DSW 2008 Annual Report Download - page 8

PA
RT I
All re
f
erences to “we,” “us,” “our,” “DSW” or the “Company” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K mea
n
DSW Inc. and its wholl
y
-owned subsidiaries, except where it is made clear that the term onl
y
means DSW Inc. DSW
Cl
ass A Common S
h
ares are
l
iste
d
for tra
d
ing un
d
er t
h
e tic
k
er sym
b
o
l
“DSW” on t
h
e New Yor
k
Stoc
k
Exc
h
ange
(
“NYSE”
)
.
A
ll
references to “Retai
l
Ventures”, or “RVI”, in t
h
is Annua
l
Report on Form 10-K mean Retai
l
Ventures, Inc
.
an
d
its su
b
si
d
iaries, except w
h
ere it is ma
d
ec
l
ear t
h
at t
h
e term on
l
y means t
h
e parent company. DSW is a contro
ll
e
d
subsidiary o
f
Retail Ventures. RVI Common Shares are listed
f
or trading under the ticker symbol “RVI” on the
NYSE
.
We own man
y
trademarks and service marks. This Annual Report on Form 10-K ma
y
contain trade dress
,
t
ra
d
enames an
d
tra
d
emar
k
so
f
ot
h
er compan
i
es. Use or
di
sp
l
ay o
f
ot
h
er part
i
es’ tra
d
emar
k
s, tra
d
e
d
ress o
r
t
ra
d
enames
i
s not
i
nten
d
e
d
to an
dd
oes not
i
mp
l
yare
l
at
i
ons
hi
pw
i
t
h
t
h
e tra
d
emar
k
or tra
d
e
d
ress owner.
C
autionary Statement Re
g
ardin
g
Forward-Lookin
g
Information for Purposes of the “Safe Harbor” Pro-
v
isions of the Private
S
ecurities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Some of the statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K contain forward-lookin
g
statements which reflect
our current v
i
ews w
i
t
h
respect to, among ot
h
er t
hi
ngs,
f
uture events an
dfi
nanc
i
a
l
per
f
ormance. You can
id
ent
ify
th
ese
f
orwar
d
-
l
oo
ki
ng statements
b
yt
h
e use o
ff
orwar
d
-
l
oo
ki
ng wor
d
s suc
h
as “out
l
oo
k
,” “
b
e
li
eves,” “expects,”
“potential,” “continues,” “ma
y
,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximatel
y
,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,”
“ant
i
c
i
pates” or t
h
e negat
i
ve vers
i
on o
f
t
h
ose wor
d
sorot
h
er compara
bl
e wor
d
s. Any
f
orwar
d
-
l
oo
ki
ng statements
conta
i
ne
di
nt
hi
s Annua
l
Report on Form 10-K are
b
ase
d
upon our
hi
stor
i
ca
l
per
f
ormance an
d
on current p
l
ans
,
est
i
mates an
d
expectat
i
ons an
d
assumpt
i
ons re
l
at
i
n
g
to our operat
i
ons, resu
l
ts o
f
operat
i
ons,
fi
nanc
i
a
l
con
di
t
i
on,
growth strategy and liquidity. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as
a
r
epresentation by us or any other person that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated by us will b
e
ac
hi
eve
d
. Suc
hf
orwar
d
-
l
oo
ki
n
g
statements are su
bj
ect to numerous r
i
s
k
s, uncerta
i
nt
i
es an
d
ot
h
er
f
actors t
h
at ma
y
cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materiall
y
different from an
y
future results, performance o
r
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In addition to other factors discusse
d
e
l
sew
h
ere
i
nt
hi
s report,
i
nc
l
u
di
n
g
t
h
ose
f
actors
d
escr
ib
e
d
un
d
er “Part I, Item 1A. R
i
s
k
Factors,” some
i
mportant
factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements for DSW to differ materiall
y
from those
discussed in forward-lookin
g
statements include, but are not limited to, the followin
g:
• our success
i
n open
i
n
g
an
d
operat
i
n
g
new stores on a t
i
me
ly
an
d
pro
fi
ta
bl
e
b
as
i
s
;
• continuation of supply agreements and the financial condition of our leased business partners;
•ma
i
nta
i
n
i
n
gg
oo
d
re
l
at
i
ons
hi
ps w
i
t
h
our ven
d
ors;
• our ability to anticipate and respond to fashion trends
;
•
fl
uctuat
i
on o
f
our compara
bl
e store sa
l
es an
d
quarter
ly fi
nanc
i
a
l
per
f
ormance;
•
di
srupt
i
on o
f
our
di
str
ib
ut
i
on operat
i
ons
;
•t
h
e rea
li
zat
i
on o
f
our
b
an
k
ruptc
y
c
l
a
i
mre
l
ate
d
to Va
l
ue C
i
t
y
Department Stores (“Va
l
ue C
i
t
y
”)
;
• failure to retain our key executives or attract qualified new personnel;
• our compet
i
t
i
veness w
i
t
h
respect to st
yl
e, pr
i
ce,
b
ran
d
ava
il
a
bili
t
y
an
d
customer serv
i
ce;
• declining general economic conditions;
• risks inherent to international trade with countries that are ma
j
or manufacturers of footwear;
•t
h
e success o
fd
sw.com
;
•
li
qu
idi
t
y
an
di
nvestment r
i
s
k
sre
l
ate
d
to our
i
nvestments;
4