Steven Madden, Ltd.

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the first quarter Steve Madden LTD earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during this session, you'll need to press star 1 on your telephone. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. If you require any further assistance, please press star 0. I would now like to hand the conference to Danielle McCoy, Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thanks, Norma, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our first quarter 2022 earnings call and webcast. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that our remarks that follow, including answers to your questions, contain statements that we believe to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks that could cause actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks include, among others, matters that we have described in our press release issued earlier today and filings we make with the SEC. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, which may not be updated until our next quarterly earnings conference call, if at all. The financial results discussed on today's call are on an adjusted basis, unless otherwise noted. A reconciliation to the most directly comparable gap, financial measure, and other associated disclosures are contained in our earnings release. Joining the call today are Ed Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Zine Mazzuzzi, Chief Financial Officer. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ed.

Thanks, Danielle. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to review Steve Madden's first quarter 2022 results. Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the devastating war in Ukraine and the heartbreaking humanitarian crisis we are seeing in the region. We at Steve Madden have provided over $500,000 in assistance for the relief effort through cash donations from the Steve Madden Foundation, as well as donations of footwear, clothing, blankets, and accessories. We will continue to look for ways to help and stand alongside the global community calling for an immediate end to the war. Now, moving on to our first quarter results. We got off to an outstanding start to the year, delivering the highest quarterly earnings in our history in the first quarter. Q1 revenue increased 55% and diluted EPS increased 180% compared to the prior year. Overall, These results reflect the strength of our strategy and our team's execution. We are winning with product and supporting that great product with effective marketing, and that combination is driving closer connections with our consumers and increasing brand relevance, particularly for our two largest brands, Steve Madden and Dolce Vita. That, in turn, is enabling success with each of our four key business drivers. First, driving our direct-to-consumer business led by digital. DTC revenue grew over 60% in the quarter. Second, expanding in categories outside of footwear like handbags and apparel. Our branded handbag business increased more than 50%, and our apparel revenue was up more than 100% in Q1. Third, growing in international markets. Our international revenue increased over 60% in the quarter. And fourth, strengthening our core U.S. wholesale footwear business. That business also grew over 60% in Q1. So across the board, we are executing on our key strategic initiatives and seeing the results. And we are confident that our continued focus on these initiatives will enable us to continue to drive top and bottom line growth going forward. So turning to our performance by segment in Q1. Our wholesale footwear segment revenue increased 60% compared to the prior year. The Steve Madden brand drove the majority of the growth. with strong gains across Steve Madden Women's, Men's, and Kids, as well as Madden Girl. Dolce Vita was also outstanding, with revenue up over 100% to last year, as that brand's momentum continues to accelerate. In international markets, we had triple-digit percentage increases in Canada and Mexico, and another strong quarter of growth in Europe. In our wholesale accessories and apparel segment, revenue increased 37% compared to the prior year. Growth in this segment was driven primarily by strong gains in Steve Madden handbags, which was up more than 60% to the prior year, and BB Dakota Steve Madden apparel, which more than doubled compared to the year-ago period. And in our direct-to-consumer segment, revenue increased 61% versus the prior year period. e-commerce continued to account for the majority of our DTC revenue, and e-com revenue increased 57% compared to last year. Brick-and-mortar revenue increased 64% year-over-year. Overall, we are seeing robust consumer demand for our brands and strong performance across channels, product categories, and geographies. Our strategic initiatives are paying dividends, and we are confident that we are well-positioned to deliver sustainable growth for years to come. So now I will turn it over to Zine to review our first quarter financial results in more detail and provide an update to our outlook for 2022.