TSL Express Daily News

Caleres Inc. has its financial ducks in a row as it prepares to close on its purchase of the Stuart Weitzman brand.

The global footwear company said on Monday that it has amended its credit agreement, which extends its senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility to June 2030. In addition, the borrowing capacity will increase by $200 million to $700 million. Furthermore, there is an “accordian” provision that allows Caleres to request an increase in the size of the facility to “$950 million in the aggregate.”

“The expanded facility provides Caleres with enhanced liquidity and flexibility, and further strengthens the balance sheet,” Jack Calandra, Caleres’ senior vice president and CFO, said. “In the near term, after continuing to pay our dividend, Caleres’ capital allocation priorities are to complete the acquisition of Stuart Weitzman and invest in our growth vectors.”

Caleres in February inked a deal to acquire the Stuart Weitzman brand from Tapestry Inc. for $105 million.

At the time, Caleres president and CEO said the acquisition advances the company’s “strategic agenda” to grow its brand portfolio segment with an eye to more global and direct-to-consumer reach. The plan is for Stuart Weitzman to be the lead brand for Caleres.

The closing date for the transaction is this summer, and Caleres has previously said that it would fund the deal through its revolving credit agreement. Caleres is set to provide additional details on integration plans once the deal closes.

Other shoe brands in Caleres’ portfolio include Famous Footwear, Sam Edelman, Allen Edmonds, Naturalizer, Vionic and Dr. Scholl’s Shoes, among others.

Last month, the company said first quarter net income for the three months ended May 3 fell to $6.9 million from $30.9 million in the same year-ago period. Net sales were down 6.8 percent to $614.2 million from $6.6 million. Sales were weak in February, while volatility increased in April after President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on April 2. Caleres also incurred additional costs connected with moving goods and canceled orders related to tariffs. Also impacting the quarter were customer credit issues and/or bad debt at some wholesale accounts, such as the Canadian retail chain Hudson’s Bay that ended up shutting all stores and liquidating operations.

As for the tariff issue, the company expects to have 10 percent or less sourced from China in the back half of 2025. And like many other brands, Caleres is also selectively raising prices. Coming up, the Jordan brand will be an all-door exclusive for the shoe chain for back-to-school across men’s, women’s, kids and accessories. And this fall will see the first shoe collection for Favorite Daughter, which will be launched with Caleres under a new licensing agreement. 

The Weitzman brand was launched in 1986, initially as a women’s shoe brand that later expanded to include men’s footwear, as well as handbags. Tapestry acquired the brand in 2015 from private equity firm Sycamore partners in a transaction valued at $574 million. The shoe firm became part of Sycamore’s portfolio after it acquired Jones Group Inc. for $1.2 billion in 2014.