Steven Madden, Ltd. (SHOO)

Footwear brand with stores and wholesale, 33% U.S. Read October 19, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending December 31, 2025, filed March 2, 2026. Ranked 15 of the 184 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now.

Steve Madden’s approximately 6,300 employees, a third part-time and a third in the United States, staff its stores and concessions and run its wholesale footwear and accessories businesses, split by description.

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: 26% now, 34% at the end of 2027, 36% at the end of 2028, 37% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 37% desk work, 26% people work and 37% 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 63% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 22% 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

6,300 employees as of February 1, 2026 (stated). Approximately 2,100 of 6,300 employees are in the United States and 4,200 international, by the filing.

The filing: “As of February 1, 2026, we employed approximately 6,300 employees globally, with approximately 2,100 of these employees located in the United States and approximately 4,200 located internationally.”

The workforce as industry patterns

What the filing says about the workforce: Approximately 6,300 employees, 2,100 in the United States; about 4,200 full-time and 2,100 part-time, most part-time in the Direct-to-Consumer segment; no union representation; Kurt Geiger acquired in May 2025.

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
• Designer Brands Inc. (DBI, 13,000 employees)24% now, 31% by 2028
• Crocs, Inc. (CROX, 8,010 employees)19% now, 24% by 2028

What the filing says about AI

9 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI nine times: digital tools and AI in marketing and e-commerce, and AI among the retail trends it must manage.

• “Important risk factors include: our ability to accurately anticipate fashion trends and promptly respond to consumer demand; our ability to compete effectively in a highly competitive market; our ability to adapt to our business model to rapid changes in the retail industry; our dependence on the hiring and retention of key personnel; our ability to successfully implement growth strategies and...”
• “We also utilize digital tools, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies in certain aspects of our marketing and e-commerce operations to enhance customer experience.”
• “Our success will be determined, in part, on our and our customers' ability to manage the impact of the rapidly changing retail environment and identify and capitalize on retail trends, including technology, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and other process efficiencies, or advanced technologies that will better service our customers.”
• “Risks related to the deployment of artificial intelligence and machine learning could adversely impact our operations and financial condition.”
• “We are increasingly integrating artificial intelligence ("AI") and machine learning across our enterprise, including for inventory forecasting, digital marketing, and pricing optimization.”

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 20231median 1
• Fiscal 20241median 4
• Fiscal 20259median 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.

Limits of this reading

• The headcount series rises from 4,800 to 6,300 with the Kurt Geiger acquisition in May 2025; the years are not like for like.
• No count by segment; the split between stores and wholesale is by description, the part-time count guiding it.
• The segment table is fiscal 2024 and predates the acquisition.

Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001628280-26-012995, 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.