Our strategy for the continued growth of our business includes expanding our presence beyond footwear, accessories, and apparel through the selective licensing of our brands. We consider our Company-ownedcompany-owned trademarks to be among our most valuable assets, and have registered many of our markstrademarks in the United States and 151149 other countries and in numerous International Classes. From time to time, we adopt new trademarks and new logos and/or stylized versions of our trademarks in connection with the marketing of new product lines. We believe that these trademarks have significant value and are important for purposes of identifying our Company, the marketing of our products and the products of our licensees, and distinguishing them from the products of others. What follows is a list of the trademarks

Steve Madden is for the bold, expressive, and ambitious. Our core values – authenticity, initiative, tenacity, humility and trustguiding principles are key to our competitive edge and are embedded throughout all levels of our Company. They motivate our growth, inspire our innovation, define our culture, and set the standard for all of our actions.

We believe that finding,recruiting, employing, and retaining people from all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, lifestyles, and belief systems have been the cornerstones of meeting the needs of our diverse consumer base and building a global business. By

In December 2021, the Company formed The Steve Madden Corporate Foundation, a donor-advised fund established under Fidelity Charitable and managed by Rockefeller Capital Management. As part of the Company's charitable giving strategy, we offermade a paid membershipone million dollar contribution for each of 2023 and 2022, and we have since launched multiple shop-to-give campaigns across our various company-operated e-commerce websites.

Our business is subject to Care.com so employees can find childcare, senior care, special needs carevarious United States federal, state, local, and other related services.

Our operating results are subject to some variability due to seasonality and other factors. For example, the highest percentage of our boot sales occur in the fall and winter months (our third and fourth fiscal quarters) and the highest percentage of our sandal sales occur in the spring and summer months (our first and second fiscal quarters). Historically, some of our businesses, including our RetailDirect-to-Consumer segment, have experienced holiday retail seasonality. Our diverse range of product offerings, however, provides some mitigation to the impact of seasonal changes in demand for certain items. In addition to seasonal fluctuations, our operating results fluctuate from quarter to quarter as a result of the weather, the timing of holidays and larger shipments of footwear, market acceptance of our products, pricing and presentation of the products offered and sold, the hiring and training of additional personnel, inventory write downswrite-downs for obsolescence, the cost of materials, the product mix among our wholesale, retaildirect-to-consumer and licensing businesses, the incurrence of other operating costs, and factors beyond our control, such as general economic conditions and actions of competitors. Revenue levels in any period are also impacted by customer decisions to increase or decrease their inventory levels in response to anticipated consumer demand. Our customers may cancel orders, change delivery schedulesdates, or change the mix of products ordered with minimal notice to us.

You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties we describe below and the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K before deciding to invest in, sell, or retain shares of our common stock. These are not the only risks and uncertainties that we face. Other sections of this report may discuss factors that could adversely affect our business. Our industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid change. There may be additional risks and uncertainties that we do not currently know about, that we currently believe are immaterial, or that we have not predicted, which may also harm our business, or adversely affect us. If any of these risks or uncertainties actually occurs,occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity could be materially harmed.

The strength of our brands and our success depends in significant part upon our ability to anticipate and promptly respond to product and fashion trends as well as to anticipate, gauge, and react to changing consumer demands in a timely manner. There can be no assurance that our products will correspond to the changes in taste and demand or that we will be able to successfully advertise and market products that respond to trends and customer preferences. If we misjudge the market for our products, we may be faced with significant excess inventories for some products and missed opportunities as to others. In addition, misjudgments in merchandise selection could adversely affect our image with our customers resulting in lower sales and increased markdown allowances for customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity.

The fashion footwear, accessories, and apparel industry is highly competitive and barriers to entry are low. Our competitors include specialty companies as well as companies with diversified product lines. Market growth in the sales of fashion footwear, accessories, and apparel has encouraged the entry of many new competitors and increased competition from established companies. Many of these competitors, including Aldo, Sam Edelman, Jessica Simpson, Lucky Brand, and Vince Camuto, may have significantly greater financial and other resources than we do, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully with these and other fashion footwear, accessories, and apparel companies. Increased competition could result in pricing pressures, increased marketing expenditures, and loss of market share and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity.

In recent years, the retail industry has experienced consolidation and other ownership changes. In the future, retailers in the United States 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 or our licensees’ products, or increase the ownership concentration within the retail industry. Changing shopping patterns, including the rapid expansion of online retail shopping and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, have adversely affected customer traffic in mall and outlet centers, particularly in North America. We expect competition in the e-commerce market will intensify. As a greater portion of consumer expenditures with retailers occurs online and through mobile commerce applications, our brick-and-mortar retail customers who fail to successfully integrate their physical retail stores, and digital retail may experience financial difficulties, including store closures, bankruptcies, or liquidations. A continuation or worsening of these trends could cause financial difficulties for one or more of our major customers, 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. We have little or no control over how our customers will respond to the challenges posed by these changes in the retail industry. 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. If we and our customers fail to compete successfully, our businesses, market share, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. While such changes in the retail industry themselves to date have not had a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition, results of operations and liquidity, there can be no assurance as to the future effect of any such changes.

