Footwear retailer and wholesaler
Brown Shoe Company, Inc (
BWS
)
recently announced the appointment of Russ Hammer as the new Chief
Financial Officer of the organization, effective June 11, 2012,
following the resignation of the existing CFO and Senior Vice
President Mark Hood.
The reason for Hood's resignation remains unknown, but during
the transition period Mark Hood will support Russ Hammer in his new
responsibilities to ensure a smooth handover.
Russ Hammer boasts an experience of more than 30 years in
finance. Prior to joining Brown Shoe, Russ Hammer served as the CFO
of online travel agency
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc
(
OWW
). Prior to that, he was the CFO of shoemaker
Crocs Inc.
(
CROX
), where he played a key role in turning around the company's
fortunes. He has also served in various positions at his first
company Motorola Inc. He is 54 years of age and holds a Bachelor of
Science in Accounting and Finance and a Master of Business
Administration degree.
The company remains upbeat with the appointment of the new CFO,
as it expects to grow its business under the leadership of Russ
Hammer. Management believes that Russ Hammer will add further value
to its portfolio realignment efforts.
In the recent first quarter 2012, the company topped the Zacks
Consensus Estimate after missing the same in three consecutive
quarters. The St. Louis, Missouri-based company posted an adjusted
earnings of 23 cents per share, breezing past the Zacks Consensus
Estimate of 9 cents and the year-ago quarter earnings of 16 cents
per share.
Net sales also rose 1.1% year over year to $626.4 million,
thanks to the portfolio realignment efforts in blend with good
weather condition and favorable year-over-year comp comparison.
Brown Shoe also raised its outlook for 2012. The company expects
adjusted earnings in the range of 83 to 95 cents per share, up from
its previous expectations of 78 to 92 cents per share. The sales
guidance has also been lifted up from $2.55 - $2.58 billion to
$2.57 - $2.59 billion.
Brown Shoe currently operates 1,066 Famous Footwear stores and
227 Specialty Retail stores.
Brown Shoe, which competes with
Nike Inc. (
NKE
)
, currently retains a Zacks #2 Rank, which translates into a
short-term Buy rating. We are maintaining our long-term Neutral
recommendation on the stock.
BROWN SHOE CO (BWS): Free Stock Analysis Report
CROCS INC (CROX): Free Stock Analysis Report
NIKE INC-B (NKE): Free Stock Analysis Report
ORBITZ WORLDWID (OWW): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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