DSW Credit Rating & NNN Cap Rate

DSW / Designer Brands Business Overview & NNN Investment Profile

DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse is the flagship brand of Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI), a Columbus, Ohio-based footwear and accessories specialty retailer that operated 523 DSW stores as of August 1, 2026 (Form 10-Q). Designer Brands also operates The Shoe Co. and Rubino stores, owns the Keds brand and a majority interest in Topo Athletic, holds an exclusive license to sell footwear and handbags under Vince Camuto and other brands owned by ABG-Camuto, a joint venture in which it has a 40% interest, and owns the licensing rights for Lucky Brand footwear and handbags and Jessica Simpson footwear (Form 10-K for fiscal 2025). Store size and shopping center setting vary by location, so confirm the building size and co-tenancy for a specific property.

DSW Credit Rating Analysis

Designer Brands reported a net loss attributable to the company of $8.4 million for fiscal 2025 (ended January 31, 2026), compared with a net loss of $10.5 million for fiscal 2024, while net sales fell 3.9% to $2.9 billion. Comparable transactions in its Retail segment fell about 8% on reduced traffic, and the company cites competition from online retailers, single-brand specialty retailers and other footwear sellers (Form 10-K for fiscal 2025).

Source: Our ratings database, checked October 8, 2026.

Confirm in each lease whether Designer Brands Inc., the publicly traded parent, or a subsidiary is the tenant and whether the parent guarantees the lease; lease credit then depends on that entity’s financial strength as well as store-level performance.

DSW NNN Lease Structure

DSW lease structure, term and expense responsibilities vary by property, so confirm them in the lease; Designer Brands reports that the majority of its real estate leases provide for renewal options (Form 10-K for fiscal 2025). Building size also varies, so confirm it for the specific property. Depending on size and layout, a vacated DSW box may suit a range of replacement tenants, including fitness concepts, beauty retailers, home goods discounters, and healthcare walk-in clinics.

DSW NNN Cap Rate & Pricing Trends

Live asking cap rates for DSW and comparable tenants:

Active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks with an asking cap rate (stated in the listing, or computed from its stated income and price when no rate is stated), listings last observed October 26, 2026. Asking cap rates are not closed-sale cap rates. The middle half is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile of listings. The 10-year Treasury yield is 5.24% as of October 1, 2026 (FRED series DGS10). Ratings are the agency ratings in our ratings database for the entity shown, which may be a parent company; the rating type (for example issuer, senior unsecured debt, long-term debt or revenue bond ratings) varies by company and is shown on each tenant page. A rating applies to a lease only if the rated entity signs or guarantees it, so confirm the tenant and any guarantor in the lease. n/a means no verified rating is on file. Not shown because fewer than 3 active listings with a published cap rate were observed: DSW, Burlington.

Properties with shorter remaining terms or weaker trade areas can price at higher cap rates to compensate investors for the added rollover risk.

DSW NNN Investment: Pros & Cons

Comparable NNN Tenants