UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the Fiscal Year Ended February 1, 2025

for the transition period from to

Commission File No. 1-3083

Genesco Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (615) 367-7000

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Employees’ Subordinated Convertible Preferred Stock

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232-405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer; an accelerated filer; a non-accelerated filer; a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant's executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act.) Yes ☐ No ☒

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter - $309,000,000. The market value calculation was determined using a per share price of $27.57, the price at which the common stock was last sold on the New York Stock Exchange on August 2, 2024, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter. For purposes of this calculation, shares of common stock held by nonaffiliates excludes only those shares beneficially owned by officers, directors, and shareholders owning 10% or more of the outstanding common stock (and, in each case, their immediate family members and affiliates).

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock as of the latest practicable date: As of March 14, 2025, 11,038,311 shares of the registrant’s common stock were outstanding.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this "report") includes certain forward-looking statements, which include statements regarding our intent, belief or expectations and all statements other than those made solely with respect to historical fact. Actual results could differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements in this report and a number of factors may adversely affect the forward-looking statements and our future results, liquidity, capital resources or prospects. These include, but are not limited to, adjustments to projections reflected in forward-looking statements, including those resulting from weakness in store, e-commerce and shopping mall traffic, restrictions on operations imposed by government entities and/or landlords, changes in public safety and health requirements and limitations on our ability to adequately staff and operate stores. Differences from expectations could also result from store closures and effects on the business as a result of the level of consumer spending on our merchandise and interest in our brands and in general; the level and timing of promotional activity necessary to maintain inventories at appropriate levels; our ability to pass on price increases to our customers; the imposition of tariffs on products imported by us or our vendors as well as the ability and costs to move production of products in response to tariffs; our ability to obtain from suppliers products that are in-demand on a timely basis and effectively manage disruptions in product supply or distribution, including disruptions as a result of pandemics or geopolitical events, including shipping disruptions near crucial trade routes; unfavorable trends in fuel costs, foreign exchange rates, foreign labor and material costs; a disruption in shipping or increase in cost of our imported products, and other factors affecting the cost of products; our dependence on third-party vendors and licensors for the products we sell; our ability to renew our license agreements; impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war, and other sources of market weakness in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland; the effectiveness of our omni-channel initiatives; costs associated with changes in minimum wage and overtime requirements; wage pressure in the U.S. and the U.K.; labor shortages; the effects of inflation; the evolving regulatory landscape related to our use of social media; the establishment and protection of our intellectual property; weakness in the consumer economy and retail industry; competition and fashion trends in our markets, including trends with respect to the popularity of casual and dress footwear; any failure to increase sales at our existing stores, given our high fixed expense cost structure, and in our e-commerce businesses; risks related to the potential for terrorist events and civil disturbances; risks related to public health and safety events; changes in buying patterns by significant wholesale customers; changes in consumer preferences; our ability to continue to complete and integrate acquisitions; our ability to expand our business and diversify our product base; impairment of goodwill in connection with acquisitions; payment related risks that could increase our operating cost, expose us to fraud or theft, subject us to potential liability and disrupt our business; retained liabilities associated with divestitures of businesses including potential liabilities under leases as the prior tenant or as a guarantor of certain leases; and changes in the timing of holidays or in the onset of seasonal weather affecting period-to-period sales comparisons. Additional factors that could cause differences from expectations include the ability to secure allocations to refine product assortments to address consumer demand; the ability to renew leases in existing stores and control or lower occupancy costs, to open or close stores in the number and on the planned schedule, and to conduct required remodeling or refurbishment on schedule and at expected expense levels; our ability to realize anticipated cost savings, including rent savings; the timing and amount of any share repurchases by us; our ability to make our occupancy costs more variable; our ability to achieve expected digital gains and gain market share; deterioration in the performance of individual businesses or of our market value relative to our book value, resulting in impairments of fixed assets, operating lease right of use assets or intangible assets or other adverse financial consequences and the timing and amount of such impairments or other consequences; unexpected changes to the market for our shares or for the retail sector in general; costs and reputational harm as a result of disruptions in our business or information technology systems either by security breaches and incidents or by potential problems associated with the implementation of new or upgraded systems; our ability to realize any anticipated tax benefits in both the amount and timeframe anticipated; and the cost and outcome of litigation, investigations, environmental matters and other disputes that involve us. For a full discussion of risk factors, see Item 1A, "Risk Factors".

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

General

Genesco Inc., incorporated in 1934 in the State of Tennessee, is a leading retailer and wholesaler of branded footwear, apparel and accessories with net sales for Fiscal 2025 of $2.3 billion. During Fiscal 2025, we operated four reportable business segments (not including corporate): (i) Journeys Group, comprised of the Journeys®, Journeys Kidz® and Little Burgundy® retail footwear chains and e-commerce operations; (ii) Schuh Group, comprised of the Schuh retail footwear chain and e-commerce operations; (iii) Johnston & Murphy Group, comprised of Johnston & Murphy® retail operations, e-commerce operations and wholesale distribution of products under the Johnston & Murphy® brand; and (iv) Genesco Brands Group, comprised of the licensed Dockers®, Levi's®, and G.H. Bass® brands, as well as other brands we license for footwear. We also source, design, market and distribute footwear under our Johnston & Murphy brand and the licensed Levi's, Dockers and G.H. Bass brands, as well as other brands that we license for footwear to over 950 retail accounts in the United States, including a number of leading department, discount, and specialty stores as well as e-commerce retailers.

At February 1, 2025, we operated 1,278 retail footwear, apparel and accessory stores located primarily throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico, including 65 footwear stores in Canada and 124 footwear stores in the United Kingdom ("U.K.") and the Republic of Ireland ("ROI"). We plan to open a total of approximately 22 new retail stores and to close approximately 68 retail stores in Fiscal 2026.

The following table sets forth certain additional information concerning our retail footwear, apparel and accessory stores during the five most recent fiscal years as we optimize our retail footprint and adapt to changing consumer shopping behavior:

Shorthand references to fiscal years (e.g., “Fiscal 2025”) refer to the fiscal year ended on the Saturday nearest January 31st in the named year (e.g., February 1, 2025). Fiscal 2025 and 2023 are 52-week years and Fiscal 2024 is a 53-week year. The terms "Company," "Genesco," "we," "our" or "us" as used herein and unless otherwise stated or indicated by context refer to Genesco Inc. and its subsidiaries. All information contained in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” which is referred to in this Item 1 of this report, is incorporated by such reference in Item 1.

Strategy

Across our company, we aspire to create and curate leading footwear brands that represent style, innovation and self-expression and to be the destination for our consumers' favorite fashion footwear. Each of our businesses has a strong strategic position grounded in a deep and ever-evolving understanding of the customers it serves. We strive to build enduring relationships with our target customers, based upon unparalleled consumer and market insights. We seek to excite and constantly exceed customer expectations by delivering distinctive products and experiences, using our deep direct-to-consumer expertise across digital and physical channels. The strength of our concepts and the advantages we have built over time have established long-lasting leadership positions that make our footwear businesses outstanding on their own, but what they share through the benefit of synergies makes them even stronger together. We have aligned our footwear focused strategy around six pillars aimed at

accelerating our transformation and leveraging synergies to drive growth and sustainable profitability, 1) accelerate digital to grow direct-to-consumer, 2) maximize the relationship between physical and digital channels, 3) build deeper consumer insights to strengthen customer relationships and brand equity, 4) intensify product innovation and trend insight efforts, 5) reshape the cost base to reinvest for future growth, and 6) pursue synergistic acquisitions that add growth and create shareholder value. We anticipate continuing to optimize our store footprint in the future, concentrating on locations that we believe will be most productive, as well as closing certain stores, perhaps reducing the overall square footage and store count from current levels, but improving productivity in our existing locations and investing in store remodels, technology and infrastructure to support omni-channel and digital retailing.

We have made acquisitions, including the acquisitions of the Schuh Group in June 2011, Little Burgundy in December 2015 and Togast in January 2020. We expect to concentrate our efforts on opportunities to leverage our direct-to-consumer capabilities to grow our branded platform and leverage its strategies at the appropriate time going forward.

More generally, we work to develop strategies to mitigate the risks we view as material, including those discussed under the caption “Forward Looking Statements,” above, and those discussed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors". Among the most important of these factors are those related to consumer demand. Conditions in the economy can affect demand, resulting in changes in sales and, as prices are adjusted to drive sales and manage inventories, in gross margins. Because fashion trends influencing many of our target customers can change rapidly, we believe that our ability to react quickly to those changes has been important to our success. Even when we succeed in aligning our merchandise offerings with consumer preferences, those preferences may affect results by, for example, driving sales of products with lower average selling prices or products which are more widely available in the marketplace and thus more subject to competitive pressures than our typical offering. Moreover, economic factors, such as inflation, supply chain disruptions and increased logistics costs, and any future economic contraction, inflationary trends, and changes in tax and tariff policies, may reduce the consumer’s disposable income or willingness to purchase discretionary items, and thus may reduce demand for our merchandise, regardless of our skill in detecting and responding to fashion trends. We believe our experience and discipline in merchandising and the buying power associated with our relative size and importance in the industry segments in which we compete are important factors in our ability to mitigate risks associated with changing customer preferences and other changes in consumer demand.

Segments

Journeys Group

The Journeys Group accounted for 60% of our net sales in Fiscal 2025. Journeys stores target customers in the 13 to 22 year age group through the use of youth-oriented decor and multi-channel media. Journeys stores carry predominately branded merchandise across a wide range of prices. The Journeys Kidz stores sell footwear and accessories primarily for younger children, toddler age to 12 years old. Little Burgundy stores sell footwear and accessories to fashion-oriented men and women in the 21 to 34 year age group ranging from students to young professionals.

At February 1, 2025, Journeys Group operated 1,006 stores, including 765 Journeys stores, 211 Journeys Kidz stores and 30 Little Burgundy stores averaging approximately 2,075 square feet, located primarily in malls and factory outlet centers throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, selling footwear and accessories for young men, women and children. Journeys Group's e-commerce websites include the following: journeys.com, journeyskidz.com, journeys.ca and littleburgundyshoes.com. In Fiscal 2025, the Journeys Group closed a net of 57 stores.

