Footwear Insight - Business Report Quarterly

6 Footwear Insight Business Report Quarterly ~ Q1 April 8 2024 QUARTER 1 ENDING 3/25/24 footwearinsight.com A fter a difficult 2023, U.S. stock markets showe d sur pr ising resilience in the first quarter of 2024 despite an uncertain economic environment, persistent inflationary concerns, and rising prices. For our inaugural, expanded Footwear Insight Index, we tracked market and stock prices every Monday market close for a 13-week period from Jan. 1 through March 25. ere are 14 publicly traded retail stocks in the retail index, represented by the green bar, and 18 brand stocks, represented by the blue bar. Over the stated period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 1,706 points, or 4.5 percent, aer stumbling out of the gate in January. e S&P 500 performed even better over the 90 days to its best quarterly increase since 2019. In the Jan. 1-Mar. 25 window, the S&P rose by 491 points, or 10.3 percent and mirrored the quarterly gain by the Brand Index. During the quarter's final month, a monthly gauge of U.S. consumer confidence came in below economist expectations, sparking some concern about rising pessimism among those under age 55 and those with lower annual salaries. But a separate consumer measure of business and labor market conditions increased by 2.3 percent in March. The contrast in these numbers, some suggested, showed that consumers felt better about their personal situations as spring arrived on the calendar but more pessimistic about the future. Within the footwear industry, there is optimism that the second half of 2024 will bring better fortunes to many following the extended period of dealing with excess inventory levels, higher freight costs and other issues after the pandemic ended. More brands are focused on new products and innovation, a factor that should trickle down positively to key retailers in the months ahead. Some sport-focused brands also believe summer sporting events, ranging from the Euro Cup to the Paris Games, will bring additional consumer interest to footwear ahead of the crucial back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons. On the following pages, we offer additional analysis on the Retail and Brands Indexes, including detailed capsules on the results and key developments for a dozen entrants in Q1. n A RESILIENT Q1 FOR BRAND & RETAIL STOCKS 80 88 96 104 112 120 3/25/24 3/18/24 3/11/24 3/4/24 2/26/24 2/20/24 2/12/24 2/5/24 1/29/24 1/22/24 1/16/24 1/8/24 1/1/24 (QUARTER) (AVERAGE) n RETAILERS n BRANDS BY BOB MCGEE

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