Designer Brands Inc

Except as noted below, there have been no material changes to the risk factors as set forth in Part I, Item 1A., Risk Factors, in our 2024 Form 10-K.

Recently announced changes to U.S. trade policy, including recently announced tariffs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and liquidity.

Following its January 2025 inauguration, the U.S. administration has taken action to increase tariffs assessed on most products imported into the U.S. along with additional reciprocal tariffs on imports from certain countries, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Cambodia. Subsequent to these announcements, the U.S. administration announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs for goods sourced from certain countries other than China and further increased tariffs on goods sourced from China, which were later paused for a separate 90-day period. The numerous announcements of new and then paused tariffs introduces more uncertainty regarding the future of global trade. All of the products manufactured through the Brand Portfolio segment come from third-party facilities outside of the U.S., with the majority of our units sourced from Asia. In addition to the merchandise sourced through our Brand Portfolio segment, our U.S. Retail and Canada Retail segments also source merchandise from domestic third-party suppliers, with many of these suppliers importing a large portion of their merchandise from Asia. We are closely monitoring this situation and evaluating the actions we plan to take, which may include cost mitigation measures and price adjustments. For our Brand Portfolio segment, we have accelerated our sourcing diversification efforts by rebalancing and optimizing where we source from to mitigate the risk, maximize flexibility, and decrease costs. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to fully mitigate the impact of such tariffs or new tariffs in China or elsewhere. Future impacts are unknown at this time and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and liquidity. Unfavorable developments may result in future write-downs or adjustments to inventories, receivables, the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, and may also negatively impact the fair value of our reporting units, indefinite-lived tradenames, and long-lived assets, which could result in us recording impairment charges for amounts below their carrying value.