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CALERES INC (CAL) Business

Verbatim Item 1 Business section from CALERES INC's latest 10-K. Filing date: 2026-04-02. Accession: 0000014707-26-000053.

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ITEM 1BUSINESS

Caleres, Inc. (the "Company"), originally founded as Brown Shoe Company in 1878 and incorporated in 1913, is a global footwear company that operates retail shoe stores and e-commerce websites, and designs, develops, sources, manufactures and distributes footwear for people of all ages.  Our mission is to inspire people to feel great...feet first.  We meet consumers where they want to shop, whether in-store or online.  We employ our “One Caleres” capabilities – design, sourcing, speed and marketing, working in unison to accelerate growth.

The Company’s business operations are organized into two reportable segments—Famous Footwear and Brand Portfolio.  The Famous Footwear segment is comprised of our Famous Footwear retail stores, famousfootwear.com and famousfootwear.ca.  The Famous Footwear segment operated 821 stores at the end of 2025, selling primarily branded footwear for the entire family.  The Brand Portfolio segment offers retailers and consumers a carefully cultivated portfolio of leading brands.  This segment is comprised of wholesale operations that designs, develops, sources, manufactures, markets and distributes branded, licensed and private-label footwear primarily to online retailers, national chains, department stores, independent retailers, mass merchandisers and franchise partners, as well as Company-owned Famous Footwear, Sam Edelman, Naturalizer, Allen Edmonds and Stuart Weitzman stores and e-commerce businesses.  It includes the Allen Edmonds, Sam Edelman, Stuart Weitzman and Naturalizer retail stores, including 81 stores in the United States, four in Canada and 103 stores in East and Southeast Asia at the end of 2025, and the e-commerce businesses for our Company-owned brands.  In addition, there were 148 international branded stores owned and operated by third parties through franchise agreements at the end of 2025.

Our net sales are comprised of four major categories: women’s footwear, men’s footwear, children’s footwear and clothing and accessories.  The percentage of net sales attributable to each category is as follows:

​ ​ ​202520242023
Women's footwear61%60%61%
Men's footwear21%21%21%
Children's footwear12%12%12%
Clothing and accessories6%7%6%

FAMOUS FOOTWEAR

Our Famous Footwear segment, which is one of America’s leading family-branded footwear retailers, was founded on a simple idea: that everyone deserves to feel the joy that comes from a new pair of shoes.  Famous Footwear employs an omni-channel approach to reach consumers wherever they want to shop, including our e-commerce channel through famousfootwear.com and famousfootwear.ca, as well as 821 Famous Footwear retail store locations.

We seek to meet the needs of the millennial family and others by providing an assortment of trend-right, brand-name fashion, casual and athletic footwear at a great price.  Brands carried at Famous Footwear include Nike, Skechers, adidas, Crocs, Converse, Birkenstock, HeyDude, New Balance, Puma, Jordan, Vans, Bearpaw, Asics, Brooks and Under Armour among others, as well as company-owned and licensed brands including Dr. Scholl’s Shoes, LifeStride, Naturalizer and Blowfish Malibu.  Our Company-owned and licensed products are sold to our Famous Footwear segment by our Brand Portfolio segment at a profit and represent approximately 5% of the Famous Footwear segment’s net sales. We work closely with our vendors to provide consumers with fresh product and, in some cases, product exclusively designed for and available only at Famous Footwear.  Famous Footwear’s retail price points typically range from $20 for shoes to $350 for boots.  We believe we have strong relationships with our significant branded footwear suppliers, but the loss of any one or more key suppliers could have a material impact on our Famous Footwear segment and the Company.

Famousfootwear.com and famousfootwear.ca. which are accessible via desktop, tablet and mobile devices, offer an expansive product assortment, beyond what is sold in our retail stores.  Many of our consumers buy online and pick up product in their local store through Famously Fast Pickup or curbside.  Orders are typically ready within an hour through this convenient service.  Our retail store locations also fulfill approximately two-thirds of all e-commerce orders not picked up in the store.  Leveraging our brick-and-mortar store inventory reduces delivery times, driving an enhanced consumer

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experience.  We continue to add new features to the Famous Footwear mobile application to deliver a superior experience for our customers who visit Famous Footwear on a mobile device.