Schuh Group

The Schuh Group accounted for 21% of our net sales in Fiscal 2025. Schuh Group stores target teenagers and young adults in the 16 to 24 year age group, selling a broad range of branded casual and athletic footwear along with a meaningful private label offering. At February 1, 2025, Schuh Group operated 124 Schuh stores, averaging approximately 4,950 square feet, which

include both street-level and mall locations in the U.K. and the ROI. Schuh Group's e-commerce websites are schuh.co.uk, schuh.ie and schuh.eu. In Fiscal 2025, Schuh Group opened a net of two stores.

Johnston & Murphy Group

The Johnston & Murphy Group accounted for 14% of our net sales in Fiscal 2025. All sales of Johnston & Murphy Group's retail and wholesale businesses are of the Genesco-owned Johnston & Murphy brand.

Johnston & Murphy Retail Operations. At February 1, 2025, Johnston & Murphy operated 148 retail shops and factory stores in the United States averaging approximately 1,900 square feet and selling footwear, apparel and accessories primarily for men in the 25 to 55 year age group. Johnston & Murphy retail shops are located primarily in higher-end malls and airports nationwide and sell a broad range of men’s casual and dress footwear, apparel and accessories. Women’s footwear, apparel and accessories are sold in select Johnston & Murphy locations. We also sell Johnston & Murphy products directly to consumers through johnstonmurphy.com e-commerce website. Footwear accounted for 54% of Johnston & Murphy retail sales in Fiscal 2025, with the balance consisting primarily of apparel and accessories. Johnston & Murphy Group closed a net of eight shops and factory stores, including four shops and one factory store in Canada, in Fiscal 2025.

Johnston & Murphy Wholesale Operations. Johnston & Murphy men’s and boy's footwear, apparel and accessories, along with women's footwear are sold at wholesale, primarily to better department stores, independent specialty stores and e-commerce retailers. Johnston & Murphy’s wholesale customers offer the brand’s footwear for dress, dress casual, and casual occasions, with the majority of styles offered in these channels selling from $100 to $195.

Genesco Brands Group

The Genesco Brands Group segment accounted for 5% of our net sales in Fiscal 2025. Genesco Brands Group designs and sources licensed footwear under the Levi's, Dockers and G.H. Bass brand names, among others. The Levi's brand license and the G.H. Bass brand license were entered into concurrently with the Togast acquisition. We design and source Levi's branded footwear and market it to men, women and children through department and specialty stores and off-price retailers across the country as well as e-commerce retailers. Suggested retail prices for Levi's footwear generally range from $35 to $100. Dockers footwear is marketed to men aged 30 to 55 through many of the same national retail chains that carry Dockers pants and sportswear and in department and specialty stores across the country. Suggested retail prices for Dockers footwear generally range from $40 to $90. In the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2022, we signed a licensing agreement with STARTER to be their exclusive U.S. and Canadian footwear licensee for athletic footwear. We design and source the STARTER brand footwear for men, women and children with suggested retail prices ranging from $49 to $120. In the second quarter of Fiscal 2023, we signed a licensing agreement with PONY to be their exclusive U.S. footwear licensee for athletic footwear for men, women and children with suggested retail prices ranging from $75 to $250, including a Limited Edition 50th anniversary version for $250. Genesco Brands Group e-commerce website is nashvilleshoewarehouse.com.

Manufacturing and Sourcing

We rely on independent third-party manufacturers for production of our footwear products sold at Johnston & Murphy Group and Genesco Brands Group. We source footwear and accessory products from foreign manufacturers located in Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal, Peru, Spain, Turkey and Vietnam. Our Journeys Group and Schuh Group businesses sell primarily branded products from third parties who source primarily overseas.

Competition

Competition is intense in the footwear, apparel and accessory industries. Our retail footwear, apparel and accessory competitors range from small, locally owned stores to regional and national department stores, discount stores, specialty chains, our vendors with their own direct-to-consumer channels and online retailers. We also compete with hundreds of footwear wholesale operations

in the United States and throughout the world, most of which are relatively small, specialized operations, but some of which are large, more diversified companies. Some of our competitors have resources that are not available to us. Our success depends upon our ability to remain competitive with respect to the key factors of style, price, quality, comfort, brand loyalty, customer service, store location and atmosphere, technology, infrastructure and speed of delivery to support e-commerce and the ability to offer relevant products.

Licenses

We own our Johnston & Murphy® brand and own or license the trade names of our retail concepts either directly or through wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Dockers® footwear line, introduced in Fiscal 1993, is sold under a license agreement granting us the exclusive right to sell men’s footwear under the trademark in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. The current Dockers license agreement expires November 30, 2027. We entered into a new license agreement with Levi Strauss & Co. in January 2020 for the right to sell men's, women's and children's footwear under the Levi's® trademark in the United States and the Caribbean. We agreed with Levi Strauss & Co. to extend the license under modified terms through February 2026 and it could be extended through May 2026 if certain conditions are met. The STARTER license agreement expires December 31, 2026 with a 3-year renewal option. The PONY license expires December 31, 2025 with a 3-year renewal option. We license certain other footwear brands, mostly in foreign markets. License royalty income was not material in Fiscal 2025.

Wholesale Backlog

Most of the orders in our wholesale divisions are for delivery within 150 days. Historically, most of our business has been at-once, and as a result, the backlog at any one time has not necessarily been indicative of future sales. As of March 1, 2025, our wholesale operations had a backlog of orders, including unconfirmed customer purchase orders, amounting to approximately $57.1 million, compared to approximately $49.0 million as of March 2, 2024. The increase is primarily due to orders for the Genesco Brands Group business driven by the Levi's license. The backlog is somewhat seasonal, reaching a peak in the spring.

Corporate Responsibility Initiatives

As a leading retailer and wholesaler of branded footwear, apparel and accessories, we strive to make a positive impact on our industry, our communities and our planet by committing to transparent, socially conscious, and sustainable business practices. We believe that our practices should serve our shareholders, employees, customers and business partners.

During Fiscal 2025, we completed our third measurements or baselines for our greenhouse gas emissions. We issued our initial corporate responsibility report in Fiscal 2023 and have followed up with subsequent infographic updates, all of which can be found at www.genesco.com. Our website address is provided as an inactive textual reference only. The information provided on our website is not a part of this report, and therefore is not incorporated herein by reference.

Environmental

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment by focusing on sustainability initiatives in our operations and throughout our supply chain and product lifecycle. To this end, we belong to the Leather Working Group ("LWG"). The LWG is a not-for-profit organization responsible for the world's leading environmental certification for the leather manufacturing industry. As a member of the LWG, we apply holistic practices in the supply chain for leather manufacturing for our third-party manufacturers.

We also monitor chemicals and substances in our supply chain for compliance with legal and regulatory requirements consistent with our Environmental Policy and expect our contracted factories and suppliers to take a proactive stance in eliminating any hazardous chemicals or substances in the manufacture of our products.

Human Capital

Our Employees

We had approximately 18,000 employees as of February 1, 2025 with approximately 14,000 employed in the United States and Canada, and approximately 4,000 in the U.K. and the ROI. The majority of our workforce consists of retail-based, customer-facing employees with approximately 70% part-time and 30% full-time as of February 1, 2025.

We consider our employees to be core to our success. Our values include treating our customers and each other with integrity, trust and respect, and creating an unrivaled home for talent to grow and succeed.

Workplace Health & Safety

We conduct health and safety training with our retail and distribution employees to build knowledge and awareness of workplace conditions and hazards according to local, regional and national standards.

Benefits and Compensation

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. This package includes many benefits dedicated to our employees’ physical, mental and financial well-being.

We also provide valuable benefits based on the unique needs and interests of each individual employee such as domestic partner allowances, paid parental leave, family building benefits, education support, paid time for community service, financial assistance with emergencies, scholarship opportunities, matching gift contributions and a generous product discount.

Our compensation programs are designed to attract, retain and motivate employees. We provide short-term and long-term incentives to encourage and reward superior performance and also drive long-term shareholder value. We engage a nationally recognized outside compensation consulting firm to independently evaluate the effectiveness of our executive compensation programs and to provide benchmarking against our peers within the industry.

Empowering Our People

We are committed to continually strengthen our talent and to make a meaningful difference for our employees, our customers, and our communities.

We have enhanced our commitment to our people by building on our solid foundation. Through employee engagement and defined vision, we are focusing our attention on areas where we can make the most impact – our talent, our business practices and our communities. We have identified opportunities that will advance our efforts across our portfolio of brands, including expanded training and development programs, compensation studies, the launch of business resource groups and ongoing engagement through communication and events.

Employee Engagement

We conduct annual employee engagement surveys as well as other targeted surveys with various segments of our workforce to measure important aspects of the employee experience. The survey measures employee sentiment on a variety of topics including leadership, management, alignment, involvement, respect in the workplace, learning and development, social connection and work life balance, among others. The survey creates the opportunity to establish two-way communication and gives employees a direct voice in influencing change. Our results indicate high participation rates and strong engagement scores. We remain committed to listening to and learning from our employees.

Training and Development

We provide employees with the opportunity to grow their careers and be rewarded for their contributions. We have a strong promote from within culture and target training and development that is relevant to an employee’s current role as well as future roles to which they aspire.

Social Capital

We are committed to responsible sourcing practices in our supply chain. We depend on third-party vendors to produce the products we sell but strive to work only with those vendors who share our commitment to responsible practices, especially in their relationships with employees and their stewardship of the environment. Our supply chain and ethical practices policies are among the ways we seek to implement this commitment, including our Vendor Code of Conduct policy.

In 2021, we published a comprehensive human rights policy with its commitment to respecting human rights and belief in fundamental standards that support our commitment to treat our employees, customers and business partners with integrity, trust and respect. Our human rights policy addresses our internal business ethics and code of conduct policies and principles embedded in our business operations, and is guided by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multi National Enterprises.

Information Security and Cybersecurity

As part of our retail and wholesale activities, marketing campaigns, customer relationship efforts and use of some third-party partners, we may handle and process certain non-public personal information that customers provide to purchase products, enroll in promotional or marketing programs, register on websites, or otherwise communicate to us in the course of providing support. This may include phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, contact preferences, personal information stored on electronic devices, and certain payment related information, including credit and debit card data. We have removed the transmission, processing, and storage of credit card data from our environment in North America through the use of hardware based end-to-end encryption along with tokenization.