Our business has grown organically and as a result of business acquisitions. In order to gain from our acquisitions, we must be effective in integrating the businesses acquired into our overall operations. Further, the expansion of our operations has increased and will continue to increase the demand on our managerial, operational, and administrative resources. In recent years, we have invested significant resources in, among other things, our management information systems and hiring and training of new personnel. However, in order to manage currently anticipated levels of future demand, we may be required to, among other things, expand our distribution facilities, establish relationships with new manufacturers to produce our products and continue to expand and improve our financial, management, and operating systems. We may experience difficulty integrating acquired businesses into our operations and may not achieve anticipated synergies from such integration. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage future growth effectively and a failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity.

In addition, outside securities analysts may follow our financial results and issue reports that discuss our historical financial results and their predictions of our future performance. These analysts' predictions are based upon their own opinions and are oftencould be different from our own forecasts. Our stock price could decline if our results are below the estimates or expectations of these outside analysts.

Any severe and prolonged disruption to ocean freight transportation could force us to userely on alternate and more expensive transportation systems.methods. Efficient and timely inventory deliveries and proper inventory management are important factors in our operations. Inventory shortages can adversely affect the timing of shipments to customers and diminish sales and brand loyalty. Conversely, excess inventories can result in lower gross marginsprofit due to the excessiveincreased discounts and markdowns that may be necessary to reduce high inventory levels. Severe and extended delays in the delivery of our inventory or our inability to effectively manage our inventory could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity.

We have experienced, and may in the future experience, a significant disruption in the supply of raw materials and products and may be unable to locate alternative suppliers of comparable quality at an acceptable price, or at all. In addition, if we experience significant increased demand, or if we need to replace an existing supplier or manufacturer, we may be unable to locate additional supplies of raw materials or additional manufacturing capacity on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, or we may be unable to locate any supplier or manufacturer with sufficient capacity to meet our total purchases were from China. In the first quarter of 2020, China experiencedrequirements or fill our orders in a public health emergency duetimely manner. Identifying a suitable supplier is an involved process that requires us to the spread of COVID-19,become satisfied with its quality control, responsiveness, and service, financial stability, and labor, and other ethical practices. Even if we are able to expand existing or find new manufacturing facilities that produce our products were initially shut downsources, we may encounter delays in production, and then resumed at limited capacity. Subsequently, COVID-19 becameadded costs as a world-wide pandemic, affecting all of our foreign manufacturing facilities. Due to a resurgenceresult of the COVID-19 virus, some of those facilities have shut down entirelytime it takes to train our suppliers and others are operating at limited capacity. We cannot accurately predict when and whether those manufacturers will return to full capacity or the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will have short- or long-term adverse effects on the ability of manufacturers in Chinaour methods, products, and other countries to produce our products. The inabilityquality control standards.

Our supply of Chineseraw materials or other manufacturers to ship ordersmanufacture of our products could be disrupted or delayed by the impact of health pandemics, and the related government and private sector responsive actions such as border closures, restrictions on product shipments, and travel restrictions. Delays related to supplier changes could also arise due to an increase in a timely mannershipping times if new suppliers are located farther away from our markets or from other participants in our supply chain. For example, the receipt of inventory sourced from areas impacted by COVID-19 was, in some cases, slowed or disrupted and our manufacturers faced similar challenges in receiving raw materials and fulfilling our orders. In addition, ocean freight was disrupted worldwide due to COVID-19 as there was much greater demand for shipping and reduced capacity and equipment in the post-pandemic recovery period. Any delays, interruption, or increased costs in the supply of raw materials, or manufacture of our products could have an adverse effect on our ability to meet customer demand for our quality standards could cause us to miss the delivery date requirements of our customers for those items. Such failures could result in the cancellation of orders, customers’ refusal to accept deliveries,

Our operations are dependent upon products purchased, manufactured, and sold internationally. Our sources of supply are subject to the usual risks of doing business abroad, such as the implementation of, or potential changes in, foreign and

Changes in traderegulatory, geopolitical, social, economic, or monetary policies including tariffs and government regulations affecting trade between the United States and countries where we purchase, manufacture and sell our products. These trends are affecting many global manufacturing and service sectors, including the footwear, accessories and apparel industries, and may cause us to face trade protectionism in many different regions of the world. These protectionist measures could result in increases in the cost of our products and adversely affect our sales and profitability.

