Shoe Carnival announces corporate name change to Shoe Station Group

Shoe Carnival, Inc. announced that its board of directors has unanimously approved a plan to change the company’s corporate name to Shoe Station Group, Inc., pending shareholder approval at the June 2026 Annual Meeting.

The move marks a major strategic shift toward a single-banner business model centered on the rapidly expanding Shoe Station brand. By fiscal 2028, the retailer expects more than 90 percent of its store fleet to operate under the Shoe Station banner, with remaining locations undergoing evaluation for rebannering, outlet repositioning, or closure. The company has already completed 100 rebanners in fiscal 2025 and anticipates that over half of its stores will operate as Shoe Station ahead of the 2026 Back-to-School season.

President and CEO Mark Worden called the rebranding a pivotal milestone, noting that Shoe Station continues to outperform with growing comparable sales, margin expansion and increased customer acquisition. “We are building a simpler, more efficient company with one team, one infrastructure, and one P&L,” Worden said, adding that the streamlined model strengthens the company’s position for both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.

Preliminary third-quarter fiscal 2025 results reinforce this divergence: Shoe Station posted a 5.3 percent increase in net sales and a 260-basis-point margin expansion, while the legacy Shoe Carnival banner saw sales decline 5.2 percent amid pressure on lower-income consumers. Overall, the company delivered third-quarter net sales of 297.2 million dollars and diluted EPS of 53 cents, both exceeding consensus expectations. Shoe Carnival also ended the quarter with a debt-free balance sheet and more than 100 million dollars in cash and securities.

Management expects the consolidation to unlock significant cost efficiencies and structural advantages. The shift to one banner is projected to generate 20 million dollars in annual cost savings by fiscal 2027, reduce operational complexity across merchandising and supply chain, accelerate decision-making, and enable a 20–25 percent reduction in inventory investment. The company also anticipates returning to comparable sales growth starting in fiscal 2027 as Shoe Station becomes the dominant brand.

Shoe Carnival will release full third-quarter fiscal 2025 results and discuss the rebranding strategy in greater detail during its earnings call on November 20, 2025.