CAND Candies (MM)

Steven Madden, Ltd. Announces Amendment to Candie's License Agreement LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO), a leading designer, wholesaler and marketer of fashion footwear for women, men and children, today announced an amendment to its license agreement with Candie's, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAND). The original licensing agreement signed in May 2003 granted Steven Madden, Ltd. the exclusive right to design, manufacture, and distribute worldwide Candie's branded footwear for women and children. Steven Madden, Ltd. and Candie's have now mutually agreed to amend the license agreement to reflect Candie's recent decision to name Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS) the exclusive provider of a new line of Candie's apparel. The new apparel line as well as Candie's branded footwear will be introduced at all Kohl's stores and on Kohls.com beginning in the Fall of 2005. According to the amended agreement, Steven Madden, Ltd. will continue, through the end of 2006, to design, manufacture, and distribute Candie's footwear in a variety of specialty and department stores, including Kohl's. Beginning in 2007, Candie's footwear will be found exclusively in Kohl's locations. Joe Masella, will continue in his role as President of the Candie's division and will report directly to Richard Olicker, President of Steven Madden, Ltd. Jamieson A. Karson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are very excited to be a part of this opportunity for Candie's to extend its product offering and expand its market presence. Further, we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Kohl's, an ideal partner that offers us a strong distribution network which will be an effective vehicle for further market share gains." About Steven Madden, Ltd. 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/. The Company has several licenses for the Steve Madden and Stevies brands, including eyewear, hosiery, and belts, owns and operates one retail store under its Steven brand, and is the licensee for l.e.i Footwear, Candie's Footwear and UNIONBAY Men's Footwear. About Candie's, Inc. Candie's, Inc. is in the business of licensing the CANDIE'S, BONGO AND BADGLEY MISCHKA trademarks on a variety of young women's footwear, apparel and fashion products. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Brightstar Footwear, Inc., the Company also arranges for the manufacture of footwear products for mass market and discount retailers under the private label brand of the retailer. For investor information please visit the corporate web site at http://www.candiesinc.com/. 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. DATASOURCE: Steven Madden, Ltd. CONTACT: Richard Olicker, President, Chief Operating Officer of Steven Madden, Ltd., +1-718-446-1800, or Investor Relations: Cara O'Brien, Lila Sharifian, or Press: Melissa Merrill, all of Financial Dynamics, +1-212-850-5600 Web site: http://www.stevemadden.com/ http://www.candiesinc.com/

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