Famous Footwear also has an extensive customer loyalty program, Famously You Rewards (“Rewards”), which informs and rewards members with free shipping and bonus points for purchases, product previews, incentives based upon purchase continuity and other periodic promotional offers.  Our Famous Footwear websites allow members of Rewards to view their points status and purchase history, manage profile settings and engage further with the brand.  Famous Footwear’s mobile app also serves as a hub for Rewards members to shop, find local stores, redeem Rewards certificates and learn about the newest products, latest trends and hottest deals.

Our Famous Footwear stores are located in strip shopping centers as well as outlet and regional malls in 49 states, Canada and Guam.  The breakdown by venue at the end of each of the last three fiscal years is as follows:

​ ​ ​2025​ ​ ​2024​ ​ ​2023
Strip centers539552562
Outlet malls156160165
Regional malls126134133
Total821846860

We anticipate that we will open approximately 15 retail store locations and close approximately 25 in 2026. New stores typically experience an initial start-up period characterized by lower sales and operating earnings than what is generally achieved by more mature stores.  While the duration of this start-up period may vary by type of store, economic environment and geographic location, new stores typically reach a normal level of profitability within approximately four years.

Famous Footwear relies on merchandise allocation systems and processes that use allocation criteria, consumer segmentation and inventory data in an effort to ensure stores are adequately stocked with product and to differentiate the needs of each store based on location, consumer segmentation and other factors.  Famous Footwear’s distribution systems allow for merchandise to be delivered to each store weekly, or on a more frequent basis, as needed.  Famous Footwear also uses regional third-party pooled distribution sites across the country.

Famous Footwear’s marketing programs include e-commerce advertising, television advertising, digital marketing and social media, direct mail and in-store advertisements, all of which are designed to further develop and reinforce the Famous Footwear brand and strengthen our connection with consumers.  We believe the success of our marketing campaigns is attributable to highlighting key categories and tailoring the timing of such messaging to adapt to seasonal shopping patterns.  In 2025, we spent approximately $58.2 million to advertise and market Famous Footwear to our target consumers, a portion of which was recovered from suppliers.

BRAND PORTFOLIO

Our Brand Portfolio segment offers consumers and retailers a portfolio of leading footwear brands.  We design, develop, source, manufacture, market and distribute our branded footwear for women, men and kids at a variety of price points.  Certain of our branded footwear products are sold under brand names that are owned by the Company and others are developed pursuant to licensing agreements.  Our Brand Portfolio segment also sells footwear on a direct-to-consumer basis through our branded retail stores and e-commerce businesses, including our brand websites.

Portfolio of Brands

The following is a listing of our owned brands and licensed products:

Sam Edelman: The Sam Edelman brand has been synonymous with aspirational luxury and on-trend style since 2004. Inspired by timeless American elegance, designer Sam Edelman’s innate understanding of the consumer translates conceptually into a modern lifestyle informed by rich heritage, creativity and innovation. Beyond its iconic footwear, Sam Edelman offers an ever-expanding range of product categories to fit the customer’s lifestyle, including ready-to-wear, handbags, perfume, outerwear, denim, and hosiery. The full range of Sam Edelman products is sold globally through Sam Edelman retail stores and online at samedelman.com, samedelman.ca and samedelman.co.uk, in addition to department

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stores, national chains, independent retailers and through our joint venture and franchise partners in East and Southeast Asia, with suggested retail prices ranging from $100 to $300. Beyond the Sam Edelman brand, designer Sam Edelman owns and designs the contemporary lifestyle brands, Circus NY and Sam & Libby, which are both distributed through leading wholesale and e-commerce retailers. Additionally, Sam & Libby is available through our Famous Footwear brand. Suggested retail price points range from $60 to $160 for Circus NY and $60 to $120 for Sam & Libby.

Vionic: In 2018, we acquired Vionic to expand our access to the growing contemporary comfort footwear category. Vionic is dedicated to harnessing science, ingenuity and input from medical professionals and athletes to make shoes that bring balance to our lives. The fusion between dynamic movement and grounded stability is how our exclusive Vio MotionTM Technology solves whole body balance. Featuring a wide range of silhouettes with a Northern California aesthetic, premium materials and thoughtful design for women and men, Vionic offers the style you want with the comfort you crave across a vast selection of fashion sneakers, casual and dress options, boots, sandals and slippers. The brand is sold online at vionicshoes.com, as well as through premium department stores, independent retailers, national chains, specialty boutiques, and through our Famous Footwear brand. Vionic is also available globally through our wholesale partners and distributors across more than 30 countries. Suggested retail price points range from $80 for sandals to $250 for boots.