We gather and retain information about our employees only as necessary to fulfill our responsibilities as an employer. We may share information about such persons with benefit and/or employee services vendors that assist with certain aspects of our human resources offering.

We maintain controls and safeguards to mitigate the risks to our systems and to protect this information and have made significant investments to improve our information security and privacy posture and keep pace with the ever changing and evolving risks to our systems and our information. For example, we have implemented hardware based end-to-end encryption with tokenization, multi-factor authentication protocols, next generation firewalls, comprehensive cloud email security and endpoint protection, detection, and response software, conducted continuous risk assessments, and established data security breach preparedness and

response plans. We also promote security awareness with our employees and require all endpoint users to successfully complete our annual security awareness training.

In addition to information security, we must comply with increasingly complex and demanding regulatory standards enacted to protect the privacy of business and personal data in the United States, Europe and other jurisdictions. For example, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”), which went into effect on May 25, 2018; and California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (the "CCPA") which went into effect on January 1, 2020, and additional jurisdictions are considering proposing or adopting similar regulations. These privacy laws impose additional requirements on companies regarding the handling of personal data and provide certain individual privacy rights to persons whose data is stored or processed.

We have implemented processes and systems to allow for the expedient response and resolution of data subject access requests in accordance with existing privacy laws and regulations that are applicable to our business, including GDPR and CCPA.

Community

Building better communities is part of our everyday values. Our community outreach initiatives support underserved communities including our unique signature community outreach programs Cold Feet, Warm Shoes, the Make a Difference Charity Golf Tournament benefitting United Way, Journeys' Attitude That Cares and Schuh’s Purpose Pillar program. In addition, the Company and our employees engage through community sponsorship and leadership, including actively supporting the United Way of Greater Nashville’s annual campaign, among other initiatives.

Governance

We have corporate governance mechanisms in place, along with internal controls over our financial reporting framework. We also have Enterprise Risk Management and Ethics and Compliance program frameworks, with annual updates provided to committees of our board of directors ("Board of Directors" or "Board") and our Board. To drive our efforts, we have established a corporate responsibility management and oversight framework under the direction of our Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary and General Counsel. A subcommittee of the Nominating and Governance Committee of our Board oversees these efforts.

We are committed to bringing a wide range of skills, expertise and perspectives to our board, which is comprised of 67% of members who are diverse in either gender and/or ethnicity as of February 1, 2025.

Seasonality

Our business is seasonal with our investment in working capital normally reaching peaks in the spring and fall of each year and a significant portion of our net sales and operating income generated during the fourth quarter. The wholesale backlog is somewhat seasonal, reaching a peak in the spring. We maintain in-stock programs for selected product lines with anticipated high-volume sales.

Environmental Matters

Our former manufacturing operations and the sites of those operations as well as the sites of our current operations are subject to numerous federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to human health and safety and the environment. These laws and regulations address and regulate, among other matters, wastewater discharge, air quality and the generation, handling, storage, treatment, disposal, and transportation of solid and hazardous wastes and releases of hazardous substances into the environment. In addition, third parties and governmental agencies in some cases have the power under such laws and regulations to require remediation of environmental conditions and, in the case of governmental agencies, to impose fines and penalties. Several of the facilities owned by us in the past were located in industrial areas and have historically been used for extensive periods for

industrial operations such as tanning, dyeing, and manufacturing. Some of these operations used materials and generated wastes that would be considered regulated substances under current environmental laws and regulations. We are currently involved in certain administrative and judicial environmental proceedings relating to our former facilities. See Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data".

Information About Our Executive Officers

The officers of the Company are generally elected at the first meeting of the Board of Directors following the annual meeting of shareholders and hold office until their successors have been chosen and qualified or until their earlier death, resignation or removal. The name, age and office of each of the Company’s executive officers and certain information relating to the business experience of each are set forth below:

Mimi Eckel Vaughn, 58, Board Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Vaughn joined the Company in September 2003 as vice president of strategy and business development. She was named senior vice president, strategy and business development in October 2006, senior vice president of strategy and shared services in April 2009 and senior vice president - finance and chief financial officer in February 2015. In May 2019, Ms. Vaughn was named senior vice president and chief operating officer and continued to serve as senior vice president - finance and chief financial officer until her replacement was appointed in June 2019. In October 2019, Ms. Vaughn was appointed to become president and a member of the Board of Directors. Ms. Vaughn was appointed chief executive officer of the Company on February 2, 2020. In July 2020, Ms. Vaughn was appointed Board chair of the Company. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Vaughn was executive vice president of business development and marketing, and acting chief financial officer from 2000 to 2001, for Link2Gov Corporation in Nashville. From 1993 to 1999, she was a consultant at McKinsey and Company in Atlanta.

Parag D. Desai, 50, Senior Vice President - Chief Strategy and Digital Officer. Mr. Desai joined the Company in 2014 as senior vice president of strategy and shared services. He was named chief strategy and digital officer in May 2021. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Desai spent 14 years with McKinsey and Company, including seven years as a partner. Previously, Mr. Desai also held business development and technology positions at Outpace Systems and Booz Allen & Hamilton.

Cassandra E. Harris, 52, Senior Vice President – Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer. Ms. Harris joined the Company in October 2024 as senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer. She was named the Company's principal accounting officer in December 2024. Ms. Harris has an extensive background of chief financial officer and finance leadership roles in retail and consumer brands companies. Prior to joining Genesco, she most recently served as chief financial officer for Artisan Design Group from 2023 to 2024. Previously, Ms. Harris was chief financial officer and chief operating officer of publicly-held Tupperware Brands Corporation from 2019 to 2022. Prior to joining Tupperware Brands Corporation, Ms. Harris spent almost 10 years at VF Corporation from 2008 to 2017 where she served in multiple senior leadership roles.

Scott E. Becker, 57, Senior Vice President - General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. In October 2019, Mr. Becker joined the Company as senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Becker served in a variety of roles with increasing responsibility for Nissan Group of North America and Latin America since 2006. Since 2009, he was a senior vice president with responsibilities for Nissan’s legal, government affairs, finance, strategy and administration. From 2006 to 2009, he served as Nissan’s general counsel, corporate secretary and vice president, legal and government affairs. Prior to joining Nissan, Mr. Becker served in various legal roles at Sears Holdings Corporation. Mr. Becker began his legal career with several Chicago area law firms.

Daniel E. Ewoldsen, 55, Senior Vice President. Mr. Ewoldsen is a 21-year Johnston & Murphy veteran. He joined Johnston & Murphy in 2003 as vice president store operations and was later promoted to vice president store and consumer sales in 2006. He was named executive vice president, Johnston & Murphy Retail and E-Commerce in 2013, president of Johnston & Murphy Group in February 2018 and named senior vice president of Genesco in July 2019. Prior to joining Genesco, Mr. Ewoldsen was

with Wilsons Leather from 1996 to 2002 serving in roles with increasing responsibilities, including vice president of stores for the El Portal division.

Andrew I. Gray, 47, Senior Vice President. Mr. Gray joined the Company in January 2024 as senior vice president and president of the Journeys Group. Prior to joining Genesco, he served over two decades in several senior leadership positions at Foot Locker. Mr. Gray most recently served as executive vice president, global president of Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports and Sidestep, a position he held from June 2022 until his departure from the company in January 2023. Previously, Mr. Gray served as executive vice president, chief commercial officer from July 2020 to June 2022, chief merchandising officer from October 2017 to July 2020, general manager of Foot Locker and Lady Foot Locker North America from February 2016 to October 2017, and as vice president and general merchandise manager of Foot Locker Europe from July 2013 to February 2016. During his time at Foot Locker, he developed a multi-dimensional skill set spanning merchandising, general management, retail and digital, consumer insight, brand building and global leadership.

Matthew N. Johnson, 60, Vice President and Treasurer. Mr. Johnson joined the Company in 1993 as manager, corporate finance and was elected assistant treasurer in December 1993. He was elected treasurer in June 1996. He was named vice president finance in October 2006 and renamed treasurer in April 2011 after a period of service as chief financial officer of one of the Company's divisions. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Johnson was a vice president in the corporate and institutional banking division of The First National Bank of Chicago.

Available Information

We file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports from time to time. We are an electronic filer and the SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains the reports, proxy and information statements, and other information filed electronically. Our website address, which is provided as an inactive textual reference only, is http://www.genesco.com. We make available free of charge through the website Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Copies of the charters of each of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee as well as our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Ethics along with position descriptions for our Board of Directors and Board committees are also available free of charge through the website. The information provided on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is therefore not incorporated by reference unless such information is otherwise specifically incorporated elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our business is subject to a variety of risks which might have a material impact on our business. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our Consolidated Financial Statements and the notes to those statements. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we do not presently know about or that we currently consider immaterial may also affect our business operations and financial performance. If any of the events described below occur, our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations could be adversely affected in a material way. This could cause the trading price of our stock to decline, perhaps significantly, and you may lose part or all of your investment.

Competitive, Demand-Related and Reputational Risks

Consumer spending is affected by poor and/or volatile economic conditions and other factors and may significantly harm our business, affecting our financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations.

The success of our business depends to a significant extent upon the level of consumer spending in general and on our product categories. A number of factors may affect the level of consumer spending on merchandise that we offer, including, among other things:

Adverse economic conditions and any related decrease in consumer demand for discretionary items could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We sell generally discretionary items. Reduced consumer confidence and spending may result in reduced demand for discretionary items and may force us to take inventory markdowns, which may decrease sales and make expense leverage difficult to achieve. In addition, inflationary cost pressure on the products we sell might limit our ability to pass on cost increases resulting in gross margin impact or reduced demand. Demand can also be influenced by other factors beyond our control.

Moreover, while we believe that our operating cash flows and borrowing capacity under committed lines of credit will be adequate for our anticipated cash requirements, if the economy were to experience a downturn, if one or more of our revolving credit banks were to fail to honor its commitments under our credit lines or if we were unable to draw on our credit lines for any reason, we could be required to modify our operations for decreased cash flow or to seek alternative sources of liquidity, and such alternative sources might not be available to us on favorable terms, if at all. These same factors could impact our wholesale customers, limiting their ability to buy or pay for merchandise offered by us.

