Who Owns DSW?

The DSW concept grew out of Shonac Corporation, a Columbus shoe business founded in 1969 by members of the Schottenstein family and partners George and Steve Nacht. For more than two decades Shonac managed leased shoe departments inside Value City and other department stores.

The first Designer Shoe Warehouse opened in July 1991 in Dublin, Ohio, applying the warehouse-club format to branded footwear: huge selection, self-service browsing, and discounted prices. The concept scaled quickly, and in 1998 Value City Department Stores acquired DSW and affiliated shoe businesses from Schottenstein Stores and Nacht Management.

A 2004 reorganization placed DSW inside Retail Ventures, which renamed the entity DSW Inc. in February 2005. The company completed its IPO in July 2005 at $19 per share. Expansion continued through the 2000s as the chain passed 300, then 400, then 500 stores, building one of the largest footwear retail footprints in North America.

The 2019 rename to Designer Brands Inc. marked a strategic shift: rather than remaining a pure retailer, the company began assembling owned footwear brands to sell through DSW and wholesale channels, acquiring Topo Athletic in 2020, the Vince Camuto portfolio in 2018, and Keds in 2023. Canadian expansion added The Shoe Company, acquired in 2018, and Rubino, a Quebec chain acquired in 2024.

Fiscal 2025, ended January 31, 2026, was a difficult consumer year. Net sales fell 3.9 percent to $2.89 billion on a 4.3 percent comparable sales decline, and the company posted a small net loss of $8.4 million while gross margin improved to 43.6 percent. The DSW fleet stood at 519 stores.