Steven Madden Ltd. still has private label challenges.

“We [are] still looking at a pretty steep decline in ’26 and really targeting ’27 for a recovery there,” chairman and CEO Edward Rosenfeld told investors at the company first quarter earnings conference call Wednesday.

The private label issues aren’t new. Rosenfeld said in February during the firm’s fourth quarter conference call that the business, which is primarily conducted in the mass and value channels, has been negatively impacted by tariffs in distribution channels where price sensitivity is highest and where there no brand leverage for pricing actions. On Wednesday’s call, the CEO said private label conversations are ongoing and productive, but noted that the “tariff picture remains uncertain.…