A failure to increase sales at our existing stores, given our high fixed expense cost structure, and in our e-commerce businesses or an inability to reduce costs may adversely affect our results of operations which may adversely impact our stock price.

A number of factors have historically affected, and will continue to affect, our comparable sales results and gross margin, including:

Our comparable sales have fluctuated in the past, including the composition of our comparable sales between store and digital, and we believe such fluctuations may continue. The unpredictability of our comparable sales may cause our revenue and results of operations to vary from quarter to quarter, and an unanticipated change in revenues or operating income may cause our stock price to fluctuate significantly.

Failure to protect our reputation could have a material adverse effect on our brand names.

Our success depends in part on the value and strength of the names of our business units. These names are integral to our businesses as well as to the implementation of our strategies for expanding our businesses. Maintaining, promoting, and positioning our brands will depend largely on the success of our marketing and merchandising efforts and our ability to provide high quality merchandise and a consistent, high quality customer experience. Our brands could be adversely affected if we fail to achieve these objectives or if our public image or reputation were to be tarnished by negative publicity or if adverse information concerning us is posted on social media platforms or similar mediums. Failure to comply, or accusation of failure to comply, with ethical, social, health, product, labor, data privacy, and environmental standards could also jeopardize our reputation and potentially lead to various adverse consumer and employee actions. Any of these events could result in decreased revenue or otherwise adversely affect our business.

Our business involves a degree of risk related to fashion and other extrinsic demand drivers that are beyond our control.

The majority of our businesses serve a fashion-conscious customer base and depend upon the ability of our buyers and merchandisers to react to fashion trends, to purchase inventory that reflects such trends, and to manage our inventories appropriately in view of the potential for sudden changes in fashion, consumer taste, or other drivers of demand. Failure to execute any of these activities successfully could result in adverse consequences, including lower sales, product margins, operating income and cash flows.

Our future success also depends on our ability to respond to changing consumer preferences, identify and interpret consumer trends, and successfully market new products.

The industry in which we operate is subject to rapidly changing consumer preferences. The continued popularity of our footwear and apparel and the development and selection of new lines and styles of footwear and apparel with widespread consumer appeal, requires us to accurately identify and interpret changing consumer trends and preferences and to effectively respond in a timely manner. Continuing demand and market acceptance for both existing and new products are uncertain and depend on substantial investment in product innovation, design and development, an ongoing commitment to product quality and significant and sustained marketing efforts and expenditures.

In assessing our response to anticipated changing consumer preferences and trends, we frequently must make decisions about product designs and marketing expenditures months in advance of the time when actual consumer acceptance can be determined. As a result, we may not be successful in responding to shifting consumer preferences and trends with new products. If we fail to identify and interpret changing consumer preferences and trends, or are not successful in responding to these changes with the timely development or sourcing of products, we could experience excess inventories and higher than normal markdowns, returns, order cancellations or an inability to profitably sell our products.

Our failure to appropriately address emerging sustainability matters could have a material adverse impact on our reputation and, as a result, our business.

There is uncertainty in the markets in which we operate regarding potential policies related to issues surrounding global environmental sustainability. Changes in the legal or regulatory environment affecting responsible sourcing, supply chain transparency, or environmental protection, among others, including regulations to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, to discourage the use of plastic or to limit or to impose additional costs on commercial water use may result in increased compliance costs for us and our business partners.

Our results may be adversely affected by declines in consumer traffic in malls.

The majority of our stores are located within shopping malls and depend to varying degrees on consumer traffic in the malls to generate sales. Declines in mall traffic, whether caused by a shift in consumer shopping preferences or by other factors, may negatively impact our ability to maintain or grow our sales in existing stores, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Our results of operations are subject to seasonal and quarterly fluctuations.

Our business is seasonal, with a significant portion of our net sales and operating income generated during the fourth quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season. Because of this seasonality, we have limited ability to compensate for shortfalls in fourth quarter sales or earnings by changing our operations or strategies in other quarters. Adverse events outside of our control, such as supply chain interruptions, including shipping disruptions near crucial trade routes, increased labor costs and labor availability, decreased consumer traffic or deteriorating economic conditions could result in lower than expected sales during the holiday shopping season or other periods in which we typically experience higher net sales, which could materially adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. Our quarterly results of operations also may fluctuate significantly based on other factors such as:

Changes in the retail industry could have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition.

In recent years, the retail industry has experienced consolidation, store closures, bankruptcies and other ownership changes. In the future, retailers in the U.S. and in foreign markets may further consolidate, undergo restructurings or reorganizations, or realign their affiliations, any of which could decrease the number of stores that carry our products or our licensees’ products or increase the ownership concentration within the retail industry. Changing shopping patterns, including the rapid expansion of online retail shopping, have adversely affected customer traffic in mall and outlet centers. We expect competition in the e-commerce market will continue to intensify. Growth in e-commerce competition could result in financial difficulties, including store closures, bankruptcies or liquidations for our brick-and-mortar stores and those of our wholesale customers who fail to compete effectively in the e-commerce market. We cannot control the success of individual malls, and an increase in store closures by other retailers may lead to reduced foot traffic, mall vacancies and mall bankruptcies. A continuation or worsening of these trends could cause financial difficulties for one or more of our segments, which, in turn, could substantially increase our credit risk and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Our future success will be determined, in part, on our ability to manage the impact of the rapidly changing retail environment and identify and capitalize on retail trends, including technology, enhanced digital capabilities, e-commerce and other process efficiencies that will better service our customers.

Our business is intensely competitive and increased or new competition could have a material adverse effect on us.

The retail footwear and accessory markets are intensely competitive. We currently compete against a diverse group of retailers, including other regional and national specialty stores, department and discount stores, small independents and e-commerce retailers, as well as our own vendors who are increasingly selling direct-to-consumers, which sell products similar to and often identical to those we sell. Our branded businesses, selling footwear at wholesale, also face intense competition, both from other branded wholesale vendors and from private label initiatives of their retailer customers. A number of different competitive factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, including:

If our online e-commerce sites, or those of our customers, do not function effectively or meet the expectations or preferences of our customers, our business and financial results could be materially adversely affected.

An increasing amount of our products are sold on our e-commerce sites and third-party e-commerce sites. Consumers are also increasingly using mobile-based applications to engage with us and our competitors through digital experiences that are offered on mobile platforms, and we are increasingly using social media to interact with our consumers as a means to enhance their shopping experience. Any failure on our part or on the part of third parties to provide effective, reliable, user-friendly e-commerce platforms that offer a wide assortment of our products and that continually meet the evolving expectations of online shoppers or any failure to provide attractive digital experiences could place us at a competitive disadvantage, result in the loss of sales, and could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial results. Our e-commerce business may be particularly

vulnerable to cyber threats including unauthorized access and denial of service attacks. Sales in our e-commerce channel may also divert sales from our retail and wholesale channels.

Investments and Infrastructure Risks

We face a number of risks in opening new stores and renewing leases on existing stores.

We may open new stores, both in regional malls, where most of the operational experience of our U.S. businesses lies, and in other venues including outlet centers, airports and other off-mall locations. We cannot offer assurances that we will be able to open as many stores as we have planned, that any new store will achieve similar operating results to those of our existing stores or that new stores opened in markets in which we operate will not have a material adverse effect on the revenues and profitability of our existing stores. In addition to the risks already discussed for existing stores, the success of any planned expansion or remodels is dependent upon numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:

Additionally, the results we expect to achieve during each fiscal quarter are dependent upon opening new stores and renewing leases on existing stores on schedule and at expected costs. If we fall behind in our new store openings, we will lose expected sales and earnings between the planned opening date and the actual opening and may further complicate the logistics of opening stores, possibly resulting in additional delays, seasonally inappropriate product assortments, and other undesirable conditions.

Any acquisitions we make or new businesses we launch, as well as any dispositions of assets or businesses, involve a degree of risk.

Acquisitions have been a component of our growth strategy and we expect that in the future we may engage in acquisitions or launch new businesses to grow our revenues and meet our other strategic objectives. If acquisitions are not successfully integrated with our business, our ongoing operations could be adversely affected. Additionally, acquisitions or new businesses may not achieve desired profitability objectives or result in any anticipated successful expansion of the businesses or concepts, causing lower than expected earnings and cash flow and potentially requiring impairment of goodwill and other intangibles. Although we review and analyze assets or companies we acquire, such reviews are subject to uncertainties and may not reveal all potential risks. Additionally, although we attempt to obtain protective contractual provisions, such as representations, warranties and indemnities, in connection with acquisitions, we cannot offer assurance that we can obtain such provisions in our acquisitions or that they will fully protect us from unforeseen costs of, or liabilities associated with, the acquisitions. We may also incur significant costs and diversion of management time and attention in connection with pursuing possible acquisitions even if the acquisition is not ultimately consummated.

Additionally, we have in the past and may in the future divest assets or businesses. Following any such divestitures, we may retain or incur liabilities or costs relating to our previous ownership of the assets or business that we sell. Any required payments

on retained liabilities or indemnification obligations with respect to past or future asset or business divestitures could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations. Dispositions may also involve our continued financial involvement in the divested business, such as through transition services agreements and guarantees. Under these arrangements, performance by the divested businesses or conditions outside our control could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Further, acquisitions and dispositions are often structured such that the purchase price paid or received by us, as applicable, is subject to post-closing adjustments, whether as a result of net working capital adjustments, contingent payments (i.e., earn-outs) or otherwise. Any such adjustments could result in a material change in the consideration paid to or received by us, as applicable, in such transactions.

Goodwill recorded with acquisitions is subject to impairment which could reduce the Company's profitability.

In connection with acquisitions, we record goodwill on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. This asset is not amortized but is subject to an impairment test at least annually, where we have the option first to assess qualitative factors to determine whether events and circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that goodwill is impaired. If after such assessment we conclude that the asset is impaired, we are required to determine the fair value of the asset using a quantitative impairment test that is based on projected future cash flows from the acquired business discounted at a rate commensurate with the risk we consider to be inherent in our current business model. We perform the impairment test annually at the beginning of our fourth quarter, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate that the value of the asset might be impaired.