On December 31, 2020, the Generalized System of Preferences ("GSP") expired. GSP is a trade program that provides nonreciprocal, duty-free treatment for certain U.S. imports (including handbags) from qualifying developing countries including Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Pakistan, among others. We currently manufacture handbags in GSP countries, primarily Cambodia. The additional tariff to be paid on such products ranges from 3.3%approximately 6% to 17.6%20%. GSP has historically been renewed, despite lapsing several times, and upon renewal has been retroactive in nature. There is a current debate in Congress as to whether reauthorize the program “as is” or revise GSP eligibility criteria to include environmental and labor conditions. If GSP is not renewed and our efforts to mitigate the impact of this additional tariff are not successful, the imposition of tariffs on handbags that we manufacture in relatedimpacted countries could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our products are manufactured by numerous independent manufacturers outside of the United States. We also have license agreements that permit our licensees to manufacture or contract to manufacture products using our trademarks. We impose, and require our licensees to impose, on these manufacturers environmental, health and safety standards for the benefit of their labor force. In addition, we require these manufacturers to comply with applicable standards for product safety. However, we do not control our independent manufacturers, or licensing partners, or their labor, product safety, and other business practices. From time to time, our independent manufacturers may not comply with such standards or applicable local law or our licensees may not require their manufacturers to comply with such standards or applicable local law. The violation of such standards and laws by one of our independent manufacturers or by one of our licensing partners, or the divergence of a manufacturer's or a licensing partner's labor practices from those generally accepted as ethical in the United States, could harm our reputation, result in a product recall or require us to curtail our relationship with and locate a replacement for such

We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits the payment of bribes to foreign officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business. We are also subject to anti-corruption laws of the foreign countries in which we operate. Although we have implemented policies and procedures that are designed to promote compliance with such laws, our employees, contractors, and agents may take actions that violate our policies and procedures. Any such violation could result in sanctions or other penalties against us and have an adverse effect on our business, reputation, and operating results.

We make most of our purchases in U.S. dollars. However, we source substantially all of our products overseas, and as such, the cost of these products may be affected by changes in the value of the relevant currencies against the U.S. dollar. Changes in currency exchange rates may also affect the relative prices at which we and our foreign competitors sell products in the same market. We use forward foreign exchange contracts to hedge material exposure to adverse changes in foreign exchange rates. However, no hedging strategy can completely insulate us from foreign exchange risk. We are also exposed to gains and losses resulting from the effect that fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates have on the reported results in our financial statements due to the translation of the operating results and financial position of our foreign subsidiaries. There can be no assurance that foreign currency fluctuations will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity.

We are heavily dependent upon our information technology systems to record and process transactions and manage and operate all aspects of our business. We also have e-commerce websites for direct retail sales.

Given the nature of our business and the significant number of transactions in which we engage annually, it is essential that we maintain constant operation of our information technology systems and websites and that they operate effectively. We depend on our in-house information technology, employees and third parties, including “cloud” service providers, to maintain and periodically update and upgrade our systems and websites to support the growth of our business. We also maintain an off-site server data facilityfacilities that recordsrecord and processesprocess information regarding our vendors and customers and their transactions with us.

In addition to our own confidential and proprietary business information, a routine part of our business includes the gathering, processing, and retention of sensitive and confidential information pertaining to our customers, employees, and others. We, our business partners, or our service providers may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent the rapidly evolving and complex cyber-attacks being unleashed by increasingly sophisticated hackers and data thieves. As a result, our facilities and information technology systems, as well as those of our business partners and third-party service providers, may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks and breaches, acts of vandalism, ransomware, software viruses and other similar types of malicious activities. Any actual or threatened cyber-attack may cause us to incur unanticipated costs, including costs related to the hiring of additional computer experts, business interruption, engaging third-party cyber security consultants, and upgrading our information security technologies. As a result of recent security breaches at a number of prominent companies, the media and public scrutiny of information security and privacy has become more intense and the regulatory environment has become more uncertain. Any compromise or breach of our information technology systems or those of our business partners or service providers that results in the misappropriation, loss, or other unauthorized disclosure of a customer’s or other person’s private, confidential, or proprietary information could result in:

Our opportunities for long-term growth and profitability are accompanied by significant challenges and risks, particularly in the near term. Specifically, our business is dependent on consumer demand for our products and the purchase of our products by consumers is largely discretionary. Consumer confidence and discretionary spending could be adversely affected in response to financial market volatility, negative financial news, increases in inflation, and interest rates, conditions in the real estate and mortgage markets, declines in income or asset values, changes to fuel and other energy costs, labor and healthcare costs, food costs, and other economic factors. A downturn in economic conditions leading to a reduction in consumer confidence and discretionary spending could have a negative effect on our sales and results of operations during the year ending December 31, 20212024 and thereafter.

