Steven Madden, Ltd. Plans New Retail Store Opening In Milwaukee, Wisconsin

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y./PRNewswire/ -- Steven Madden, Ltd. (Nasdaq: SHOO), a leading designer, wholesaler and marketer of fashion footwear for women, men, and children, today announced it plans to open a new retail store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The store will represent the first retail store in Wisconsin and the sixty-eighth store nationwide.

The Company's new 1,448 square foot retail location will carry the entire Steve Madden Womens shoe collection and certain accessories. The store will be located in the Mayfair Mall, which is considered one of the top shopping centers in Milwaukee. Milwaukee is one of the fastest growing markets with an affluent and upper middle class demographic.

The shopping center will house anchor department stores such as Marshall Fields and The Boston Store and will also feature a number of premium retailers, many of whom cater to the same target groups as Steven Madden, Ltd. The new store's design will incorporate the same signature style of the Company's other retail locations. The opening is scheduled for fall 2001 and standard promotional activities are planned.

Rhonda Brown, President of Steven Madden, Ltd., commented, "We are excited to be establishing a presence in Wisconsin by opening a store in the Mayfair Mall which, we believe, is the premier retail venue in the area. This is an excellent location within the expansion of the Mayfair Mall, which has proven to be a strong regional mall dominating the greater Milwaukee market. We are confident that this store will be a great addition to our expanding retail portfolio and we are especially pleased that it will be open in time for the important fall selling season."

Steven Madden, Ltd. designs and markets fashion-forward footwear for women, men and children. The shoes are sold through Steve Madden Retail Stores, Department Stores, Apparel and Footwear Specialty Stores, and on-line at http://www.stevemadden.com, http://www.stevies.com, and http://www.stevemaddenmens.com.

The Company has several licenses for the Steve Madden & Stevies brands -- including outerwear, leather sportswear, eyewear, hosiery, watches, handbags, and belts -- owns and operates two retail stores under its David Aaron brand, and is the licensee for l.e.i. Footwear.

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements which explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties readers are urged to consider statements labeled with the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE: Steven Madden, Ltd., 08/20/2001
CONTACT: Rhonda J. Brown, President, or Arvind Dharia, Chief Financial Officer both of Steven Madden, Ltd., +1-718-446-1800;
or Investor Relations - Shannon Froehlich or Cara O'Brien, or Jack Cohen, or Media - Stacy Roth all of Morgen-Walke Associates, +1-212-850-5600
Web site: http://www.stevemadden.com/
(SHOO)