Event Celebrates Culmination of Designer
Brands' $2 Million Investment in
Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Underrepresented Footwear
Designers
SOMERSWORTH, N.H., March 20,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI)
(the "Company" and "Designer Brands"), one of the world's largest
designers, producers and retailers of footwear and accessories,
today unveiled the newest milestone achieved together with Pensole
Lewis College of Business & Design
(PLC) – the ribbon-cutting of JEMS by PENSOLE, located in
Somersworth, New
Hampshire, as one of the first Black-owned footwear factories
in the United States.
The development and opening of the factory represent the
culmination of Designer Brands' $2
million investment into advancing action-oriented Diversity,
Equity & Inclusion through its partnership with Detroit-based PLC, the first and only
Historically Black College & University (HBCU) in Michigan and the first HBCU with a focus on
design. Dr. D'Wayne Edwards, legendary footwear designer and
President of PLC, will serve as the first designer to create a
collection of shoes to be released by the factory. LeCrown Shoes
Industry Co., LTD with decades of footwear development experience
has also invested $1
million.
"JEMS by PENSOLE's opening marks a major achievement in
improving representation by people of color in the footwear and
design industries," said Bill
Jordan, President of Designer Brands. "We are excited
to see the initial shoe designs brought to life by PLC graduates in
the new factory, with the future products to be sold exclusively at
DSW stores. By honoring the legacy of Black entrepreneurs, we aim
to inspire future designers by providing a powerful path for
educational, career and retail success. When we work to advance
diversity in the world of fashion brands, our business succeeds and
everyone wins."
"JEMS by PENSOLE is a firm step for promising careers for Black
leaders in footwear, who as a group represent less than five
percent across all design industries," said Dr. Edwards. "With our
factory now open, we'll quickly advance PLC graduates to training
for product pre-production all the way to creation of our first
sneakers. Our partnership with Designer Brands and DSW makes all
this possible and celebrates Black business innovators in important
and meaningful ways."
JEMS stands for "Jan Ernst Matzeliger Studio" – itself named in
honor of the Black footwear pioneer who in 1883 received a patent
that revolutionized footwear manufacturing, a process that inspired
methods the industry still uses today.
About Designer Brands
Designer Brands is one of the
world's largest designers, producers and retailers of the most
recognizable footwear brands and accessories, transforming and
defining the footwear industry by inspiring self-expression across
every facet of its enterprise. Through its portfolio of world-class
owned brands, led by the industry-setting Vince Camuto brand,
Designer Brands delivers on-trend footwear and accessories through
its robust direct-to-consumer omni-channel infrastructure,
featuring a billion-dollar digital commerce business and nearly 650
stores across the U.S. and Canada.
Its retailing operations under the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and
The Shoe Company banners deliver current, in-line footwear and
accessories from most of the largest national brands in the
industry and hold leading market share positions in key product
categories across Women's, Men's and Kid's in the U.S. and
Canada. Designer Brands also
distributes its owned brands through select wholesale relationships
while leveraging its design and sourcing expertise to build private
label product for national retailers. Designer Brands is also
committed to being a difference maker in the world, taking steps
forward to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the footwear
industry and supporting our global community and the health of our
planet through donating more than six million pairs of shoes to the
global non-profit Soles4Souls. More information can be found at
www.designerbrands.com.
About Pensole Lewis College of
Business and Design (PLC)
Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design is the
pipeline for career education and professional development in the
design industry. We are the source for creative vision and
progress; bearing the torch to push the culture forward — beyond
what's visible. At Pensole Lewis College, we offer a new path to
break into the world of product creation. We prepare the largest
talent pool of designers to enter the industry empowering them to
make it better for the next generation, leaving our industry better
than when we entered it. For more information, please visit
www.pensolelewiscollege.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
Certain statements in this press release
may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking
statements by the use of forward-looking words such as "outlook,"
"could," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may,"
"will," "should," "would," "seeks," "approximately," "predicts,"
"intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates," or the negative
version of those words or other comparable words. These statements
are based on the Company's current views and expectations and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors
that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be
materially different from any future results, performance, or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. These factors include, but are not limited to:
uncertain general economic conditions, including inflationary
pressures and rising interest rates, and the related impacts to
consumer discretionary spending, as well as supply chain
disruptions and pressures; risks and uncertainties related to the
ongoing coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic, any future COVID-19
resurgence, and any other adverse public health developments; our
ability to anticipate and respond to fashion trends, consumer
preferences and changing customer expectations; our ability to
maintain strong relationships with our vendors, manufacturers,
licensors, and retailer customers; the risks to our reputation or
operations associated with our reliance on foreign sources for
merchandise, including failure of our vendors to adhere to our
Vendor Code of Conduct; risks related to losses or disruptions
associated with our distribution systems, including our
distribution centers and stores, whether as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic, reliance on third-party providers, or otherwise;
our ability to manage our Chief Executive Officer transition,
retain our existing management team, and continue to attract
qualified new personnel; risks related to cyber security threats
and privacy or data security breaches or the potential loss or
disruption of our information technology ("IT") systems; risks
related to the implementation of an enterprise resource planning
system ("ERP") software solution and other IT systems; our reliance
on our loyalty programs and marketing to drive traffic, sales, and
customer loyalty; our ability to protect our reputation and to
maintain the brands we license; our competitiveness with respect to
style, price, brand availability, and customer service; risks
related to our international operations, including international
trade, our reliance on foreign sources for merchandise, exposure to
political, economic, operational, compliance and other risks, and
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to
comply with privacy laws and regulations, as well as other legal
obligations; domestic and global political and social conditions
and the potential impact of geopolitical turmoil or conflict; risks
associated with climate change and other corporate responsibility
issues; and uncertainties related to future legislation, regulatory
reform, policy changes, or interpretive guidance on existing
legislation. Risks and other factors that could cause our actual
results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements
are described in the Company's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K or
other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
All forward-looking statements speak only as of the time when made.
The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the
forward-looking statements included in this press release to
reflect any future events or circumstances.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/designer-brands-joins-pensole-lewis-college-of-business--design-for-ribbon-cutting-of-jems-by-pensole-one-of-the-first-black-owned-us-footwear-factories-301776520.html
SOURCE Designer Brands Inc.