new chapter," Mr. Sifford said. "His strategic direction,
deep knowledge of our customers, digital expertise, and unwavering
commitment to our employees makes him the perfect fit for this
role. I look forward to watching Shoe Carnival continue to thrive
under Mark’s leadership."
Shoe Carnival today also announced that its Board of Directors
has increased its quarterly cash dividend from $0.09 to $0.14 per
share, an increase of 56%. This will be effective for the next
quarterly cash dividend, which will be paid on April 19, 2021 to
shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 5,
2021. The increase reflects the Board of Directors’ confidence in
Shoe Carnival’s near-term and longer-term strategy and further
underscores its commitment to returning value to shareholders.
Future declarations of dividends are subject to approval of the
Board of Directors and will depend on the Company's results of
operations, financial condition, business conditions and other
factors deemed relevant by the Board of Directors.
About Mark Worden
Mr. Worden joined the Company in 2018 as its Executive Vice
President - Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer and has served as
the President and Chief Customer Officer of Shoe Carnival since
2019. Mr. Worden currently oversees the Company’s stores,
e-commerce, marketing, strategy, CRM, real estate, and human
resource organizations. He brings over 25 years of leadership
experience in the retail and consumer industries to his new
position. Prior to joining Shoe Carnival, Mr. Worden held several
leadership positions at S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. and
Kimberly–Clark Corporation.
About Shoe Carnival
Shoe Carnival, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest family
footwear retailers, offering a broad assortment of moderately
priced dress, casual and athletic footwear for men, women and
children with emphasis on national name brands. As of March 18,
2021, the Company operates 383 stores in 35 states and Puerto Rico
and offers online shopping at www.shoecarnival.com. Headquartered
in Evansville, IN, Shoe Carnival trades on The Nasdaq Stock Market
LLC under the symbol SCVL. Shoe Carnival's press releases and
annual report are available on the Company's website at
www.shoecarnival.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements, within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including
but not limited to statements regarding expectations and outcomes
related to Shoe Carnival’s leadership transition plans for its CEO
and Vice Chairman roles, and statements related to Shoe Carnival’s
future growth, shareholder value, market share, operational
results, and strategy. A number of factors could cause our actual
results, performance, achievements or industry results to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: the
duration and spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, mitigating efforts
deployed by government agencies and the public at large, and the
overall impact from such outbreak on the operations of our stores,
economic conditions, financial market volatility, consumer spending
and our supply chain and distribution processes; general economic
conditions in the areas of the continental United States in which
our stores are located and the impact of the ongoing economic
uncertainty in Puerto Rico on sales at, and cash flows of, our
stores located in Puerto Rico; the effects and duration of economic
downturns and unemployment rates; changes in the overall retail
environment and more specifically in the apparel and footwear
retail sectors; our ability to generate increased sales at our
stores; our ability to successfully navigate the increasing use of
online retailers for fashion purchases and the impact on traffic
and transactions in our physical stores; the success of the
open-air shopping centers where our stores are located and its
impact on our ability to attract customers to our stores; our
ability to attract customers to our e-commerce platform and to
successfully grow our multi-channel sales; the potential impact of
national and international security concerns on the retail
environment; changes in our relationships with key suppliers; our
ability to control costs and meet our labor needs in a rising wage
environment; changes in the political and economic environments in,
the status of trade relations with, and the impact of changes in
trade policies and tariffs impacting, China and other countries
which are the major manufacturers of footwear; the impact of
competition and pricing; our ability to successfully manage and
execute our marketing initiatives and maintain positive brand
perception and recognition; our ability to successfully manage our
current real estate portfolio and leasing obligations; changes in
weather, including patterns impacted by climate change; changes in
consumer buying trends and our ability to identify and respond to
emerging fashion trends; the impact of disruptions in our
distribution or information technology operations; the
effectiveness of our inventory management; the impact of natural
disasters, other public health crises, political crises, civil
unrest, and other catastrophic events on our stores and our
suppliers, as well as on consumer confidence and purchasing in
general; risks associated with the seasonality of the retail
industry; the impact of unauthorized disclosure or misuse of
personal and confidential information about our customers, vendors
and employees, including as a result of a cybersecurity breach; our
ability to manage our third-party vendor relationships; our ability
to successfully execute our business strategy, including the
availability of desirable store locations at acceptable lease
terms, our ability to open new stores in a timely and profitable
manner, including our entry into major new markets, and the
availability of sufficient funds to implement our business plans;
higher than anticipated costs associated with the closing of
underperforming stores; the inability of manufacturers to deliver
products in a timely manner; an increase in the cost, or disruption
in the flow, of imported goods; the impact of regulatory changes in
the United States, including minimum wage laws and regulations, and
the countries where our manufacturers are located; the resolution
of litigation or regulatory proceedings in which we are or may
become involved; continued volatility and disruption in the capital
and credit markets; future stock repurchases under our stock
repurchase program and future dividend payments; and other factors
described in the Company’s SEC filings, including the Company’s
latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q.
In addition, these forward-looking statements necessarily depend
upon assumptions, estimates and dates that may be incorrect or
imprecise and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors. Accordingly, any forward-looking statements included
in this press release do not purport to be predictions of future
events or circumstances and may not be realized. Forward-looking
statements can be identified by, among other things, the use of
forward-looking terms such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,”
“should,” “seeks,” “pro forma,” “anticipates,” “intends” or the
negative of any of these terms, or comparable terminology, or by
discussions of strategy or intentions. Given these uncertainties,
we caution investors not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.
We disclaim any obligation to update any of these factors or to
publicly announce any revisions to the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release to reflect future events or
developments.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005927/en/
Cliff Sifford Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, or W.
Kerry Jackson Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer and Treasurer www.shoecarnival.com (812)
867-4034
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