Deterioration in our equity market value, whether related to our operating performance or to disruptions in the equity markets or deterioration in the operating performance of the business unit with which goodwill is associated could cause us to recognize the impairment of some or all of the $8.9 million of goodwill on our Consolidated Balance Sheets at February 1, 2025, resulting in the reduction of net assets and a corresponding non-cash charge to earnings in the amount of the impairment.

Technology, Data Security and Privacy Risks

The operation of our business is heavily dependent on our information systems.

We depend on a variety of information technology systems for the efficient functioning of our business (including multiple e-commerce websites) and security of information. Much information essential to our business is maintained electronically, including competitively sensitive information and potentially sensitive personal information about customers and employees.

Despite our preventative efforts, our IT systems and websites may from time to time be vulnerable to damage or interruption from events such as difficulties in replacing or integrating the systems of acquired businesses, computer viruses, security breaches and power outages.

Our insurance policies may not provide coverage for security breaches and similar incidents or may have coverage limits which may not be adequate to reimburse us for losses caused by security breaches. We also rely on certain hardware and software vendors, including cloud-service providers, to maintain and periodically upgrade many of these systems so that they can continue to support our business. The software programs supporting many of our systems are licensed to us by independent software companies. The inability of our employees and developers or our inability to continue to maintain and upgrade these information systems and software programs could disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations. In addition, costs and potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of new or upgraded systems and technology or with maintenance or adequate support of existing systems could also disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations or leave us vulnerable to security breaches.

We also rely heavily on our information technology staff. If we cannot meet our staffing needs in this area, we may not be able to fulfill our technology initiatives or to provide maintenance on existing systems.

We are subject to payment-related risks that could increase our operating costs, expose us to fraud or theft, subject us to potential liability and potentially disrupt our business.

As a retailer who accepts payments using a variety of methods, including buy now pay later methods, PayPal, and gift cards, we are subject to rules, regulations, contractual obligations and compliance requirements, including payment network rules and operating guidelines, data security standards and certification requirements, and rules governing electronic funds transfers. The regulatory environment related to information security and privacy is increasingly rigorous, with new and constantly changing requirements applicable to our business, and compliance with those requirements could result in additional costs or accelerate these costs with additional legal and financial exposure for noncompliance. For these payment methods, we pay interchange and other fees, which can increase over time and raise our operating costs. We rely on third parties to provide payment processing services. If these companies become unable to provide these services to us, or if their systems are compromised, it could disrupt our business.

The payment methods that we offer also subject us to potential fraud and theft by persons who seek to obtain unauthorized access to or exploit any weaknesses that may exist in the payment systems. We completed the implementation of Europay, Mastercard and Visa ("EMV") technology and received certification in Fiscal 2018; however future upgrades to our Company's systems could expose us to the fraudulent use of credit cards and increased costs, including possible fines and restrictions on our Company's ability to accept payments by credit or debit cards, if we were not to receive recertification. Because we accept debit and credit cards for payment, we are also subject to industry data protection standards and protocols, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (“PCI DSS”), issued by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. Additionally, we have implemented technology in our stores to allow for the acceptance of EMV credit transactions and point-to-point encryption. Complying with PCI DSS standards and implementing related procedures, technology and information security measures require significant resources and ongoing attention. However, even if we comply with PCI DSS standards and offer EMV and point-to-point encryption technology in our stores, we may be vulnerable to, and unable to detect and appropriately respond to, data security breaches and data loss, including cybersecurity attacks or other breach of cardholder data.

In addition, the Payment Card Industry (“PCI”) is controlled by a limited number of vendors who have the ability to impose changes in the PCI’s fee structure and operational requirements on us without negotiation. Such changes in fees and operational requirements may result in our failure to comply with PCI DSS, and cause us to incur significant unanticipated expenses.

A privacy breach, through a cybersecurity incident or otherwise, or failure to comply with privacy laws could materially adversely affect our business.

As part of normal operations, we and our third-party vendors and partners, receive and maintain confidential and personally identifiable information (“PII”) about our customers and employees, and confidential financial, intellectual property, and other information. We regard the protection of our customer, employee, and company information as critical. The regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy is very demanding, with the frequent imposition of new and changing requirements some of which involve significant costs to implement and significant penalties if not followed properly. Despite our efforts and technology to secure our computer network and systems, a cybersecurity breach, whether targeted, random, or inadvertent, and whether at the hands of cyber criminals, hackers, rogue employees or other persons, may occur and could go undetected for a period of time, resulting in a material disruption of our computer network, a loss of information valuable to our business, including without limitation customer or employee PII, and/or theft. A similar cybersecurity breach to the computer networks and systems of our third-party vendors and partners, including those that are cloud-based, over which we have no control, may occur, and could lead to a material disruption of our computer network and/or the areas of our business that are dependent on the support, services and other products provided by our third-party vendors and partners. Additionally, the rapid evolution and increased adoption of machine learning and artificial intelligence ("AI") is further increasing risks in this area, including by making fraud detection more difficult, particularly with detection devices that use voice recognition or authentication. Our computer networks and our business may be adversely affected by such a breach of our third-party vendors and partners, which could result in a decrease in our e-commerce sales and/or a loss of information valuable to our business, including, without limitation, PII of customers or employees. Such a cyber-incident could result in any of the following:

Any of the above risks, individually or in aggregate, could materially damage our reputation and result in lost sales, governmental and payment card industry fines, and/or class action and other lawsuits. Although we carry cybersecurity insurance, that insurance may not be extensive enough or adequate in scope of coverage or amount to reimburse us for damages we may incur. Further, a significant breach of federal, state, provincial, local or international privacy laws could have a material adverse effect on our reputation.

Data protection requirements are constantly evolving and these requirements could adversely affect our business and operating results.

We have access to collect or maintain information about our customers, and the protection of that data is critical to our business. The regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy continues to evolve and new laws are increasingly giving customers the right to control how their personal data is used. One such law is the European Union's GDPR. Our failure to comply with the obligations of GDPR and similar U.S. federal and state laws, including California privacy laws, could in the future result in significant penalties which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Data protection compliance could also cause us to incur substantial costs, forego a substantial amount of revenue or be subject to business risk associated with system changes and new business processes.

The utilization, expansion and management of machine learning and other types of artificial intelligence in our business could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have been increasing our utilization of AI in our business and we anticipate that as technology advances, we may expand our application of AI, including generative AI. AI may become more important to our operations over time as we increase reliance on AI throughout our operations and administration. The rapid evolution of AI technology and potential regulation of AI may require that we expend significant resources to develop, test and maintain our implementation of AI. Our development, integration and use of AI technology in our operations remains in the early phases. Although we aim to implement AI technology according to responsible procedures and adequate safeguards, our current or future use of AI tools in our business operations could expose us to new or additional costs and risks, including the potential introduction of new vulnerabilities or cybersecurity risks within our information technology systems; the potential inadvertent or unauthorized release of our confidential or proprietary information resulting from the use (whether or not authorized) of AI tools by our employees, contractors, agents, representatives, vendors or customers; the potential loss of our intellectual property rights or our potential infringement of the intellectual property rights of third parties resulting from the use (whether or not authorized) of AI tools in our operations; and potential legal or reputational harms due to insufficient or flawed data, insufficient quality control, or unlawful bias or discrimination associated with the use of AI tools. In addition, the AI tools we may incorporate into certain aspects of our operations may not generate the intended efficiencies and may impact our business results. Our competitors may incorporate AI into their businesses faster or more successfully than us, which could impair our ability to compete effectively and adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, if the information generated through our use of AI is or is deemed to be deficient, inaccurate or biased, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Operational, Supply Chain and Third-Party Risks

Increased operating costs, including wage increases resulting from potential increases in the minimum wage or competitive pressures, could have an adverse effect on our results.

Increased operating costs, including wage increases resulting from potential increases in the minimum wage or wage increases reflecting competition in relevant labor markets, store occupancy costs, distribution center costs and other expense items, including healthcare costs, may reduce our operating margin, and make it more difficult to identify new store locations that we believe will meet our investment return requirements. In addition, other employment and healthcare law changes may increase the cost of provided retirement and healthcare benefits expenses. Increases in our overall employment costs could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial and competitive position.

If we lose key members of management or are unable to attract and retain the talent required for our business, our operating results could suffer.

Our performance depends largely on the efforts and abilities of members of our management team. Our executives have substantial experience and expertise in our business and have made significant contributions to our growth and success. The unexpected future loss of services of one or more key members of our management team could have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, future performance will depend upon our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified employees, including store personnel and field management. If we are unable to do so, our ability to meet our operating goals may be compromised. Finally, our stores are decentralized, are managed through a network of geographically dispersed management personnel and historically experience a high degree of turnover. If we are for any reason unable to maintain appropriate controls on store operations due to turnover or other reasons, including the ability to control losses resulting from inventory and cash shrinkage, our sales and operating margins may be adversely affected. There can be no assurance that we will be able to attract and retain the personnel we need in the future.

The loss of, or disruption in, one of our distribution centers and other factors affecting the distribution of merchandise, including freight cost, could materially adversely affect our business.

Each of our divisions uses a single distribution center or third-party logistics provider to handle all or a significant amount of its merchandise. Most of our operations’ inventory is shipped directly from suppliers to our operations' distribution centers or third-party logistics provider, where the inventory is then processed, sorted and shipped to our stores, to our wholesale customers or to our e-commerce customers. We depend on the orderly operation of this receiving and distribution process, which depends, in turn, on adherence to shipping schedules and effective management of the distribution centers. Although we believe that our receiving and distribution processes are efficient and well positioned to support our current business and potential expansions, we cannot offer assurance that we have anticipated all of the changing demands that our expanding operations, particularly our e-commerce operations, will impose on our receiving and distribution system, or that events beyond our control, such as disruptions in operations due to fire or other catastrophic events, labor disagreements or shortages or shipping problems (whether in our own or in our third-party vendors’ or carriers’ businesses), will not result in delays in the delivery of merchandise to our stores or to our wholesale customers or e-commerce/retail customers. In addition, to the extent we need to add capacity to distribution centers by either leasing or building new distribution centers or adding capacity at existing centers or make changes in our distribution processes to improve efficiency and maximize capacity, we cannot assure that these changes will not result in unanticipated delays or interruptions in distribution. We depend upon third parties for shipment of a significant amount of merchandise. Interruptions in the services provided by third parties may occasionally result from damage or destruction to our distribution centers; weather-related events; natural disasters; pandemics; trade policy changes or restrictions; tariffs or import-related taxes; third-party labor disruptions; shipping capacity constraints; third-party contract disputes; military conflicts; acts of terrorism; or other factors beyond our control. An interruption in service by third parties for any reason could cause temporary disruptions in our business, a loss of sales and profits, and other material adverse effects.

