DSW / Designer Brands Credit Rating & NNN Cap Rate

Metric	Details
Entity / Legal Name	Designer Brands Inc. (DBI)
Brand Name	DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse
S&P / Moody’s Rating	no verified rating
Investment Grade Status	Not Yet Verified
Sector	Footwear & Accessories Retail
DSW Store Count	523 DSW stores, company total (August 1, 2026, Form 10-Q)
Median asking cap rate	Too few DSW listings with an asking cap rate to report a median
Typical Lease Term	Varies; confirm in the lease
Guarantee Type	Varies; confirm the tenant entity and any guarantee in the lease
Stock Ticker	DBI (NYSE)
Annual Revenue	$2.89B net sales (fiscal 2025, ended January 31, 2026, Form 10-K)
Typical Building Size	Varies; confirm in the lease

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.

No Verified Agency Rating: Designer Brands does not carry an agency rating we can confirm from a primary source, so leases are underwritten on the company’s financial statements rather than a published grade. DSW properties may suit yield-focused investors willing to conduct thorough tenant due diligence.

DSW Credit Rating Analysis

DSW: no confirmed agency rating. No rating for DSW has been verified against a primary source (an agency rating action or an issuer filing), so none is shown. If a rating is verified, it will appear here. Ratings checked October 8, 2026. See the investment grade credit tenant ratings table.

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: No agency rating has been verified against a primary source. Ratings 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:

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

Pros	Cons
Publicly traded parent that files audited financial statements with the SEC	No confirmed agency rating; net losses in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025
Mid-size retail boxes can suit a range of replacement tenants	Footwear retail faces competition from online retailers
Asking cap rates vary by property; compare with current listings	Retail comparable transactions fell about 8% on reduced traffic in fiscal 2025
	Expense structure varies: confirm it in the lease

Comparable NNN Tenants

Comparable Tenant	Rating
Ross Dress For Less	A-
Burlington	BB+
Michaels	B-

What is DSW’s credit rating?

DSW is operated by Designer Brands Inc. No rating for DSW has been verified against a primary source (an agency rating action or an issuer filing), so none is shown. If a rating is verified, it will appear here. Confirm in each lease whether Designer Brands Inc., the publicly traded parent, is the tenant or guarantor.

What asking cap rates do DSW NNN properties show?

Too few DSW listings with an asking cap rate are active to report a median; the live table on this page shows comparable tenants. Pricing for a specific property depends on the remaining lease term, rent level, location and lease guarantor, and asking cap rates are not closed-sale cap rates.

DSW Net Lease Property: Buying, Selling and Financing

Buying: We find on-market and off-market DSW properties, review the lease and the tenant’s credit, and compare pricing with current listings. On the majority of transactions, there is no separate fee to you as the buyer; the listing broker pays a cooperating commission.

Selling: We can prepare an opinion of value from current listings and recent sales and, when it fits your goals, run a confidential sale to private investors, family offices and institutional buyers. See our guide to off-market sales.

Financing: Investment Grade Capital, a service of Investment Grade LLC, matches buyers and owners with lenders for acquisitions and refinancing.

1031 exchanges: Tell us your identification and closing deadlines so we can plan the search around them.

Request an NNN investment consultation or email team@investmentgrade.com.

DSW Credit Rating & NNN Cap Rate