By Connor Hart

Designer Brands withdrew its outlook for the year, citing persistent instability and pressure on discretionary spending.

The pull came Tuesday as the owner of the DSW store chain swung to a loss and logged lower sales in its fiscal first quarter.

Shares plummeted 21%, to $2.93, in pre-market trading. Through Monday's close, the stock has lost nearly half its value in the past year.

"We experienced a soft start to 2025 amid an unpredictable macro environment and deteriorating consumer sentiment," Chief Executive Doug Howe said.

In the near-term, the company will shift focus to cost-saving efforts, expecting to save up to $30 million over the course of the year, Howe added. He didn't disclose specific actions but said the company will work to amplify value across its retail channels, preserve margins, control costs and mitigate tariffs.

For the year, Designer Brands had previously guided for sales to rise in the low-single digits, as well as for a profit of 30 cents a share to 50 cents a share.

For its three months ended May 3, the Columbus, Ohio, company posted a net loss of $17.1 million, or 36 cents a share, compared with a profit of $885,000, or 1 cent a share, in last year's comparable quarter.

On an adjusted basis, the loss was 26 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected an adjusted loss of 6 cents a share.

Revenue fell 8% to $686.9 million, missing the $732.8 million that Wall Street modeled.

Comparable sales, which account for store openings and closings, fell 7.8%. Analysts had forecast same-store sales to edge 0.6% lower.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

For its three months ended May 3, Designer Brands posted a net loss of $17.4 million compared with a profit of $783,000 in last year's comparable quarter. "Designer Brands Pulls Outlook as 1Q Sales Fall," published at 7:12 a.m. ET, misstated the figures.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 10, 2025 12:13 ET (16:13 GMT)

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