Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first - Mr. [Stysia] from Susquehanna Financial Group. Please go ahead with your question.
Unidentified Analyst - Susquehanna Financial Group
Good morning, everyone. A couple of questions actually. I guess, Joe, first for you, can you just give us an idea of the sort of current promotional environment, particularly for Famous Footwear, given your current inventory position. Is the promotional calendar similar to a year ago or is it higher than a year ago? And again, just remind us when the business for Famous started to become challenging in '07. Was that going into back-to-school or prior to back-to-school?
Joseph W. Wood - President Brown Shoe Retail
Well, let me - I'll take the promotional part first, end of fourth, and then we went to where we currently are.
It really started more so for us, we came out of our back-to-school promotion at the third week in September. I think the balance of the industry basically stayed on promotion through October. We did not.
We really - it became much more promotional for us just probably the first week of November, and the comparisons and the results of this has really got tough. It remained so from mid-November all the way through the end of January.
So as the quarter progressed through December and especially in January you can't keep your head in the sand - we followed the market. We became more promotional also mid-December and more so in January to not only compete but to make sure that our inventories were appropriate as we entered first quarter, which we did.
First quarter this year, spring, so far our promotional events are the same as last year. We have not increased those. Our emphasis is still on current trend new product, and, you know, fortunately we positioned our inventory to end the fiscal year to be able to take that approach as we went into first quarter of this year.
So we are now more - even though I think the arena is, through February anyway, is more promotional, at least our approach is to be basically the same events as last spring through the first two quarters.
Unidentified Analyst - Susquehanna Financial Group
Okay. That's good to hear. And I have two more questions. One additional one for Joe, and then one on the wholesale end.
I guess just when you look at the product and just kind of the trends that you're seeing for 2008, and you mentioned, you know, getting some access to some newer product that should help your back-to-school business. Any other color on drivers to the business as you look to '08 from an ASP perspective, maybe talk about Classics, Fashion Casual, Athletic end of the business, just some additional color in terms of what's going on there would be helpful.
- To read the full transcript on Seeking Alpha, click here »
