Home / Markets / Business Leaders

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Steven Madden Beats the Street, Boosts Forecast

FOXBusiness

In a quarter when retailers are posting some very ugly numbers, there seems to be one bright spot, Steven Madden (SHOO).

Just hours after his company beat the Street and boosted its outlook, Steven Madden CEO Edward Rosenfeld told FOX Business he has no plans to lay off employees and is managing operating expenses very closely.

“We’re going in at maybe a touch lower margin, because we really want to focus on a great price-value proposition for the customer.”

The company reported its third-quarter net income increased to $11.1 million, or 62 cents per share, beating analysts' expectations of 53 cents per share.

It also boosted its full-year outlook saying it expects to earn between $1.65 and $1.70 per share -- up from a previously expected range of $1.55 to $1.65 per share.

“We gotta keep focusing on getting the right product to our customer, that’s the key and keep focusing on the price-value proposition because the customer really needs to see value,” Rosenfeld said.

And with the holiday season, which tends to be retailers most lucrative season, just around the corner, things aren’t looking good for some. “It’s going to be pretty promotional; a lot of markdowns, people are going to be competing on price.”

Rosenfeld said managing cost has been a key part of the company’s success.

“The reason we got the leverage on the expenses this quarter is really the increase sales and leveraging the fixed cost against the increase in sales.”