Our freight costs are impacted by changes in fuel prices, surcharges and other factors which can affect cost both on inbound freight from vendors to our distribution centers and outbound freight from distribution centers to our stores and customers. Increases in freight costs, including in connection with increased fuel prices, may increase our cost of goods sold and our selling and administrative expenses.

An increase in the cost or a disruption in the flow of our imported products could adversely affect our business.

Merchandise originally manufactured and imported from overseas makes up a large proportion of our total inventory. A disruption in the shipping of our imported merchandise or an increase in the cost of those products may significantly decrease our sales and profits. We may be unable to meet customer demands or pass on price increases to our customers. In addition, if imported merchandise becomes more expensive or unavailable, the transition to alternative sources may not occur in time to meet demand. Products from alternative sources may also be of lesser quality or more expensive than those we currently import. Risks associated with our reliance on imported products include:

Some of the inventory we sell is imported from China, which has historically been subject to efforts to increase duty rates or to impose restrictions on imports of certain products.

If we or our suppliers or licensees are unable to source raw materials or finished goods from the countries where we or they wish to purchase them, either because of a regulatory change or for any other reason, or if the cost of doing so should increase, it could have a material adverse effect on our sales and earnings.

A small portion of the products we buy abroad is priced in foreign currencies and, therefore, we are affected by fluctuating currency exchange rates. We may not be able to effectively protect ourselves in the future against currency rate fluctuations. Even dollar-denominated foreign purchases may be affected by currency fluctuations to reflect appreciation in the local currency against the dollar in the price of the products that they provide. See Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for more information about our foreign currency exchange rate exposure and any hedging activities.

We are dependent on third-party vendors and licensors for the merchandise we sell.

We do not manufacture the merchandise we sell, and our Genesco Brands Group business is dependent on third-party licenses. Accordingly, our product supply is subject to our ability to renew our license agreements or identify new licenses and the ability and willingness of third-party suppliers to deliver merchandise we order on time and in the quantities and of the quality we need. In addition, a material portion of our retail footwear sales consists of products marketed under brands belonging to unaffiliated vendors, which have fashion significance to our customers. If those vendors were to decide not to sell to us or to limit the availability of their products to us, or if they become unable because of economic conditions, pandemics, work stoppages, labor shortages, strikes, political unrest and civil disturbances, raw materials supply disruptions, or any other reason to supply us with products, we could be unable to offer our customers the products they wish to buy and could lose their business. Additionally, manufacturers are required to remain in compliance with certain wage, labor and environment-related laws, regulations and policies. Delayed compliance or failure to comply with such laws, regulations and policies by our vendors could adversely affect our ability to obtain products generally or at favorable costs, affecting our overall ability to maintain and manage inventory levels.

The manufacture of our products and our distributing operations are subject to the risks of doing business abroad, including in China, which could affect our ability to obtain products from foreign suppliers or control the costs of our products.

We have been diversifying our sourcing base to ensure that we are not too concentrated in any single country. As we source some products in China, the possibility of adverse changes in trade or political relations with China, political instability, increases in labor costs, the occurrence of prolonged adverse weather conditions or a natural disaster such as an earthquake or typhoon, or the outbreak of infectious diseases in China could severely interfere with the manufacturing and/or shipment of our products and would have a material adverse effect on our operations. Our ability to source products from China may be adversely affected by changes in Chinese laws and regulations (or the interpretation thereof), including those relating to taxation, import and export tariffs, relations with the U.S. government, raw materials, environmental regulations, land use rights, property and other matters. Policy changes in China could adversely affect our interests through, among other factors: changes in laws and regulations, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on currency conversion, imports or sources of supplies, or the expropriation or nationalization of private enterprises. In addition, electrical shortages, labor shortages or work stoppages may extend the production time necessary to produce our orders. There may be circumstances in the future where we may have to incur higher freight charges to expedite the delivery of product to our customers which could negatively affect our gross profit if we are unable to pass on those charges to our customers.

Tax, Legal, Regulatory, Global and Other External Risks

Changes in tax laws may result in increased volatility in our effective tax rates.

Our financial results are significantly impacted by the effective tax rates of both our domestic and international operations. Future changes in tax laws could materially impact our effective tax rate. Other factors, such as changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in permitted deductions, interpretations, policies and treaties and the outcome of income tax audits in various jurisdictions, may result in higher taxes, lower profitability and increased volatility in our financial results.

In addition, changes in the tax laws of foreign jurisdictions may arise as a result of the Pillar Two (“Pillar Two”) Global Anti-Base Erosion model rules that were released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2021. The OECD continues to release guidance and in many of the countries implementing the Pillar Two rule, the first component of the Pillar Two rule became effective in 2024, with the second component expected to come into effect in 2025. It is possible that the Pillar Two rule could adversely impact our effective tax rate in future periods. Additionally, administrative guidance with respect to tax law can be incomplete or vary from legislative intent, and therefore the application of tax law is uncertain. While we believe our reported positions comply with relevant tax laws and regulations, taxing authorities could interpret the application of certain laws and regulations differently.

We continue to expect the United States Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service to issue regulations and other guidance that could have a material impact on our effective tax rate in future periods.

Our ability to source our merchandise profitably or at all could be negatively impacted if new trade restrictions are imposed, existing trade restrictions become more burdensome or disruptions occur at our suppliers or at the ports.

Trade restrictions, including increased tariffs, safeguards or quotas, on footwear, apparel and accessories could increase the cost or reduce the supply of merchandise available to us. We source footwear, apparel and accessory products from foreign manufacturers located in Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal, Peru, Spain, Turkey and Vietnam. Our retail operations, excluding Johnston & Murphy, sell primarily branded products from third parties who source primarily overseas. The investments we are making to develop our sourcing capabilities may not be successful and may, in turn, have an adverse impact on our financial position and results of operations.

There are quotas and trade restrictions on certain categories of goods and apparel from China and countries that are not subject to the applicable World Trade Organization Agreement, which could have a significant impact on our sourcing patterns in the future. In addition, political uncertainty in the United States may result in significant changes to U.S. trade policies, treaties and tariffs, including trade policies and tariffs regarding goods imported from China, Canada and Mexico. Existing and potential future tariffs on certain imported products could result in an increase in prices for those products. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, may have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, and may significantly reduce global trade. Any of these factors could depress economic activity, restrict our sourcing from suppliers and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We cannot predict whether any of the countries in which our merchandise is currently or may be manufactured in the future will be subject to additional trade restrictions imposed by the U.S. and foreign governments, nor can we predict the likelihood, type or effect of any such restrictions. Trade restrictions, including increased tariffs or quotas, embargoes, safeguards and customs restrictions against items we source from foreign manufacturers could increase the cost, delay shipping or reduce the supply of products available to us or may require us to modify our current business practices, any of which could hurt our profitability. If we are unable to pass along increased costs to our customers, our gross margins could be adversely affected. Additionally, tariffs may cause us to shift production to other countries, resulting in significant costs and disruption to our business.

We rely on our suppliers to manufacture and ship the products they produce for us in a timely and cost-effective manner. We also rely on the free flow of goods through open and operational ports worldwide. Labor disputes and other disruptions at various ports or at our suppliers could increase costs for us and delay our receipt of merchandise, particularly if these disputes result in work slowdowns, lockouts, strikes or other disruptions.

The impact of climate change, extreme weather, infectious disease outbreaks, and other unexpected events could result in an interruption to our business, as well as to the operations of our third-party partners, and have a material adverse impact on our business.

The operations of our retail stores, corporate offices, distribution centers, digital operations and supply chain, as well as the operations of our third-party partners, including vendors and manufacturers, are vulnerable to disruption from climate change, natural disasters, pandemics and other infectious disease outbreaks and other unexpected events. In addition to impacts on global operations, these events could result in the potential loss of customers and revenues due to mandatory or voluntary store closures, delay or cancellation of merchandise deliveries, reduced consumer confidence or changes in consumers’ discretionary spending habits.

These events could reduce the availability or quality of the materials used to manufacture our merchandise, which could cause delays in responding to consumer demand resulting in the potential loss of customers and revenues or we may incur increased costs to meet demand and may not be able to pass all or a portion of higher costs on to our customers, which could adversely affect our gross margin and results of our operations.

In addition, historically, our operations have been seasonal, and extreme weather conditions, including natural disasters, unseasonable weather or changes in weather patterns, may diminish demand for our seasonal merchandise and could also influence consumer preferences and fashion trends, consumer traffic and shopping habits. In addition, we may incur costs that exceed our applicable insurance coverage for any necessary repairs to property damage or business disruption resulting from climate or weather conditions.

Establishing and protecting our intellectual property is critical to our business.

Our ability to remain competitive is dependent upon our continued ability to secure and protect trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights in the U.S. and internationally for all of our businesses. We rely on a combination of trade secret, patent, trademark, copyright and other laws, license agreements and other contractual provisions and technical measures to protect our intellectual property rights; however, some countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the U.S.

Our business could be significantly harmed if we are not able to protect our intellectual property, or if a court found us to be infringing on others’ intellectual property rights. Any future intellectual property lawsuits or threatened lawsuits in which we are involved, either as a plaintiff or as a defendant, could cost us a significant amount of time and money and distract management’s attention from operating our business. If we do not prevail on any intellectual property claims, then we may have to change our manufacturing processes, products or trade names, any of which could reduce our profitability.

Legislative or regulatory initiatives related to climate change could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Greenhouse gases may have an adverse effect on global temperatures, weather patterns, and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disaster. Such events could have a negative effect on our business. Concern over climate change may result in new or additional legislative and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment, which could result in future tax, transportation cost, and utility increases. These risks could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The scope of our non-U.S. operations exposes our performance to risks including foreign, political, legal and economic conditions and exchange rate fluctuations.

