"Our third quarter operating results were below our expectations due to slower sales of seasonal merchandise in the second half of the quarter," said Cliff Sifford, Shoe Carnival's President and CEO.  "We generated a comparable store sales increase in athletic merchandise in each month of the quarter, although this was offset by a high-single digit comparable store sales decline in our boot categories."

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Puerto Rico on sales at, and cash flows of, our stores located in Puerto Rico; the effects and duration of economic downturns and unemployment rates; changes in the overall retail environment and more specifically in the apparel and footwear retail sectors; our ability to generate increased sales at our stores; the potential impact of national and international security concerns on the retail environment; changes in our relationships with key suppliers; the impact of competition and pricing; our ability to successfully manage and execute our marketing initiatives and maintain positive brand perception and recognition; changes in weather patterns, consumer buying trends and our ability to identify and respond to emerging fashion trends; the impact of disruptions in our distribution or information technology operations; the effectiveness of our inventory management; the impact of hurricanes or other natural disasters on our stores, as well as on consumer confidence and purchasing in general; risks associated with the seasonality of the retail industry; the impact of unauthorized disclosure or misuse of personal and confidential information about our customers, vendors and employees; our ability to manage our third-party vendor relationships; our ability to successfully execute our growth strategy, including the availability of desirable store locations at acceptable lease terms, our ability to open new stores in a timely and profitable manner, including our entry into major new markets, and the availability of sufficient funds to implement our growth plans; higher than anticipated costs or impairment charges associated with the closing of underperforming stores; our ability to successfully grow our e-commerce sales; the inability of manufacturers to deliver products in a timely manner; changes in the political and economic environments in China, Brazil, Europe and East Asia, where the primary manufacturers of footwear are located; the impact of regulatory changes in the United States and the countries where our manufacturers are located; the continued favorable trade relations between the United States and China and the other countries which are the major manufacturers of footwear; the resolution of litigation or regulatory proceedings in which we are or may become involved; our ability to meet our labor needs while controlling costs; and future stock repurchases under our stock repurchase program and future dividend payments, and other factors described in the Company's SEC filings, including the Company's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In addition, these forward-looking statements necessarily depend upon assumptions, estimates and dates that may be incorrect or imprecise and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors.  Accordingly, any forward-looking statements included in this press release do not purport to be predictions of future events or circumstances and may not be realized.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking terms such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "pro forma," "anticipates," "intends" or the negative of any of these terms, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy or intentions.  Given these uncertainties, we caution investors not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.  We disclaim any obligation to update any of these factors or to publicly announce any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect future events or developments.

Financial Tables Follow

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