Naturalizer: Since 1927, Naturalizer has put women first. As the first brand ever to design shoes to the contours of a woman’s foot, the brand is known for crafting beautiful, modern styles that look and feel exceptional, inside and out. Naturalizer’s legendary emphasis on fit and elegant simplicity launched a brand that became known as “the shoe with the beautiful fit.” The brand’s mission of inclusivity supports the vision to have every woman in Naturalizer shoes. The Naturalizer brand is sold primarily at national chains, online retailers including naturalizer.com and naturalizer.ca, department stores, independent retailers, and through our Famous Footwear brand. Naturalizer footwear is also available globally through our wholesale partners across 34 countries. Suggested retail price points range from $89 for shoes to $290 for boots.

Allen Edmonds: In 2016, we acquired Allen Edmonds to increase our penetration in men’s footwear. Allen Edmonds, founded in 1922, is a brand of premium men’s footwear, apparel, leather goods and accessories, built on its United States manufacturing heritage. Allen Edmonds products are available at our 58 Allen Edmonds stores in the United States, including 18 Port Washington Studio stores and 3 outlet stores, online retailers including allenedmonds.com, shoebank.com, and allenedmonds.ca, and at select premium retailers worldwide. Suggested retail Allen Edmonds price points range from $300 to $595, while the Allen Edmonds Reserve Collection price points range from $800 to $2,995.

Dr. Scholl’s Shoes: More than a century after Dr. William Scholl introduced his namesake brand, Dr. Scholl’s Shoes has maintained its legacy and passion for creating iconic, innovative, and effortless footwear for a healthy life. The brand became a fashion icon in 1959 with the debut of the Original Wooden Exercise Sandal worn by fashion icons across decades. Dr. Scholl’s footwear reaches consumers at a wide range of distribution channels, including national chains, department stores, online retailers including drschollsshoes.com and through our Famous Footwear brand. Suggested price points range from $50 for shoes to $190 for boots. We have a license agreement to sell Dr. Scholl’s Shoes in the United States, Canada and Latin America through 2026.

Stuart Weitzman: In August 2025, we acquired Stuart Weitzman to increase our penetration in premium contemporary footwear. Since founder Stuart Weitzman launched his namesake brand in 1986, the brand has become a global luxury icon known for combining its signature artisanal Spanish craftsmanship and precise engineering to empower women to stand strong. Having perfected the art of shoemaking for 40 years, the brand continues to expand its assortment to feature handbags and other accessories, all the while staying true to its ethos of inspiring strength and confidence with every step. Stuart Weitzman products are manufactured in third party factories in Spain, Italy, and more, and are available at our 73 retail locations across the globe. This includes 23 locations across North America (including full-price retail boutiques, outlet stores, and shop-in-shops) and 50 locations in China. The brand’s products are also available online at stuartweitzman.com and stuartweitzman.ca, as well as at select premier retailers worldwide. Suggested retail Stuart Weitzman price points range from $250 to $995.

LifeStride:  LifeStride has been designing shoes for women who take life in stride since 1940. Delivering all-day comfort and modern design, LifeStride shoes are performance tested to last more than 1 million steps. That is hundreds of days of comfort she can count on, with versatile style she’ll love to wear again and again. The brand is available at major national

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retailers, online retailers including lifestride.com, department stores, and through our Famous Footwear brand, at suggested retail price points ranging from $70 for shoes to $140 for boots.

Franco Sarto:  Since 1990, Franco Sarto has embodied timeless, wearable styles inspired by the craft and design of Italian footwear. Today, through the vision of creative director, Gionata Pagni, the brand continues to build on that tradition through purposeful, modern design. The brand is sold in major national chains, online retailers including francosarto.com, department stores, specialty retailers, independent retailers, and through our Famous Footwear brand, at suggested retail price points ranging from $99 for shoes to $290 for boots.

