Designer Brands Inc. (DBI)
Shoe stores with logistics centers, 85% U.S. Read October 19, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending January 31, 2026, filed March 30, 2026. Ranked 32 of the 161 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now.
Within reach now
24%
End of 2028
31%
Employees, annual report
13,000
Leading staffing pattern
Shoe Retailers
Share of the working time within reach, long-run pace, four times in five
- Now24%
- End of 202730%
- End of 202831%
- End of 203031%
What changes for its people by the end of 2028, by its industries' figures
- Stays with people 69%
- Becomes checking a model's work 17%
- Handed over with lighter checks 13%
The filing states 13,000 associates, 11,000 in the U.S., in footwear stores with a brand wholesale business and logistics centers, with no count by business, so the stores lead.
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 24% now, 30% at the end of 2027, 31% at the end of 2028, 31% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 31% desk work, 27% people work and 42% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 69% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 17% becomes checking a model's work and 13% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
13,000 employees as of January 31, 2026 (stated). Approximately 11,000 of 13,000 associates in the U.S. (85%), stated; Canada is 10% of revenue.
The filing: “As of January 31, 2026, we employed approximately 13,000 associates worldwide, approximately 11,000 of whom are employed in the U.S.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Shoe Retailers | 85% | The DSW and The Shoe Co. stores, whose store management and associates the filing's pay and incentive programs describe, sell footwear and accessories, read at shoe retailers by description (c) as the largest part since the filing counts no associates by business. |
| Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers | 10% | The brand portfolio business sells the company's owned footwear brands to other retailers, read at apparel and footwear wholesalers by description (c). |
| Warehousing and Storage | 5% | The filing names its logistics centers, whose pay it monitors against local practice, with no count, so warehousing takes a small share by description (c). |
What the filing says about the workforce: 11,000 in the U.S. and 2,000 abroad, mainly Canada; over 9,100 associates completed learning experiences in 2025; headcount down from 14,000; no hourly, part-time or union figure stated.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Shoe Retailers, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- NIKE, Inc. (NKE, 73,000 employees)20% now, 30% by 2028
- Genesco Inc. (GCO, 16,000 employees)24% now, 30% by 2028
- Crocs, Inc. (CROX, 8,010 employees)19% now, 24% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
11 sentences in the filing name AI. Eleven sentences, risk factors: the inability to respond to technological changes such as artificial intelligence in e-commerce, and cyber-attackers' use of AI to write malicious code and phishing.
- “Risk Factors , there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those discussed in forward-looking statements that include, but are not limited to, the following: uncertain general economic and financial conditions, including economic volatility and potential downturn or recession, supply chain disruptions, new or in...”
- “Our e-commerce operations are important to our business and are subject to various risks of operating online and mobile selling capabilities, such as the failure of our IT infrastructure, including any third-party hardware or software, resulting in downtime or other technical issues; inability to respond to technological changes, such as those related to artificial intelligence; credit card fra...”
- “Advances in computer capabilities, continually evolving and increasingly sophisticated tools and methods used by hackers and cyber terrorists, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, the use of artificial intelligence by cyber-attackers to develop malicious code and launch sophisticated phishing or other social engineering attempts, or other developments may result in our or our vendors'...”
- “In addition, vulnerabilities may be introduced from the use of artificial intelligence by us and our vendors.”
- “We are exposed to risks related to the use of artificial intelligence tools or other new technologies by us and others.”
Its annual reports, year by year
Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector
- Fiscal 20210median 0
- Fiscal 20220median 0
- Fiscal 20233median 1
- Fiscal 20244median 4
- Fiscal 202511median 10
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | 13,000 | 2026-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2025-02-01 | 14,000 | 2025-03-24 | 10-K |
| 2024-02-03 | 14,000 | 2024-03-25 | 10-K |
| 2023-01-28 | 14,000 | 2023-03-16 | 10-K |
| 2022-01-29 | 13,500 | 2022-03-21 | 10-K |
| 2021-01-30 | 11,400 | 2021-03-22 | 10-K |
| 2020-02-01 | 15,800 | 2020-05-01 | 10-K |
| 2019-02-02 | 16,100 | 2019-03-26 | 10-K |
| 2018-02-03 | 12,000 | 2018-03-23 | 10-K |
| 2017-01-28 | 12,600 | 2017-03-23 | 10-K |
| 2016-01-30 | 11,900 | 2016-03-24 | 10-K |
| 2015-01-31 | 11,800 | 2015-03-26 | 10-K |
| 2014-02-01 | 11,000 | 2014-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2013-02-02 | 11,000 | 2013-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2012-01-28 | 10,800 | 2012-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2011-01-29 | 10,500 | 2011-03-22 | 10-K |
| 2010-01-30 | 10,000 | 2010-03-24 | 10-K |
| 2009-01-31 | 10,000 | 2009-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2008-02-02 | 8,500 | 2008-04-17 | 10-K |
| 2007-02-03 | 5,800 | 2007-04-05 | 10-K |
| 2006-01-28 | 4,950 | 2006-04-13 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- No count by business: the split between stores, wholesale and logistics is by description (c).
- The data service's segment table (operating segments 100%) is not usable.
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001319947-26-000022, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
The report on Designer Brands Inc., $29
This page as a document to keep, with what it does not show: the share within reach at every date on three paces and two reliabilities, a typical workforce of this shape at the stated headcount role by role and task by task (the industries' staffing, never the company's roster), where to start, what changes for the people and what they would learn, every sentence in the filing that names AI, the headcount by year, the companies read with the same leading pattern, the method and a citation line. To print or save as a PDF, open again in your browser for a year.
See the report, $29See the sample first: Walmart's report is free
Questions about this company
- How much of Designer Brands Inc.'s working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 24% now and 31% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Designer Brands Inc.'s own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Designer Brands Inc. employ?
- 13,000 as of January 31, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending January 31, 2026 states. About 85% in the U.S.
- What kinds of work make up Designer Brands Inc.'s workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 3 industry staffing patterns, the largest Shoe Retailers; by those patterns the work is about 31% desk work, 27% people work and 42% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Designer Brands Inc.'s annual report say about AI?
- 11 sentences in the filing name AI. Its annual reports for fiscal 2021 to 2025 name it in 0, 0, 3, 4 and 11 sentences, year by year. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 19, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.