But company President and Chief Executive Officer Ronald Fromm wants more. He wants to take Brown Shoe from its position as the second-ranking wholesale retailer next to Nine West, to the top spot in the market. At The Brean Murray, Carret Small Cap Institutional Investor Conference in hereon Tuesday, Fromm briefly outlined a plan how to do that.
Fromm said the company, which has been working to rebuild its portfolio of brands in the last few years, has seen its operating income more than double since 2001 and gained control of about 46% of moderate brand shoe sales. "We're clearly the strongest player in the industry. Even though we're No. 2, we're taking market share from the leader," Fromm said. But Fromm is hoping to gain a larger piece of the footwear pie in the future. He said the company is working to further differentiate its brands from its competition by raising the style quotient of its footwear assortment and bringing current trends to the marketplace with lightening-fast speed. With those guidelines, Fromm says, the company can expect to deliver high single digit revenues in 2006 with per share earnings in the $1.92 to $2.07 range.
With nearly 1,300 retail stores throughout the US and Canada operating under the Famous Footwear, Supermarket of Shoes, Warehouse of Shoes and Factory Brand Shoes flags, the St. Louis, MO-based firm already has a strong retail base to pull that off.
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