Rykä: Rykä was the first brand ever to create athletic shoes specifically for a woman's unique foot shape, muscle movement, and build. For more than 35 years, Rykä has offered footwear with a powerful Made for Women fit for her active life, including walking, cross-training, running and hiking, along with lifestyle trends. The brand is distributed through national chains, online retailers including ryka.com, independent retailers, department stores, specialty retailers, and through our Famous Footwear brand, at suggested price points from $50 to $140.

Blowfish Malibu: Blowfish Malibu, which was founded in 2005 and acquired by Caleres in 2018, designs and sells women’s and children’s footwear that captures the fresh, youthful spirit and casual living that is distinctively Southern California. The brand is sold at national chains, independent retailers, and through our Famous Footwear retail stores and e-commerce businesses, at suggested retail price points ranging from $35 for shoes to $110 for boots.

Vince: The Vince women’s shoe collection launched in 2012 and was expanded in 2014 to include the Vince men’s footwear collection. From its atelier at the foot of the Hollywood Hills, Vince designs timeless, quality pieces that bring confidence and ease to the modern wardrobe. The brand is primarily sold in premier department stores, online, national chains and specialty retailers at suggested price points ranging from $200 for shoes to $595 for tall boots. We have a license agreement with Vince, LLC to sell Vince footwear through January 2029 with a five-year option to renew.

Veronica Beard: In 2020, we began an exclusive partnership with the American ready-to-wear brand, Veronica Beard, to produce the women’s footwear collection. The Veronica Beard collection includes styles that strike the balance between cool and classic, taking the consumer from day to night and work to weekend. The brand is distributed through domestic wholesale partners carrying Veronica Beard ready-to-wear and independent footwear retailers at suggested opening retail price points ranging from $295 for shoes to $750 for boots. We have a license agreement to sell Veronica Beard footwear through January 2029.

Wholesale

Within our Brand Portfolio segment, our brands are designed, sourced and distributed on a wholesale basis to approximately 1,900 retailers, including online retailers, national chains, department stores, independent retailers and mass merchandisers throughout the United States and Canada, as well as approximately 63 other countries (including sales to our retail operations).  Our most significant customers include Famous Footwear and many of the nation’s largest retailers, including online retailers such as Amazon.com, Nordstrom.com and Zappos.com; national chains such as Nordstrom Rack, DSW, TJX Corporation (including TJ Maxx and Marshalls), Kohl’s and Ross Stores; department stores such as Nordstrom, Macy’s and Dillard’s; mass merchandisers such as Walmart; and independent retailers such as QVC Group, Inc., which operates QVC and Home Shopping Network.  Many of these wholesale customers also sell our products through their own websites.  In these arrangements, orders are typically fulfilled on a drop-ship basis from our logistics network.  We also sell product to a variety of international retail customers and distributors.

Our Brand Portfolio segment sold approximately 32 million pairs of shoes on a wholesale basis during 2025.  Products sold under license agreements accounted for approximately 14% of the sales of the Brand Portfolio segment in 2025 and 2024 and 13% of the segment’s sales in 2023.  Caleres also receives license revenue from third parties related to certain owned brands, for use in connection with other brand-enhancing non-footwear product categories.

We continue to see benefits from the strategic initiatives we have implemented in recent years.  Our Edit to Win initiative drives more volume through fewer SKUs.  In addition, our speed program allows us to reduce both inventory risks and markdowns by aligning inventory with consumer demand to drive sales productivity.

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Direct-to-Consumer

Our Brand Portfolio segment includes the operation of 15 branded e-commerce websites which offer substantially the same product selection to consumers as we sell to our wholesale customers.

We also operate retail stores for certain brands, including Allen Edmonds, Sam Edelman, Stuart Weitzman and Naturalizer.  The number of our owned Brand Portfolio retail stores at the end of the last three fiscal years was as follows:

​ ​ ​2025​ ​ ​2024​ ​ ​2023
Allen Edmonds585657
Sam Edelman565639
Stuart Weitzman73
Naturalizer122
Total18811498

