Roger Rawlins to succeed Michael MacDonald as DSW CEO

Roger L. Rawlins, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer, will succeed Michael R. MacDonald as Chief Executive Officer at DSW, effective January 1, 2016. MacDonald, who is retiring from DSW and from the Board of Directors, will remain with the company through the end of the year to help ensure a smooth transition. Rawlins will be appointed to the DSW Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2016.

Rawlins has extensive retail leadership experience including nearly a decade of experience with DSW. Prior to his current role, Rawlins served as Executive Vice President, Omni Channel, Senior Vice President and General Manager of DSW.com and Vice President, Finance and Controller. Prior to joining DSW in 2006, he served in leadership positions at HER Real Living and L Brands.

“On behalf of the Board and everyone at DSW, I would like to thank Mike for his leadership and many contributions over the past six plus years, during which time DSW sales nearly doubled and profits increased fivefold,” said Jay L. Schottenstein, Chairman of DSW's Board of Directors, adding, “As part of our succession planning process, we are pleased to name an executive of Roger's caliber to be our next CEO. Notwithstanding the challenging retail environment, I am confident we have the right plan – and that Roger is the right leader – to continue executing our strategy to meet our customers' needs and deliver long-term value for our shareholders.”

Expects weaker Q3 results

DSW also announced preliminary financial results for the 13-week period ending October 31, 2015. The company expects third quarter revenues to be approximately 665 million dollars, with comparable sales declining by approximately 3.9 percent. The company anticipates earnings per share to be in the 0.41 dollar-0.44 dollar range. The company said that these weaker than expected preliminary third quarter results reflect the general slowing of US retail traffic and weak sales within DSW's women's footwear category, due in part to unseasonably warm temperatures during the quarter.

For the 52-week fiscal year ending January 30, 2016, the company currently expects earnings to be in the range of 1.40 dollars to 1.50 dollars per share. The company's previous earnings guidance was for EPS in the range of 1.80 dollars to 1.90 dollars.