Caleres promoted Brian Costello to division president of Famous Footwear, effective immediately. Costello joined the company in February 2025 as chief merchandising officer. He will continue to report to Jay Schmidt, president and CEO of Caleres.
Costello succeeds Michael Edwards, who stepped down as division president of Famous Footwear, effective May 2, 2025.
As chief merchandising officer, Costello’s responsibilities included all buying and merchandising for women’s, men’s, and kids’ athletic and fashion footwear and accessories, as well as for the brand’s U.S. and Canadian stores and e-commerce sites.
“Brian has already made a meaningful impact at Famous Footwear,” said Schmidt. “His merchandising and planning expertise, strong market relationships and leadership have been invaluable as we continue to position Famous Footwear for growth as the leader in family footwear.”
Costello has garnered nearly 30 years of experience in fashion retail leadership, having worked for Nordstrom and Macy’s, including leadership roles in the women’s shoe business at Nordstrom and overseeing all footwear and women’s accessories at Nordstrom Rack. He also oversaw planning and site merchandising for the launch of nordstromrack.com.
Costello spent nearly 15 years in the Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack businesses, as well as 13 years with Macy’s Northwest and Bon Marche.
“It is incredible how quickly I felt at home with the Famous team and Caleres, and I’m honored to lead this significant part of the Caleres portfolio,” said Costello. “I’m confident that Famous Footwear is well-positioned for the future, supported by our existing national brand partners, new brand partners we are adding and the power of our engaged teams – from the Associates who welcome you in the doors of our stores to our corporate team supporting them.”
Images courtesy Famous Footwear, Caleres
