Brown Shoe Company, Inc. registered sales up by 2.3%, reaching 635.9 million US dollars in the second quarter of 2014 versus net sales of 621.7 million US dollars in similar period last year. Second quarter 2014 net earnings of 18.1 million US dollars (0.41 US dollars per diluted share) were up 17.6% compared to net earnings of 15.4 million US dollars (0.35 US dollars per diluted share), a year earlier. Gross margin for the second quarter of 2014 was 40.8% compared to 41.0% in the prior year.

“Our second quarter results reflect the health of both our retail and wholesale businesses, as we continue to benefit from — and expand on — our portfolio realignment efforts” said Diane Sullivan, CEO, President and Chairman of Brown Shoe Company. “At Famous Footwear, our focus on delivering a seamless omni-channel experience to our consumers helped kick off our Back-to-School selling season. At our wholesale brands, our trend-right merchandise is resonating with both consumers and retailers.”

Brown Shoe, which operates more than 1 200 stores, is in the midst of a three-year revamp spurred by lackluster sales at its discount-footwear chain, Famous Footwear. The plan includes closing struggling stores and ridding itself of some assets. Famous Footwear second quarter 2014 sales of 393.6 million US dollars were up 1.4% year-over-year, with same-store-sales up 1.6%. Performance in the quarter was driven by canvas, as casual styles continued to resonate with consumers. During the quarter, 16 stores were closed or relocated and 17 new stores were added. The wholesale unit's sales climbed 7.7% to 194.3 million US dollars, while specialty retail sales fell 9.5% to 48 million US dollars.

The company's earnings outpaced expectations, leading Brown Shoe to raise its outlook for the year. “Despite a continued, industry-wide decline in traffic patterns and an overall tough retail environment, we were able to deliver against expectations in the second quarter”, commented Russ Hammer, Chief Financial Officer of Brown Shoe Company, adding: "To account for our better-than-expected second quarter performance, we are raising our annual guidance range to 1.50 US dollars to 1.60 US dollars.”

Brown Shoes shares were last traded today at 29.96 USD at the New York Stock Exchange.

For more information about Brown Shoe Company, Inc. please refer to the company's website.