Designer Brands Announces Business Partnership With Global Superstar Jennifer Lopez To Develop Footwear And Handbag Collection

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE:DBI), one of North America's largest footwear and accessories retailers, today announced a business partnership with music and entertainment powerhouse Jennifer Lopez. The legendary artist, style icon, and entrepreneur will partner with Designer Brands to develop and produce the JLO JENNIFER LOPEZ collection, a line of footwear and handbags. The collection will be sold exclusively at DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse stores in the United States and Canada, and online at DSW.com. The footwear line is poised to debut in Spring 2020 with handbags to follow.

"We are excited to bring customers the JLO JENNIFER LOPEZ collection, a new brand available exclusively at DSW," said Designer Brands' Chief Executive Officer Roger Rawlins. "Our collaboration with Jennifer Lopez supports Designer Brands' strategy of growing market share through differentiated products and differentiated experiences. The partnership will engage new customers across emerging platforms; and builds on our successful 2018 acquisition of Camuto Group, letting us leverage in-house brand development, and fully utilize our internal design and sourcing capabilities." 

More than just a traditional celebrity licensing deal, Designer Brands is partnering with Jennifer Lopez to create a business that will design, source and sell footwear and accessories. The partners will operate the business jointly, with day-to-day activities led by various operating units within Designer Brands. Creative authority rests on Jennifer Lopez and her team, with technical expertise and guidance from Camuto Group.

"Working with Jennifer Lopez elevates Designer Brands from retail merchant and product curator to fashion leader and style innovator," said Rawlins. "The business arrangement gives the new organization end-to-end capabilities to design and produce JLO JENNIFER LOPEZ collection footwear and handbags with the support of Camuto Group's highly regarded design, production and marketing teams."

The JLO JENNIFER LOPEZ collection will be led and shaped by Jennifer Lopez's creative vision, with the purpose of inspiring women to create and choose a life of confidence, empowerment and positivity. Jennifer Lopez will offer high-fashion products ranging from shoes to handbags that channel her glamour and trendsetting style.

In addition to her unparalleled creative talent, style and business savvy, Jennifer Lopez brings a robust fan base and social media presence of nearly 200 million followers. Given Jennifer Lopez's broad global appeal across age groups and backgrounds, the relationship is expected to expand DSW's already exceptional DSW VIP loyalty program of 27 million members.

"Since the beginning of my career, I've wanted to do it all - music, mov­ies, and fashion. There are so many facets to my career, and that's what I wanted to bring to my collection with DSW," says Lopez. "With high quality products and accessible pricing, DSW is the perfect partner to reach a broader audience. It's been incredible to build a brand with the talented team at Camuto Group, and with this collection, it's my hope that people can find shoes they love and express multiple sides of themselves, all while remaining true to their most authentic self."

"We are creating a unique and powerful new business model. We're thrilled to team up with Jennifer for this extraordinary opportunity," said Rawlins. "Her emotional connection with her fans and passion for authentic self-expression, fused with Designer Brand's world-class design capabilities and powerful retail expertise, will be a blockbuster."

For more information, please visit DSW.com/JLo, or connect with Designer Brands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Designer Brands

Designer Brands (NYSE:DBI) is one of North America's largest designers, producers and retailers of footwear and accessories. The Company operates a portfolio of retail concepts in nearly 1,000 locations under the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse®, The Shoe Company®, and Shoe Warehouse® banners and services footwear departments in the U.S. through its Affiliated Business Group. Designer Brands designs and produces footwear and accessories through Camuto Group, a leading manufacturer selling in more than 5,400 doors worldwide. Camuto Group owns licensing rights for the Jessica Simpson® footwear business, and footwear and handbag licenses for Lucky Brand® and Max Studio®. In partnership with a joint venture with Authentic Brands Group, Designer Brands also owns a stake in Vince Camuto®, Louise et Cie®, Sole Society®, CC Corso Como®, Enzo Angiolini® and others. More information can be found at www.designerbrands.com.

About Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez is an award-winning actress, producer, singer, and entertainer who has established herself in music, film, and television and is one of the most influential female artists in history. As a recording and touring artist, she has sold over 75 million records and most recently wrapped her global sold out It's My Party tour. As an actress, Lopez has a cumulative worldwide box-office gross of over $3 billion. As an artist, fashion icon, entrepreneur, and a philanthropist, Jennifer Lopez has been named to the TIME 100 list, Forbes' "Most Powerful Celebrity", and People Magazine's first "Most Beautiful Woman in the World", in addition to receiving the MTV Video Vanguard Award and two Golden Globe nominations for her critically acclaimed roles in the box office hits Hustlers and Selena. To this day, Lopez remains the only female artist to ever have a #1 album and #1 movie at the box office at the same time. With a career spanning over two decades at the top, Jennifer Lopez is cemented in history as a global icon and the ultimate multihyphenate.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Any statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "would," "seeks," "approximately," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates," or the negative version of those words or other comparable words. These statements are based on Designer Brands' current expectations and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our expectations are described in Designer Brands' annual and quarterly reports, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the time when made. Designer Brands undertakes no obligation to revise the forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect any future events or circumstances.

SOURCE Designer Brands Inc.