DSW Inc. to shutter Town Shoes by January
Closure will affect 400 workers, all 38 stores, mall owners
TORONTO — Canadian shoe lovers will soon have one less spot to snatch up footwear and experts say it’s a symptom of changing consumer behaviour.
Ohio-based shoe brand DSW Inc. said it will shutter its Town Shoes Ltd. brand and close all 38 of its stores, which operated solely in Canada, by the end of the company’s financial year in January.
The company has stores in the Hamilton and Toronto area.
DSW Inc. spokesperson Margaret Standing said the decision was made after the company undertook a 90-day review to look at Town Shoes’ historical performance, competitive positioning and future requirements.
“The decision to exit the Town banner was a difficult decision to make, given its heritage,” she wrote in an email.
“Unfortunately, as the competitive landscape for mid-luxury, mall-based footwear has dramatically changed, comparable sales have deteriorated consistently and generated significant operating losses.”
Tamara Szames, a fashion industry analyst with research company NPD Group, said “offprice” and luxury apparel retailers are both exceeding growth expectations, but businesses in the middle, like Town Shoes, are being challenged.
“When we look at the retailers that have closed down over the last 24 months, it is really those in the middle,” she said.
Mall-owner Cadillac Fairview declined to say what it would do with the spaces it owns that are currently housing Town Shoes locations, but said because of the retail market it is always seeking opportunities to “update the merchandising mix” at its shopping centres.
Beyond mall-owners, the sale of Town Shoes will also affect 400 workers employed by the company.
DSW said it is hoping to find the workers alternative employment at its Shoe Company, Shoe Warehouse and DSW brands.
DSW purchased a 49.2 per cent interest in Town Shoes from Alberta Investment Management Corp. and other minority shareholders in May 2014 for $75.5 million and picked up the remaining stake in the company in May 2018 for $44.7 million.
Town Shoes was first created in Toronto in 1952 by entrepreneur Leonard Simpson.