Our performance depends in part on general economic conditions affecting all countries in which we do business. Although the U.K. and the European Union (“E.U.”) entered into the E.U.-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement on December 30, 2020, uncertainty remains about the impact on our business in the U.K. and ROI, including impact on tariffs, shipping costs, consumer demand and currency fluctuations.

In addition, across all of our markets, we could be adversely impacted by changes in trade policies, labor, tax or other laws and regulations, intellectual property rights and supply chain logistics. We are also dependent on foreign manufacturers for the products we sell, and our inventory is subject to cost and availability of foreign materials and labor. In addition to the other risks disclosed herein, demand for our product offering in our non-U.S. operations is also subject to local market conditions.

As we expand our international operations, we also increase our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. Sales from stores outside the U.S. are denominated in the currency of the country in which these operations or stores are located and changes in foreign exchange rates affect the translation of the sales and earnings of these businesses into U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes. Additionally, inventory purchase agreements may also be denominated in the currency of the country where the vendor resides.

If the U.S. dollar strengthens relative to foreign currencies, our revenues and profits are reduced when converted into U.S. dollars and our margins may be negatively impacted by the increase in product costs. Although we typically have sought to mitigate the negative impacts of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations through price increases and further actions to reduce costs, we may not be able to fully offset the impact, if at all.

We are subject to regulatory proceedings and litigation and to regulatory changes that could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We are party to certain lawsuits, governmental investigations, and regulatory proceedings, including the proceedings arising out of alleged environmental contamination relating to historical operations of the Company and various suits involving current operations as disclosed in Item 3, "Legal Proceedings" and Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. If these or similar matters are resolved against us, or if we incur significant costs to pursue claims against third parties, our results of operations, our cash flows, or our financial condition could be adversely affected. The costs of prosecuting or defending such lawsuits and responding to such investigations and regulatory proceedings may be substantial and their potential to distract management from day-to-day business is significant. Moreover, with retail operations in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the U.K., and the ROI, we are subject to federal, state, provincial, territorial, local and foreign regulations, which impose costs and risks on our business. Numerous states and municipalities as well as the federal government of the U.S. are proposing or have implemented changes to minimum wage, overtime, employee leave, employee benefit requirements and other requirements that will increase costs. Changes in regulations could make compliance more difficult and costly, and failure to comply with these requirements, including even a seemingly minor infraction, could result in liability for damages or penalties.

Actions of activist shareholders have caused, and could cause us in the future to incur substantial costs, divert management’s attention and resources, and have an adverse effect on our business.

Our shareholders may from time to time engage in proxy solicitations, advance shareholders proposals or otherwise attempt to affect changes or acquire control over the Company. Activist shareholder activities could adversely affect our business because responding to proxy contests and reacting to other actions by activist shareholders can be costly and time-consuming, disrupt our operations and divert the attention of management and our employees. For example, we have retained, and may in the future, retain the services of various professionals to advise us on activist shareholder matters, including legal, financial and communication advisors, the costs of which may negatively impact our future financial results. In addition, perceived uncertainties as to our future direction, strategy or leadership created as a consequence of activist shareholders initiatives may

result in the loss of potential business opportunities, harm our ability to attract new investors, customers, and employees, and cause our stock price to experience periods of volatility or stagnation.

Financial Risks

Our indebtedness is subject to floating interest rates.

Borrowings under our credit facility bear interest at varying rates and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness referred to above would increase even if the principal amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows will correspondingly decrease. Additionally, in connection with the Intercontinental Exchange Benchmark Administration’s announced phase-out of the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate ("LIBOR"), we amended our credit facility to, among other things, replace LIBOR with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), the Sterling Overnight Index Average (“SONIA”) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (“EURIBOR”).

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

At February 1, 2025, we operated 1,278 retail footwear, apparel and accessory stores throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the U.K. and the ROI. New shopping center store leases in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada typically have initial terms of approximately 10 years. New store leases in the U.K. and the ROI typically have initial terms of between 10 and 15 years. We have leases with fixed base rental payments, rental payments based on a percentage of retail sales over contractual amounts and others with predetermined fixed escalations of the minimum rental payments based on a defined consumer price index or percentage.

The general location, use and approximate size of our principal properties are set forth below:

We believe that all leases of properties that are material to our operations may be renewed, or that alternative properties are available, on terms not materially less favorable to us than existing leases.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are subject to legal and/or administrative proceedings incidental to our business. It is the opinion of management that the outcome of pending legal and/or administrative proceedings will not have a material effect on our financial position and results of operations.

Further information with respect to this item may be found in Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," which is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Our stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "GCO".

There were approximately 1,250 common shareholders of record on March 14, 2025.

We have not paid cash dividends to our holders of our Common Stock since 1973 and we do not currently anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Our ability to pay cash dividends to our holders of common stock is subject to various restrictions. See Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for information regarding restrictions on dividends and redemption of capital stock.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Equity Compensation Plan Information

Refer to Part III, Item 12, "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters" included elsewhere in this report.

ITEM 6. RESERVED

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and with Part II, Item 7 (“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”) of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 27, 2024, which provides a discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for Fiscal 2024 compared to our Fiscal 2023.

Summary of Results of Operations

Key Performance Indicators

In assessing the performance of our business, we consider a variety of performance and financial measures. The key performance indicators we use to evaluate the financial condition and operating performance of our business are comparable sales, net sales, gross margin, operating income and operating margin. These key performance indicators should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for or as an alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with, the U.S. GAAP financial measures presented herein. These measures may not be comparable to similarly-titled performance indicators used by other companies.

Comparable Sales

We consider comparable sales to be an important indicator of our current performance, and investors may find it useful as such. Comparable sales results are important to achieve leveraging of our costs, including occupancy, selling salaries, depreciation,

etc. Comparable sales also have a direct impact on our total net revenue, working capital and cash. We define "comparable sales" as sales from stores open longer than one year, beginning with the first day a store has comparable sales (which we refer to in this report as "same store sales"), and sales from websites operated longer than one year and direct mail catalog sales (which we refer to in this report as "comparable e-commerce sales"). Temporarily closed stores are excluded from the comparable sales calculation if closed for more than seven days. Expanded stores are excluded from the comparable sales calculation until the first day an expanded store has comparable prior year sales. Current year foreign exchange rates are applied to both current year and prior year comparable sales to achieve a consistent basis for comparison.

Results of Operations—Fiscal 2025 Compared to Fiscal 2024

Our net sales for Fiscal 2025 (52 weeks) were flat at $2.3 billion compared to Fiscal 2024 (53 weeks). The flat net sales for Fiscal 2025 reflected an increase in comparable e-commerce sales offset by 63 net store closings, the negative impact of the extra week in Fiscal 2024 due the 53-week calendar shift and decreased wholesale sales. Excluding the 53rd week in Fiscal 2024, net sales increased 1.1% for Fiscal 2025. Inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty continue to impact the discretionary spending behavior of our consumers. Consumers continue to show a willingness to shop when there is a reason and retreat when there is not. Consumers remain selective in their purchases and we continue to innovate and add freshness to our assortments to satisfy our customers. Journeys Group sales increased 3% offset by a sales decrease of 6% at Johnston & Murphy Group and a sales decrease of 11% at Genesco Brands Group, while Schuh Group sales were flat for Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024. Schuh's sales decreased 2% on a local currency basis for Fiscal 2025. Total comparable sales increased 3% for Fiscal 2025, with same store sales flat and comparable e-commerce sales up 12%.

Gross margin decreased 0.2% to $1.097 billion in Fiscal 2025 from $1.099 billion in Fiscal 2024 and decreased as a percentage of net sales from 47.3% in Fiscal 2024 to 47.2% in Fiscal 2025, reflecting decreased gross margin as a percentage of net sales in Journeys Group and Schuh Group, partially offset by an increase in gross margin as a percentage of net sales in Johnston & Murphy Group and Genesco Brands Group. The overall decrease in gross margin as a percentage of net sales reflects increased promotional activity at Schuh Group, partially offset by better initial margins and lower wholesale reserves at Johnston & Murphy Group and a favorable change in product mix at Genesco Brands Group.

Selling and administrative expenses in Fiscal 2025 decreased to $1.080 billion compared to $1.082 billion in Fiscal 2024. Selling and administrative expenses decreased 10 basis points as a percentage of net sales in Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024 from 46.5% to 46.4%, reflecting decreased expenses as a percentage of net sales at Journeys Group and Genesco Brands Group, partially offset by increased expenses as a percentage of net sales at Schuh Group and Johnston & Murphy Group. The overall decrease in expenses as a percentage of net sales in Fiscal 2025 reflects a decrease in occupancy costs, partially offset by increased marketing expenses. Explanations of the changes in results of operations are provided by business segment in discussions following these introductory paragraphs.

Operating margin was 0.6% in Fiscal 2025 compared to an operating margin loss of (0.6)% in Fiscal 2024 reflecting improved operating margin at Journeys Group and Genesco Brands Group, partially offset by decreased operating margin at Schuh Group and Johnston & Murphy Group. The improvement in operating margin in Fiscal 2025 primarily reflects a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $28.5 million in Fiscal 2024 and decreased selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales, partially offset by decreased gross margin as a percentage of net sales in Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024.

Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes (“pretax earnings") for Fiscal 2025 was $9.3 million, compared to a loss from continuing operations before income taxes ("pretax loss") of $21.8 million for Fiscal 2024. Pretax earnings for Fiscal 2025 included asset impairment and other charges of $3.2 million which included $1.8 million for severance and $1.4 million for asset impairments. The pretax loss for Fiscal 2024 included a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $28.5 million and asset impairment and other charges of $1.8 million which included $1.1 million for severance and $1.0 million for asset impairments, partially offset by a $0.3 million insurance gain.

The effective income tax rate was 309.6% for Fiscal 2025 compared to (8.5%) for Fiscal 2024. The higher effective tax rate for Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024 reflects a $26.2 million U.S. valuation allowance recorded in Fiscal 2025, reflecting the uncertainty regarding our ability to realize the benefit of our general tax attributes in the U.S. See Item 8, Note 11, "Income Taxes", to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

The net loss for Fiscal 2025 was $18.9 million, or $1.74 diluted loss per share compared to a net loss of $16.8 million, or $1.50 diluted loss per share for Fiscal 2024. The net loss for Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024 includes a $1.2 million ($0.9 million, net of tax) and $9.4 million ($7.2 million, net of tax), respectively, gain from insurance proceeds related to legacy environmental matters.