We are subject to income taxation in various jurisdictions in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Tax laws and regulations, or their interpretation and application, in any jurisdiction are subject to significant changes. Legislation or other changes in the tax laws of the jurisdictions where we do business could increase our tax liability and adversely affect our after-tax profitability. Adjustments to the incremental provisional tax expense may be made in future periods as actual amounts may differ due to, among other factors, a change in interpretation of the U.S. tax code, and related tax accounting guidance,

Other jurisdictions are contemplating changes or have unpredictable enforcement activity. Increases in applicable tax rates, implementation of new taxes, changes in applicable tax laws and interpretations of these tax laws and actions by tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate could reduce our after-tax income and have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to include in our annual reports on Form 10-K an assessment by management of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management and our independent registered public accounting firm to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Our compliance with Section 404 may require us to incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. Our failure to maintain effective internal controls could result in a determination by our auditors that a material weakness or significant deficiency exists in our internal controls. Such a determination could result in a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements and could require

We lease space for our headquarters, our retail stores, showrooms, warehouses, storage, and office facilities in various locations in the United States, as well as overseas. We ownAll of our locations are leased, with an exception of one improved real property parcel in Long Island City, New York.York, which we own. We believe that our existing facilities are in good operating condition and are adequate for our present level of operations. The following table sets forth information with respect to our key properties:

In the ordinary course of business, we have various pending cases involving contractual disputes, employee-related matters, distribution matters, product liability claims, trademarkintellectual property infringement, and other matters. In the opinion of management, after consulting with legal counsel, the liabilities, if any, resulting from these legal proceedings should not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity.

Not applicable.

The following graph compares the yearly percentage change in the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock during the period beginning on December 31, 2015,2018, and ending on December 31, 2020,2023, with the cumulative total return on the Russell 2000 Index and a peer group index. In 2016, we decided to remove the S&P 500 Footwear Index and replace it with aAs of December 31, 2023, our peer group index consisted of companies we believe are engaged in similar businesses, because we believe the composition of the new peer group is more representative of our current business. The peer group index consists of sixseven companies: Caleres, Inc., Crocs, Inc., Deckers Outdoor Corporation, Genesco Inc., Skechers U.S.A., Inc., Designer Brands Inc., and Wolverine World Wide, Inc.

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Steven Madden, Ltd. and its subsidiaries design, source, market and sellmarket fashion-forward branded and private label footwear, for women, menaccessories, and children. In addition, we design, source, market and sell branded fashion handbags, apparel and accessories, as well as private label fashion handbags and accessories.apparel. We market and selldistribute our products in the wholesale channel through better department stores, major department stores, mid-tier department stores, specialty stores, luxurymass merchants, off-price retailers, value pricedshoe chains, online retailers, national chains, mass merchants,specialty retailers, independent stores, and online retailers,clubs throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and certainEurope, and other European nations. In addition, our products are marketedinternational markets through our retail stores and our e-commerce websites within the United States, Canada and Mexico, our joint ventures in Europe,Israel, South Africa, Israel,China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and China, and underthe Middle East along with special distribution arrangements in certain European countries, the Middle East,North Africa, South and Central America, OceaniaAustralia, and various countries in Asia. In addition, our products are distributed through our direct-to-consumer channel within the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe, and our joint ventures in Israel, South Africa, China, Taiwan, and the Middle East.

Our product lines include a broad range of contemporary styles designed to establish or capitalize on market trends, complemented by core product offerings. We have established a reputation for design creativity and our ability to offer quality, trend-right products in popular styles at accessible price points, delivered in an efficient manner and time frame.

AOur Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15$0.21 per share on our outstanding shares of common stock which was paid on March 27, 2020. At the end of March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as a precautionary measure our Board of Directors temporarily suspended the payments of dividends.24, 2023, June 23, 2023, September 25, 2023, and December 29, 2023. The aggregate cash dividends paid for the twelve months ended December 31, 20202023 was $12,459.

On February 24, 2021,27, 2024, our Board of Directors approved the reinstatement of a quarterly cash dividend. The quarterly dividend of $0.15$0.21 per share is payable on March 26, 202122, 2024 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 16, 2021.8, 2024.

Total revenue for 20202023 decreased by 32.8%6.6% to $1,201,814$1,981,582 from $1,787,157$2,122,009 in 2019, with decreases in all segments as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our inventory turnover (calculated on a trailing four quarter average) for the years ended December 31, 20202023 and 20192022 was 7.15.6 times and 8.14.9 times, respectively. Our total companyCompany accounts receivable average collection days were 7371 days in 20202023 compared to 7072 days in 2019.2022. As of December 31, 2020,2023, we had $287,166$219,813 in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, no debt, and total stockholders’ equity of $790,369.$848,032. Working capital increaseddecreased to $462,325$477,208 as of December 31, 2020,2023, compared to $437,608$522,649 on December 31, 2019. The increase in working capital was primarily due to actions taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.2022.