Even after efforts to mitigate tariff impacts, CEO Edward Rosenfeld detailed pressures on Steven Madden Ltd.’s second-quarter results.

“Wholesale customers canceled orders and reduced open-to-buys. Shipment delays led to lost sales and pushed deliveries to later periods, and organic gross margins declined due to the significant increase in our landed costs, resulting in substantial pressure on both revenue and earnings,” Rosenfeld told investors during the firm’s second-quarter earnings conference call.

In the last quarter, the company quickly diversified its sourcing out of China, negotiated discounts with suppliers and added price increases on select merchandise to keep the increase in costs down. Rosenfeld said in the second quarter, the team continued to move forward on sourcing diversification efforts.

With the temporary reduction in China tariffs to 30 percent from 145 percent, he said the company moved some production for fall back to China in cases where it would be difficult to ensure on-time delivery, product quality and/or reasonable pricing in an alternative country. Currently, for fall 2025, the company expects sourcing of U.S. imports from China to total 30 percent, reflecting a reduction from 71 percent in 2024. Madden had moved a lot of product to Brazil, but there’s still uncertainty regarding tariffs and the latest is that the duty rate might climb as high as 50 percent there.

As for strategic price increases, Rosenfeld said: “We are also selectively raising prices to wholesale customers and consumers. So far, we’ve been pleased overall with consumer acceptance of price increases, particularly on new fashion, but it’s still early. We will continue to monitor the elasticity of demand carefully and react accordingly.”

Price increases where implemented are up 10 percent on average, and are not across the board.

The CEO also noted that consumers have been responding positively to new fashion offerings, particularly in dress shoe and summer boot categories across both the direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels. He also cited to “very strong performance in the Nordstrom anniversary event.” The categories that the company didn’t feel able to take price increases were sandals and fashion sneakers.

He also expects the boot category to continue beyond summer, adding that it’s not a seasonal category anymore. “Girls are wearing a lot of boots, with dresses and shorts and skirts at this time of year. And I think we really nailed that. It’s a bigger play for us in our DTC channels than in wholesale,” he said, noting that some wholesale partners “haven’t fully gotten on board” with the way consumers are shopping right now.

Not a surprise was Rosenfeld’s disclosure that the channel that saw pressure from the tariff-related disruption was a concentration in the value-price channels, such as mass and off-price. And he noted that the wholesale revenue shortfall in the organic business versus last year was about 95 percent from off-price and mass. In the near-term, pressures are expected to continue in both channels, although they’re also starting to take in goods and placing forward orders.

Elsewhere, the company has been capitalizing on brand founder Steve Madden‘s appearance on the fashion podcast “The Cutting Room Floor,” through social media platforms to drive awareness of the brand with key Gen Z and Millennial consumers.

Rosenfeld also reiterated the company’s confidence that the Kurt Geiger brand — the deal closed on May 6 — has the potential to drive significant growth for Madden in the years ahead. Rosenfeld said there’s low brand awareness currently in the U.S., so opening Geiger retail stores will be one way to communicate the brand lifestyle. Presently, there are six retail stores in the U.S. And while freestanding stores are the priority, the CEO said “there’s an outlet opportunity that should be big and profitable over time.” Overseas, Rosenfeld said Europe also represents a huge opportunity as there are already key distribution points that indicate “very strong demand.”

Rosenfeld said as the company grapples with the impact of tariffs, the path will be “bumpy in the near term.” But the company’s core strength, powerful brands and robust balance sheet, as well as a proven business model, positions Madden well to deliver sustainable growth as it navigates current tariff disruptions.

The company posted a net loss of $39.5 million on total revenues of $559.0 million for the second quarter ended June 30.