Steven Madden, Ltd.

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q4 and full year 2025 Steve Madden Limited Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during this session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Danielle McCoy, VP of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thanks, Antoine, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our fourth quarter and full year 2025 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 risk 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 into 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 GAAP financial measure and other associated disclosures are contained in our earnings release. Joining me on the call today is Ed Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Zine Mazzuzzi, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Operations. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ed. Ed?

All right. Thank you, Danielle, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to review Steve Madden's fourth quarter and full year 2025 results. Pleased to have delivered above-guidance earnings results for the fourth quarter, driven by improved performance in our core Steve Madden footwear business, as well as a strong contribution from the newly acquired Kurt Geiger. Overall, 2025 was a challenging year. driven largely by the disruption and negative impacts resulting from new tariffs on goods imported into the United States. I'm proud of how our team responded, acting quickly to mitigate the near-term impacts while staying focused on executing our strategy for long-term growth. At the center of that strategy is deepening connections with consumers through the combination of compelling product and effective marketing. And despite the difficult environment, our team made meaningful progress on those initiatives across our brand portfolio. In our flagship brand, Steve Madden, Steve and his design team created outstanding product assortments that resonated with consumers and led to a significant acceleration in demand in the back half, particularly in our core category of women's footwear, momentum that has continued into early 2026. We are encouraged by the breadth of this strength, with robust demand across various silhouettes, materials, and trends. We've also elevated quality and materials, enabling higher average unit retails while maintaining a strong price value proposition. Our marketing team is amplifying these assortments with richer brand and product storytelling and an integrated, always-on, full-funnel strategy designed to deepen emotional connections with our key Gen Z and millennial consumers. And our marketing investments, combined with our trend-right product, are driving measurable brand heat. Online searches for Steve Madden increased 10% year-over-year in Q4, and have accelerated further in early 2026. And after revenue declines in Q2 and Q3, the Steve Madden brand returned to growth in Q4, and we expect to build on that momentum in 2026 with mid- to high-single-digit revenue growth. A highlight in 2025 was our acquisition of Kirk Geiger, which closed on May 6th. In Kirk Iger London, we added a brand with a unique brand image, distinctive design aesthetic, and compelling value proposition that have driven success across multiple categories, led by handbags. Its differentiated and elevated positioning and its alignment with our strategic initiatives of expanding in international markets, accessories, categories, and direct-to-consumer channels make it a highly attractive and complementary addition to our portfolio. Integration is progressing as planned, and we are more confident than ever in Kurt Geiger's potential to be a significant growth driver in the years ahead. Importantly, the Kurt Geiger London brand continues to have strong momentum. On a pro forma basis, revenue in the Kurt Geiger London brand grew 11% in 2025, and we expect similar growth in 2026. We also continue to make meaningful progress with our fastest growing brand since the pandemic, Dolce Vita. In 2025, we built on the outstanding success we've had over the last several years in our US footwear business by expanding in international markets and gaining traction in adjacent categories like handbags. Turning to 2026, consumers are responding favorably to our new spring products, and we expect high single-digit revenue growth in Dolce Vita for the year. In summary, all three of our lead brands are poised for growth, and as we look ahead to 2026, we are particularly encouraged by the momentum building in Steve Madden and the opportunity for growth in Kirk Geiger London. On the other hand, we anticipate significant pressure in our private label business, which is primarily conducted in the mass channel. We believe the negative impact of tariffs on revenue has been most severe here, where price sensitivity is highest and we don't have the benefit of brand leverage for pricing actions. Private label revenue decreased 15% in 2025, and we expect a further decline of nearly 20% in 2026. We also expect higher SG&A driven by the normalization of incentive compensation and the restoration of senior executive salaries. But overall, while we continue to face pressure and uncertainty related to tariffs, we are heartened that the fundamentals of our business are strong. Our product assortments and marketing campaigns are resonating with consumers, our brands are powerful and gaining relevance, and our strategy provides multiple levers for growth and long-term value creation. And now I'll turn it over to Zim to review our fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results in more detail and provide our initial revenue outlook for 2022.