At the end of 2025, we operated 58 Allen Edmonds stores in the United States, each averaging approximately 1,560 square feet.  We expect to open approximately two new Allen Edmonds stores and close approximately five stores in 2026, as we continue to align our real estate and e-commerce strategies.  At the end of 2025, we operated four Sam Edelman stores in the United States, each averaging approximately 2,300 square feet, and 52 stores in East Asia.  We anticipate expanding our Sam Edelman presence in East and Southeast Asia in 2026 with the opening of approximately 2 net new stores, and 5 net new franchisee stores in 2026. At the end of 2026, we operated 19 Stuart Weitzman stores in the United States and four Stuart Weitzman stores in Canada, each averaging 2,000 square feet, and 50 stores in Asia. After closing all of our domestic Naturalizer retail stores in 2024, we ended the year with one store in Southeast Asia.  In addition to our owned Brand Portfolio retail stores, there are 148 branded stores that are owned by third parties and are operated internationally through distributor, licensed or franchise agreements.

Marketing

Over the last few years, we’ve been building a “One Caleres” marketing ecosystem.  We believe that robust consumer data is the source of our competitive advantage and have invested in our marketing strategy with digital marketing, loyalty, data and analytics, consumer insight and brand marketing.  We believe that our investment in these areas, particularly digital marketing and loyalty, have resulted in growth in our direct-to-consumer business over the last few years.  In addition, we continue to leverage consumer insights and data to inform marketing initiatives to capture a greater share of our target consumers’ spend as well as reach new audiences with a high propensity to purchase our products.

Our marketing teams are responsible for the development and implementation of innovative marketing programs that serve the consumer facing needs of our portfolio of brands as well as that of our retail partners and brand websites.  Our marketing teams are instrumental in continuing to drive growth in e-commerce sales, producing relevant and purpose-driven brand positioning and creating meaningful connections with consumers that have increased awareness and loyalty across our portfolio.  In 2025, we spent approximately $93 million in advertising and marketing support for our Brand Portfolio segment, including digital marketing and social media, consumer media advertising, product placement, in-store displays, production, print and trade shows.

Product Development Operations

We maintain design and product development teams for our brands in Clayton, Missouri; Dongguan, China; Elda, Spain; Putian, China; New York, New York; Novato, California; and Port Washington, Wisconsin, as well as other select fashion locations, including Milan and Florence, Italy.  These teams, which include independent designers, are responsible for the creation and development of new product styles.  Our designers monitor trends in fashion footwear and apparel and work closely with retailers to identify consumer footwear preferences.  Our design teams create collections of footwear, and our sourcing and product development offices convert those designs into new footwear styles.  We operate a sample-making facility in Dongguan, China that allows us to have greater control over our product development in terms of accuracy, execution and speed-to-market.

Sourcing and Manufacturing Operations

In 2025, the sourcing operations sourced approximately $451.0 million of shoes through a global network of third-party independent footwear manufacturers.  The majority of our footwear sourced is provided by approximately 49

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manufacturers operating approximately 107 manufacturing facilities.  In certain countries, we use agents to facilitate and manage the development, production and shipment of product.  We attribute our ability to achieve consistent quality, competitive prices and on-time delivery to the breadth of these established relationships, as well as steps we have taken to digitize many aspects of our end-to-end supply chain processes to enable mutually beneficial workload efficiency, visibility and agility.  While we generally do not have significant contractual commitments with our suppliers, we do enter into sourcing agreements with certain independent sourcing agents.  Prior to production, we monitor the quality of all of our footwear components and also inspect the prototypes of each footwear style.

The following table provides an overview of our sourcing by country in 2025:

Country ($ millions)​ ​ ​ ​
Vietnam$284.7
China88.4
Cambodia45.3
India11.0
Other21.6
Total$451.0

While we source the majority of our footwear from independent manufacturers, we also operate manufacturing facilities in Port Washington, Wisconsin and Santiago, Dominican Republic. Our Port Washington and Santiago facilities manufacture footwear and certain accessories for our Allen Edmonds brand. We believe operating our own manufacturing facilities in North America provides us with greater control over the quality and craftsmanship that are essential to the iconic Allen Edmonds brand. In addition, our Port Washington facility serves our recrafting operations, which support our commitment to sustainability. Our recrafting operations allow the Allen Edmonds consumer to extend the life of their footwear by restoring shoes to nearly their original state. Most styles can be recrafted twice, and some can be recrafted three times.

