A major shoe name has taken the reins of Caleres-owned .

Brian Costello has been named division president of Famous Footwear, effective immediately. He will continue to report to Caleres Inc.’s president and CEO Jay Schmidt.

Costello joined Famous Footwear in February as its chief merchandising officer. That role included oversight for all buying and merchandising across women’s, men’s and kids’ athletic and fashion footwear, as well as accessories, for the brand’s U.S. and Canada stores and e-commerce sites.

“Brian has already made a meaningful impact at Famous Footwear,” Schmidt said. “His merchandising and planning expertise, strong market relationships and leadership have been invaluable as we continue to position Famous Footwear for growth as the leader in family footwear.”

Costello succeeds Mike Edwards. A Securities and Exchange Commission filing from March 31, 2025, indicated that Edwards notified the company of his decision to resign, effective May 2, 2025. No other details were provided in the filing.

When he first joined Caleres, Edwards noted Costello’s “long track record of exceptional fashion and footwear industry leadership.”

Costello, who has nearly 30 years of fashion experience, held previous stints at Macy’s Inc. and Nordstrom Inc. And while at Nordstrom, where he was most recently vice president and divisional merchandise manager, he led all footwear categories, women’s accessories and a variety of ready-to-wear segments. He also spearheaded a large segment of the women’s shoe business at Nordstrom, and was a key player in the planning and site merchandising for the launch of Nordstromrack.com.

“It is incredible how quickly I felt at home with the Famous team and Caleres and I’m honored to lead this significant part of the Caleres portfolio,” Costello said, adding that he is confident that Famous Footwear is well positioned for the future supported by its existing national brand partners and new brand partners that are being added, along with the company’s engaged teams.

Caleres’ Schmidt has been executing on a strategic plan to position the company for growth. Last year, he added Andrew Leckie, who joined Famous Footwear as senior vice president and general merchandise manager, and Nancy Bitetto, who took on the newly created role of senior vice president of Caleres’ New York brands. The New York brands include Franco Sarto, Vince and Veronica Beard, as well as Caleres’ private brand offerings.

On Monday, the company said it closed on its acquisition of global luxury footwear brand Stuart Weitzman. The St. Louis-based footwear firm is eyeing Weitzman as its lead brand, particularly in the women’s shoe category, which is also expected to help Caleres grow its brand portfolio segment with more global and direct-to-consumer reach.

In addition to Famous Footwear and now Stuart Weitzman, Caleres’ portfolio of footwear brands includes Sam Edelman, Allen Edmonds, Naturalizer, Vionic, Dr. Scholl’s Shoes, among others.

When Caleres posted first quarter results in May, it said net income fell to $6.9 million on a net sales decline of 6.8 percent to $614.2 million. By segment, Famous Footwear sales were down 6.3 percent, with comparable sales decreasing 4.6 percent. The Brand Portfolio saw sales decline 6.9 percent. The company said direct-to-consumer sales represented 70 percent of total net sales.