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CALERES * 5 * NEWS RELEASE Caleres Reports First Quarter 2021 Results 5/28/2021 ● ● ● ● Exceeded first quarter 2019 earnings levels Drove sequential sales and operating earnings improvement Famous Footwear achieved first quarter record sales and operating earnings Paid down an additional $ 50 million of debt during the first quarter ST . LOUIS -- ( BUSINESS WIRE ) -- Caleres ( NYSE : CAL ) ( caleres.com ) , a diverse portfolio of consumer - centric footwear brands , today reported financial results for the first quarter ended May 1 , 2021. Caleres continued its strong recovery in the quarter just ended - recording sequential top - line and earnings growth , stronger gross margins and an improved working capital and expense position . For the fourth straight period , the company put its free cash flow to work strengthening its balance sheet and reducing further its overall indebtedness , paying down an additional $ 50 million during the quarter . In total , the company has reduced its total debt levels by approximately $ 240 million since March of 2020 . " Caleres had a strong start to the year , maintaining its solid upward momentum in the first quarter of 2021 , driven in large part by an outstanding performance in our Famous Footwear business , where we achieved record quarterly earnings and delivered record first quarter sales levels , " said Diane Sullivan , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer . " Notably , Famous Footwear's quarterly sales increased 13 percent over the first quarter of 2019 , benefitting from strong demand for the category , increased consumer confidence and improving in - store traffic trends . Famous continues to leverage its enhanced omni - channel capabilities and capitalize on its direct - to - consumer model , as evidenced by a 13.2 percent increase in new rewards members - compared to the first quarter 2019 - and still - strong ecommerce sales levels . " " We remain positive about our outlook and expect continued strength at Famous Footwear to be combined with an improving performance in our Brand Portfolio as we progress through the year , " said Sullivan . We are particularly enthusiastic about the recent strong performances from our Vionic , Sam Edelman , Blowfish Malibu and Ryka 1