Shoe Carnival Announces Acquisition of Shoe Station
Summary
As of December 3, 2021, and prior to the acquisition of Shoe Station, the Company operated 377 stores in 35 states and Puerto Rico, and offers online shopping at www.shoecarnival.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, such as statements about the expected impact of the Shoe Station acquisition on our operations, financial results, markets and strategies, the integration of the business, our expected future store count and store growth, our ability to grow the Shoe Station brand, and our ability to achieve the strategic objectives, synergies, efficiencies, and other benefits expected to be realized from our acquisition of the Shoe Station business. These factors include, but are not limited to: our ability to effectively integrate the Shoe Station business, retain Shoe Station employees, and achieve the expected operating results, synergies and other benefits from the Shoe Station acquisition within the expected time frames, or at all; risks that the Shoe Station acquisition may disrupt our current plans and operations or negatively impact our relationship with our vendors and other suppliers; the duration and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigating efforts deployed, including the effects of government stimulus on consumer spending, and the pandemic’s overall impact on our operations, including our stores, supply chain and distribution processes, economic conditions, and financial market volatility; general economic conditions in the areas of the continental United States and Puerto Rico where our stores are located; the effects and duration of economic downturns and unemployment rates; changes in the overall retail environment and more specifically in the apparel and footwear retail sectors; our ability to generate increased sales; our ability to successfully navigate the increasing use of online retailers for fashion purchases and the impact on traffic and transactions in our physical stores; the success of the open-air shopping centers where our stores are located and its impact on our ability to attract customers to our stores; our ability to attract customers to our e-commerce platform and to successfully grow our omnichannel sales; the potential impact of national and international security concerns on the retail environment; the effectiveness of our inventory management, including our ability to manage key merchandise vendor relationships and emerging direct-to-consumer initiatives; changes in our relationships with other key suppliers; our ability to control costs and meet our labor needs in a rising wage and/or inflationary environment; changes in the political and economic environments in, the status of trade relations with, and the impact of changes in trade policies and tariffs impacting, China and other countries which are the major manufacturers of footwear; the impact of competition and pricing; our ability to successfully manage and execute our marketing initiatives and maintain positive brand perception and recognition; our ability to successfully manage our current real estate portfolio and leasing obligations; changes in weather, including patterns impacted by climate change; changes in consumer buying trends and our ability to identify and respond to emerging fashion trends; the impact of disruptions in our distribution or information technology operations; the impact of natural disasters, other public health crises, political crises, civil unrest, and other catastrophic events on our operations and the operations of our suppliers, as well as on consumer confidence and purchasing in general; risks associated with the seasonality of the retail industry; the impact of unauthorized disclosure or misuse of personal and confidential information about our customers, vendors and employees, including as a result of a cybersecurity breach; our ability to successfully execute our business strategy, including the availability of desirable store locations at acceptable lease terms, our ability to implement and adapt to new technology and systems, our ability to open new stores in a timely and profitable manner, including our entry into major new markets, and the availability of sufficient funds to implement our business plans; higher than anticipated costs associated with the closing of underperforming stores; the inability of manufacturers to deliver products in a timely manner; an increase in the cost, or a disruption in the flow, of imported goods; the impact of regulatory changes in the United States, including minimum wage laws and regulations, and the countries where our manufacturers are located; the resolution of litigation or regulatory proceedings in which we are or may become involved; continued volatility and disruption in the capital and credit markets; our ability to identify, consummate or effectively integrate future acquisitions; future stock repurchases under our stock repurchase program and future dividend payments; and other factors described in the Company’s SEC filings, including the Company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. In addition, these forward-looking statements necessarily depend upon assumptions, estimates and dates that may be incorrect or imprecise and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. We disclaim any obligation to update any of these factors or to publicly announce any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect future events or developments.