Shoe Carnival is easing up on its aggressive plan to convert a majority of its stores to the Shoe Station banner.
In the Fort Mill, S.C.-based footwear retailer’s fourth quarter 2025 earnings report on Thursday, interim president and chief executive officer Cliff Sifford noted that the company will be taking more time to evaluate some of the stores it has already converted.
Management noted that fiscal 2025 marked the first large-scale deployment of the company’s rebanner program, with 101 store rebanners completed beyond the initial 10-store test conducted in fiscal 2024.
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By the end of fiscal 2025, Shoe Station represented 144 stores and 34 percent of the company’s 426-store fleet, up from 10 percent of the fleet at the start of the fiscal year.
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After evaluating the performance of those 101 stores, particularly net sales in the second-half of fiscal 2025, the company noted that it observed that, while Shoe Station’s e-commerce results have been a “meaningful contributor” to banner-level sales growth, “demonstrating strong consumer response” to the Shoe Station brand and assortment online, there was “significant variability” in in-store performance across rebannered locations, with some stores performing well and others not achieving anticipated results.
As a result, the company is making the strategic decision to slow the pace of store rebanners in fiscal 2026. The move will allow the retailer to evaluate the consumer demographics that are responding most favorably to the Shoe Station format and determine which marketing channels are most effective in driving new customer acquisition. The company also is looking to evolve the product mix in rebannered stores.
With those factors in mind, Shoe Carnival now expects to rebanner approximately 21 stores during the first half of fiscal 2026 while this evaluation is conducted.
In the company’s previous rebanner strategy explained in November by former CEO Mark Worden, who left Shoe Carnival in February, it was projected that it would operate 215 Shoe Station stores by back-to-school 2026, representing 51 percent of the fleet. The company noted at the time that it expected well over 90 percent of its fleet to operate as Shoe Station before the end of fiscal 2028, with remaining locations evaluated for rebannering, outlet repositioning, or closure.
The original plan also called for the company to rebanner 70 more stores by back-to-school 2026 to reach its goal, which would require capital expenditures of $25 million to $35 million and rebanner investment of $25 million to $30 million.
But despite this change, Sifford noted on Thursday that Shoe Station remains the company’s “primary growth vehicle.”
“Our evolving rebanner strategy will be driven by our CRM customer data, which allows us to identify the markets within our current footprint that are best suited to the Shoe Station format, while also guiding our pursuit of new market opportunities for Shoe Station beyond our existing footprint,” Sifford said. “In markets where Shoe Carnival has historically been the dominant family footwear retailer, those stores will continue to operate under the Shoe Carnival banner.”
This news comes at the same time the company released its fourth quarter and fiscal 2025 earnings results.
Net sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 were $254.1 million down from $262.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Net income was $9.1 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, down from $14.7 million, or 53 cents per diluted share, the prior year.
By banner, Shoe Station net sales were approximately flat compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, while Shoe Carnival net sales declined 4.5 percent in the period. Rogan’s generated net sales of $15.5 million as its operations were fully integrated into the Shoe Station operating model.
As for the full fiscal year, net sales were $1.1 billion, a decrease of 5.6 percent from $1.2 billion in fiscal 2024. Net income for the year was $52.3 million, or $1.90 per diluted share, compared to $73.8 million, or $2.68 per diluted share, in fiscal 2024.
The company added that Shoe Station’s net sales were $236.7 million in fiscal 2025, representing 21 percent of total net sales, and grew organically 2.7 percent compared to fiscal 2024, inclusive of a low-single digit comparable store sales increase. The Shoe Carnival banner saw net sales for the year decline by 7.7 percent.
Looking ahead, the company expects net sales in fiscal 2026 to be down approximately 1 percent to up 1 percent compared to fiscal 2025. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to be between $1.40 to $1.60.
“We enter fiscal 2026 with a clear operational focus: disciplined inventory management, targeted store rebanner conversions where supported by our demographic data, and expense discipline,” Sifford added. “Our balance sheet provides the financial foundation to navigate near-term margin pressure while positioning the company for improved profitability in fiscal 2027 and beyond.”