Backlog

At January 31, 2026, our Brand Portfolio segment had a backlog of unfilled wholesale orders of approximately $332.2 million, compared to $260.2 million as of February 1, 2025.  Most orders are for delivery within the next 90 to 120 days.  Orders are subject to cancellation; however, we have historically not experienced significant cancellations of orders.

The backlog at any particular time is affected by a number of factors, including timing of orders received from customers, supply chain disruptions, seasonality and capacity shifts at international manufacturers.  Accordingly, a comparison of backlog from period to period may not be indicative of eventual actual shipments or the growth rate of sales from one period to the next.

Human Capital Management

As of January 31, 2026, we had approximately 10,000 employees, including 5,000 full-time and 5,000 part-time.  In the United States, there were no employees subject to union contracts.  In Canada, we employ approximately 22 warehouse employees under a union contract, which will expire in October 2028.  The Company’s success depends on our ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain qualified management, administrative, product design and development and sales and marketing personnel to support existing operations and future growth.  Since our founding in 1878, we have been all about the right fit.  Our values – Passion, Accountability, Curiosity, Creativity and Caring, inform how we work, how we treat one another and how we live our mission.

Compensation Programs and Employee Benefits

We believe that pay, benefits and incentives make up the total rewards package and provide employees and their families with financial protection and security for the future.  Our compensation programs are designed to encourage and reward our executives and associates for superior performance and drive long-term shareholder value.  We offer a comprehensive benefits package to our associates that provides, among other benefits, competitive salaries and wages; comprehensive health insurance coverage to eligible employees; retirement plans; education assistance; paid time off; parental bonding leave; adoption benefits; and charitable giving opportunities through the Caleres Cares Charitable Trust, including volunteer opportunities and our matching gift program.

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Health and Safety

Our associates make health and safety a daily priority at our stores, distribution centers, offices and factories.  Newly hired associates are required to attend health and safety training as part of the onboarding process and they receive a variety of relevant training and information throughout the year.  Our guidelines cover many common elements such as physical safety and security, workplace violence, emergency procedures, incident reporting protocols, first aid and other general health and safety topics.  All of our retail associates receive training in accordance with our Occupational Health and Safety Program, which provides for both their safety and that of our customers.  Our corporate offices support the well-being of our associates with on-site amenities such as a fitness center and a registered dietician that is available for consultations.

Responsible Business Initiatives

Our responsible business initiatives are an important component of our enterprise risk management program.  Our long-standing pledge to quality craftmanship includes creating sustainable and lasting value for all of our stakeholders by governing and operating with integrity and transparency and by pursuing ambitious responsible business targets. At Caleres, the forward focus of our brands has led to an intentional elimination of waste in our strategic manufacturing facilities while extending the life span of our products through donation, recrafting and reuse programs.  These initiatives support our broader efforts toward circularity, which we believe both protects the environment and delivers value to customers. Our responsible business governance structure includes a cross-functional steering committee that manages the development of programs, goals and metrics to support our responsible business initiatives. We periodically assess the environmental, social and governance topics that are most relevant to our business and stakeholders, which helps guide the framework for our responsible business initiatives and disclosures.

Many of our responsible business goals focus on high impact areas of opportunity, such as the materials that are used in our products, energy use and supply chain labor standards.  We are striving to use environmentally preferred materials in our products and packaging, and are working to ensure our strategic factories around the world comply with leading global work standards. We also monitor and comply with evolving environmental, product stewardship and climate-related regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including extended producer responsibility programs and climate disclosure regulations, such as California Senate Bill 253, as well as similar regulations in other global markets. Our responsible business reports may be accessed at www.caleres.com.  The information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this report.  We expect to publish another responsible business report in the spring of 2026.

Competition

With many companies operating traditional brick-and-mortar retail shoe stores and departments and e-commerce businesses, we compete in a highly fragmented market.  In addition, the continuing consumer shift to online and mobile shopping has increased price competition and requires retailers to lower shipping costs charged to customers, improve shipping speeds and optimize mobile platforms.  Our competitors include local, regional and national shoe store chains, department stores, discount stores, mass merchandisers, numerous independent retail operators of various sizes and e-commerce businesses.  Quality of products and services, store location, trend-right merchandise selection and availability of brands, pricing, marketing, advertising and consumer service are all factors that impact retail competition.