Journeys Group

Net sales from Journeys Group increased 2.6% to $1.40 billion for Fiscal 2025 compared to $1.36 billion for Fiscal 2024. The increase in net sales was primarily due to a total comparable sales increase of 6% driven by increased comparable e-commerce sales and increased same store sales, partially offset by a 5% decrease in the average number of Journeys stores for Fiscal 2025 due to 57 net store closures and a decrease in sales related to the 53-week calendar shift. We believe our Journeys consumer is more interested in a broader range of brands they are buying and more diversified in the styles they are wearing. We have injected the product assortment with more new relevant product offerings across several casual and athletic brands and increased investment in the Journeys brand to elevate the customer experience.

The store count for Journeys Group was 1,006 stores at the end of Fiscal 2025, including 211 Journeys Kidz stores, 35 Journeys stores in Canada and 30 Little Burgundy stores in Canada, compared to 1,063 stores at the end of Fiscal 2024, including 222 Journeys Kidz stores, 39 Journeys stores in Canada and 33 Little Burgundy stores in Canada.

The 110 basis point improvement in operating margin for Journeys Group in Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024 was primarily due to decreased selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales reflecting decreased occupancy, compensation and freight expenses, partially offset by increased performance-based compensation and marketing expenses. Gross margin decreased by 10 basis points as a percentage of net sales in Fiscal 2025, reflecting changes in product mix, partially offset by decreased markdowns.

Schuh Group

Net sales from the Schuh Group were flat at $479.9 million for Fiscal 2025 compared to $480.2 million for Fiscal 2024. Net sales in Fiscal 2025 included a total comparable sales decrease of 2% driven by decreased store sales, partially offset by increased e-commerce comparable sales, accelerating to over 40% of Schuh sales, and a favorable impact of $9.0 million in sales due to changes in foreign exchange rates. Schuh's sales decreased 2% on a local currency basis for Fiscal 2025. Schuh continues to contend with a challenging and highly promotional U.K. footwear market. The consumer continues to be selective with their discretionary purchases. In addition, Schuh Group sales in Fiscal 2025 compares against back-to-back years of record sales growth. Schuh Group operated 124 stores at the end of Fiscal 2025 compared to 122 stores at the end of Fiscal 2024.

The 240 basis point decrease in operating margin for Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024 reflects decreased gross margin as a percentage of net sales reflecting a more promotional environment at Schuh Group during Fiscal 2025, partially offset by decreased shipping and warehouse expenses. The increase in selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales also contributed to the decrease in operating margin reflecting increased selling salaries, marketing expense and depreciation expense, partially offset by decreased performance-based compensation expense and occupancy expense. In addition, operating income included a favorable impact of $0.2 million due to changes in foreign exchange rates compared to last year.

Johnston & Murphy Group

Johnston & Murphy Group net sales decreased 5.7% to $320.2 million for Fiscal 2025 from $339.4 million for Fiscal 2024 primarily due to decreased total comparable sales of 2% driven by decreased store and e-commerce comparable sales, a 3% decrease in the average number of Johnston & Murphy stores for Fiscal 2025 and decreased wholesale sales. The softening in men's non-athletic premium footwear market made for a difficult operating environment in Fiscal 2025. Johnston & Murphy continues to make inroads with more casual footwear and in apparel and accessories, such as outerwear and leather goods. Retail operations accounted for 78.3% of Johnston & Murphy Group's sales in both Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024. The store count for

Johnston & Murphy retail operations at the end of Fiscal 2025 was 148 Johnston & Murphy shops and factory stores, compared to 156 Johnston & Murphy shops and factory stores, including five stores in Canada, at the end of Fiscal 2024. Johnston & Murphy closed its five Canadian stores at the end of Fiscal 2025.

The 220 basis point decrease in operating margin for Johnston & Murphy Group for Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024 reflects increased selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales for Fiscal 2025, reflecting the deleverage of expenses, especially marketing expense, selling salaries and compensation expense in part as a result of decreased revenue in Fiscal 2025. Johnston & Murphy continues to make investments in marketing to enhance the brand as the men's non-athletic premium footwear market returns to a more normal operating environment. Gross margin as a percentage of net sales increased in Fiscal 2025, primarily reflecting improved initial margins and lower markdowns.

Genesco Brands Group

Net sales for Genesco Brands Group decreased 10.7% to $126.0 million for Fiscal 2025 from $141.2 million for Fiscal 2024, primarily due to the repositioning of the business to a more refined portfolio of licenses to emphasize key brands, partially offset by increased sales of Dockers footwear.

The 540 basis point improvement in operating margin for Genesco Brands Group in Fiscal 2025 was primarily due to decreased selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales reflecting decreased royalty, marketing and other expenses primarily as a result of an amendment to the Levi's license agreement, partially offset by increased performance-based compensation and freight expenses. Gross margin increased as a percentage of net sales which also contributed to the operating margin improvement, reflecting a favorable brand sales mix shift.

Corporate, Interest Expenses and Other Charges

Corporate and other expense for Fiscal 2025 decreased 39% to $37.8 million compared to $62.3 million for Fiscal 2024. Corporate and other expense in Fiscal 2025 included a $3.2 million charge in asset impairment and other charges which included $1.8 million for severance and $1.4 million for asset impairments. Corporate and other expense in Fiscal 2024 included non-cash impairment charges of $28.5 million related to goodwill and a $1.8 million charge in asset impairment and other charges which included $1.1 million in severance and $1.0 million for asset impairments, partially offset by a $0.3 million insurance gain. The corporate expense increase, excluding asset impairment and other charges in Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2024 and goodwill impairment in Fiscal 2024, primarily reflects an increase in performance-based compensation and compensation expenses in Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024.

Net interest expense decreased $3.5 million or 45.4% to $4.3 million in Fiscal 2025 from $7.8 million in Fiscal 2024 primarily reflecting decreased average borrowings in Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Working Capital

Our business is seasonal, with our investment in inventory and accounts receivable normally reaching peaks in the spring and fall of each year. Historically, cash flow from operations has been generated principally in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year.

Reasons for the major variances in cash provided by (used in) the table above are as follows:

Cash provided by operating activities was $6.9 million lower in Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024, reflecting primarily the following factors:

Cash used in investing activities was $18.9 million lower in Fiscal 2025 compared to Fiscal 2024 reflecting decreased capital expenditures primarily related to omni-channel capabilities and investments in retail stores.

Cash used in financing activities was $0.6 million lower in Fiscal 2025 as compared to Fiscal 2024 primarily reflecting decreased share repurchases, partially offset by decreased net borrowings this year compared to last year.

Sources of Liquidity and Future Capital Needs

We have three principal sources of liquidity: cash flow from operations, cash on hand and our credit facilities discussed in Item 8, Note 8, "Long-Term Debt", to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

On January 28, 2022, we entered into a Third Amendment (the "Third Amendment") to our Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of January 31, 2018 between us, certain of our subsidiaries, the lenders party thereto and Bank of America, N.A. as agent (as amended, the "Credit Facility" or the "Credit Agreement") to, among other things, extend the maturity date to January 28, 2027 and remove the $17.5 million first in-last out term loan. The Total Commitments (as defined in the Credit Agreement) for revolving loans is $332.5 million. As of February 1, 2025 we did not have any revolver borrowings outstanding.

We had outstanding letters of credit of $5.9 million under the Credit Facility at February 1, 2025. These letters of credit support lease and insurance indemnifications.

On November 2, 2022, Schuh entered into a facility agreement (the "Facility Agreement") with Lloyds Bank PLC (“Lloyds”) for a £19.0 million revolving credit facility. The Facility Agreement expires November 2, 2025, with options to request two one-year extensions to this termination date subject to lender approval, and bears interest at 2.35% over the Bank of England Base Rate. This Facility Agreement replaced Schuh's Facility Letter that would have expired in October 2023. The Facility Agreement includes certain financial covenants specific to Schuh. Following certain customary events of default outlined in the Facility Agreement, payment of outstanding amounts due may be accelerated or the commitments may be terminated. The Facility Agreement is secured by charges over all of the assets of Schuh, and Schuh's subsidiary, Schuh (ROI) Limited. Pursuant to a Guarantee in favor of Lloyds in its capacity as security trustee, Genesco Inc. has guaranteed the obligations of Schuh under the Facility Agreement and certain existing ancillary facilities on an unsecured basis. As of February 1, 2025, we did not have any borrowings under the Schuh Facility Agreement.

We were in compliance with all the relevant terms and conditions of the Credit Facility and Facility Agreement as of February 1, 2025.

We believe that cash on hand, cash provided by operations and borrowings under our amended Credit Facility and the Schuh Facility Agreement will be sufficient to support our liquidity needs in Fiscal 2026 and the foreseeable future.

In the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021, we implemented tax strategies allowed under the 5-year carryback provisions in the CARES Act which we believed would generate approximately $55 million of net tax refunds. We received approximately $26 million of such net tax refunds in Fiscal 2022 and anticipated receipt of the remaining outstanding net tax refund in Fiscal 2023. However, in the third quarter of Fiscal 2023, we were notified that the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") would conduct an audit of the periods related to the outstanding net tax refund. As a result, the timing of the net tax refund was extended due to the audit process. On January 17, 2025, we executed Form 870 with the IRS exam team and began the process of completing the separate Joint Committee on Taxation review of our claim. Form 870 is used upon completion of an IRS examination to indicate the taxpayer’s agreement with the revenue agent’s report of proposed adjustments and agreement to pay any deficiency. As a result, we now expect a refund of $59.3 million based on additional accrued interest and minor changes to the refund as agreed to on Form 870. Further, we now expect to complete the remaining requirements of the Joint Committee on Taxation governmental review process and collect the refund during Fiscal 2026. As such, we have moved the receivable from noncurrent prepaid income taxes to prepaids and other current assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of February 1, 2025.

Contractual Obligations

The following table sets forth aggregate contractual obligations as of February 1, 2025.