In addition, our wholesale customers sell shoes purchased from competing footwear suppliers.  Those competing footwear suppliers own and license brands, many of which are well-known and marketed aggressively.  Many retailers, who are our wholesale customers, source directly from factories or through agents.  The wholesale footwear business has low barriers to entry, which further intensifies competition.

Seasonality

Our business is seasonal in nature due to consumer spending patterns with higher back-to-school and holiday season sales. Although the third fiscal quarter has historically accounted for a substantial portion of the Company’s earnings for the year, we have experienced more equal distribution among the quarters in recent years.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

Our Internet address is www.caleres.com.  Our Internet address is included in this annual report on Form 10-K as an inactive textual reference only.  The information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this annual

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report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this report.  We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC.  We make available free of charge our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished, as required by Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, through our Internet website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with or furnish it to the SEC.  You may access these SEC filings via the hyperlink to a third-party SEC filings website that we provide on our website.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following is a list of the names and ages of the executive officers of the Company and of the offices held by each person.  There is no family relationship between any of the named persons.  The terms of the following executive officers will expire in May 2026 or upon their respective successors being chosen and qualified.

Name​ ​ ​Age​ ​ ​Current Position
John W. Schmidt65President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Thomas C. Burke58Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Daniel L. Karpel55Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer
Brian P. Costello62Division President – Famous Footwear
Daniel R. Friedman65Chief Sourcing and Supply Chain Officer
Willis D. Hill54Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Kathleen K. Welter57Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer

The period of service of each officer in the positions listed and other business experience are set forth below.

John W. Schmidt, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director since January 2023.  President from December 2020 to January 2023.  Division President – Brand Portfolio from October 2015 to December 2020. Division President – Contemporary Fashion Brands from January 2011 to September 2015.  Senior Vice President, Better and Image Brands from January 2010 to January 2011.  Senior Vice President and General Manager, Better and Image Brands from March 2008 until January 2010.  Various positions, including Vice President, President, Group President of Wholesale Footwear for Nine West Group from September 1998 to February 2008.

Thomas C. Burke, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since August 2016.  Vice President, Legal from December 2015 to August 2016.  Deputy General Counsel from March 2012 to December 2015.  Various positions at the Company, including Associate General Counsel and Director, Talent Management, from March 2001 to March 2012.

Daniel L. Karpel, Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer since January 2026.  Rejoined Caleres as Chief Accounting Officer in October 2025. Chief Financial Officer of Club Carwash Operating, LLC from 2024 to 2025. Chief Financial Officer of CW Holdings, LLC and a legacy entity owning the brands of Soft Surroundings and Coldwater Creek from 2023 to 2024. Chief Accounting Officer of EyeCare Partners, LLC from 2022 to 2023.  Chief Accounting Officer of Spectrum Brands, Inc. from 2020 to 2022. Various roles in finance, including previous employment with Caleres as Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer from 2015 to 2016, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer from 2013 to 2015 and Senior Vice President, Finance from 2008 to 2013.

Brian P. Costello, Division President – Famous Footwear since August 2025.  Chief Merchant Officer – Famous Footwear from January 2025 to August 2025. Vice President, Divisional Merchandising Manager – Footwear & Accessories of Nordstrom from August 2010 to January 2025. Vice President – Supply Chain & Inventory Planning at Sur La Table from July 2007 to August 2010.

Daniel R. Friedman, Chief Sourcing and Supply Chain Officer since April 2018.  Division President – Global Supply Chain from January 2010 to April 2018.  Senior Vice President, Product Development and Sourcing from July 2006 to January 2010.  Managing Director at Camuto Group, Inc. from 2002 to July 2006.

Willis D. Hill, Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer since September 2018.  Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer from August 2017 to September 2018.  Senior Vice President, Information Technology from

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January 2017 to August 2017.  Vice President, Retail Information Technology from July 2011 to January 2017.  Director, Retail Information Technology from July 2008 to July 2011.

Kathleen K. Welter, Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer since August 2025.  Vice President, Human Resources of Woodard & Curran from January 2016 to July 2025. Senior Consultant, Talent Equation from August 2013 to January 2016. Vice President, Talent Strategy & Leadership Continuity, Caleres from March 2003 to July 2013.