Privacy Policy

DESIGNER BRANDS INC. PRIVACY POLICY 

 

Designer Brands Inc. (“DBI”) collects personal information to facilitate and enhance your site experience and for other purposes. This privacy policy (“Policy”) describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard personal information and how to exercise any privacy rights you may have with respect to your information when you visit DesignerBrands.com (“Website"). This Policy applies to the personal information we collect on the phone, through our websites that link to this Policy, and through other means. This Policy only applies to information we collect online via the Website and does not apply to information collected, if any, in other sections of this Website (e.g., links specified as Vendors and Real Estate). References to designerbrands.com or “Sites” refer generally to all of DBI’s online services. In this Policy, “we” and “our” mean DBI. 

 

INFORMATION WE COLLECT 

 

Personal Information 

 

“Personal information” means information that identifies, relates to, or describes, directly or indirectly, a particular individual. We may collect the following categories of personal information: 

 

Applicants to Employment Opportunities

 

  • Personal identifiers. DBI collects personal identifiers (such as your name, contact information, Social Security number, driver’s license number, passport number, date of birth, or signature). Sensitive identifiers such as Social Security, passport, and driver’s license numbers should only be collected when there is a need for those identifiers (for example, to comply with immigration requirements or for the purposes of obtaining driving records or background checks). 
  • Professional or employment-related information. DBI collects multiple categories of information related to your professional experience, employment history, or application for employment or an independent contractor relationship with us such as: 
    • Job preference information. DBI will receive the information you submit about your job preferences (such as the posting and description of the job to which you apply, your compensation expectations, and your preferred start date). 
    • Prior employment and professional experience information. DBI collects information about your prior employment and professional experiences (such as information in your cover letter and resume/CV and a list of skills).
    • Comments. DBI receives any comments and messages you submit along with your job applications.  
    • Background check and public records information.  With your permission, DBI may receive information contained in background check reports and in public government records (such as work history, driving records, criminal records, and court records). 
    • Health information. DBI may receive health-related information from you that is relevant to your application, such as when you provide information about your ability to perform certain job functions, the need for accommodations, or a disability.  
  • Education information. DBI may collect information associated with your education (such as certifications, license, academic transcripts, and confirmations of attendance at an educational institution). 
  • Characteristics of protected classification under state or federal law. DBI may receive protected class information from you as defined by applicable law (such as race, gender, copies of citizenship and right to work information, and veteran status). 

 

Other Website Users

 

  • Audio, electronic, and visual information. We collect electronic, and visual information such as the messages you submit through designerbrands.com and emails you send us.
  • Internet or other and network activity information. We collect information such as IP address, browsing or search history, your interactions with our emails, and data collected through cookies and similar technologies. 
  • Personal information as described in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e) or similar state laws. We collect this information to the extent collected under another category of personal information above.

 

HOW WE COLLECT AND USE INFORMATION

When you visit this Website, we may collect information in two ways - through information automatically gathered from your computer or through information you choose to provide. As to automatically-gathered information, this Website and its third-party service providers collect navigational information about where you go on our Website, how many visits you make to the Website, and other non-personally identifiable information about you (for example, this can include your domain type, browser version, service provider, IP address).

Applicants to Employment Opportunities

You may voluntarily provide information on the Website if you are interested in exploring employment opportunities with Designer Brands or its affiliates. If you provide information for such an opportunity, you will be providing your information to SuccessFactors.com and the SuccessFactors.com privacy policy controls the use of that information. After we receive your information from SuccessFactors.com, we will use the information to assist in your goal of becoming an associate with Designer Brands. If you are hired, we will use the information for employment and business-related purposes. For some positions, you may submit a resume online. We will use the information contained on your resume to assist in your goal of becoming an associate with Designer Brands. If you are hired, we will use the information for employment and business-related purposes. It will also be possible for you to refer a friend for a posted job or email a friend about a posted job.

Other Website Users

When you make an information request or sign up for an "Investor Alert" through the Investors link on the Website, we collect information you choose to provide. The service providers that assist us in collecting information you choose to provide use this information to respond to your requests. In connection with Information Requests, you may be asked to provide your name, mailing address, phone, facsimile number, email address and investor type. When signing up for an Email Alert, you will be asked to provide your email address and the type of alert you would like to receive. The Website also offers details about how to contact us by email for general information. If you contact us by email, you will be asked to provide your contact information, including your name and email address.

 

INFORMATION WE DISCLOSE TO THIRD PARTIES

We contract with third-party service providers to collect and process information on our behalf and we share your information with those providers. These third-party service providers help us provide services to you, such as gathering and posting information about jobs at Designer Brands, collecting and responding to investor requests and other requests about the company, monitoring Website activity, maintaining a database for us and administering and monitoring emails and postal mailings. If personally identifiable information (i.e. name, address, email address, telephone number) is provided to any of these third parties, we will require that such information only be used to provide the services we have requested and that these third parties otherwise maintain the information in confidence. Although we share your information with third-party service providers, we will never sell or share your information with any third parties without your permission.

 

OTHER THIRD PARTY DISCLOSURES

You should be aware that we may disclose specific information about you if (a) necessary to do so by law or (b) based on our good faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to conform or comply with the law or protect the users of our Website or the public.

As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy stores, subsidiaries or business units. In such transactions, information we collect at this Website could be a transferred business asset. However, the company acquiring this information in such a transaction would continue to honor this Policy (unless, of course, you consent otherwise). Also, in the unlikely event that Designer Brands or substantially all of its assets are acquired, personal information collected at this Website will be one of the transferred assets.

 

PRIVACY OF CHILDREN ON OUR WEBSITE

To ensure compliance with federal law, DesignerBrands.com does not knowingly collect or maintain information provided by children under the age of 13.

 

HOW LONG WE KEEP INFORMATION

We understand the importance of safeguarding your personal information and maintaining your trust. As such, we adhere to stringent privacy practices to ensure the protection and responsible handling of your data.

We retain information pertaining to you and your interactions with our site for the duration necessary to fulfill our legitimate business objectives. Our retention periods are tailored to the specific nature of the data and the purpose for which it's collected.

These retention periods are subject to various considerations, including but not limited to, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, adherence to industry standards, contractual agreements, and other legal obligations. Additionally, we assess the minimum required retention period as dictated by the aforementioned factors to ensure that your data is not retained for longer than necessary.

 

USE OF COOKIES AND OTHER TECHNOLOGY

We and third parties use cookies (small text files placed on your computer to identify your computer and browser) and other automated tools to track your clicks and pass information as you navigate the Sites. We and third parties use the following types of cookies on the Sites: 

  • Strictly Necessary: These cookies are necessary for the Site to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. 
  • Functional: These cookies enable the Site to provide enhanced functionality and personalization.  They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages.  If you do not allow these cookies, then some or all of these services may not function properly. 
  • Performance: These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our Site.  They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the Site.  All information that cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous.  If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our Site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. 
  • Advertising: These cookies allow us and third parties to learn more about you, including your use of our Sites and other websites, and to advertise products or/services that might interest you. 

We and third parties also use tools that enable us to track certain aspects of a user’s visit to our Sites. These tools help us better manage content on our Sites by informing us what content is effective, how users engage with our Sites, and how users arrive at and/or depart from our Sites. The software typically uses two methods to track user activity: (1) "tracking pixels" and (2) "clear gifs." Tracking pixels are pieces of executable code embedded in a web page that track usage activity including which pages are viewed, when they are viewed, and how long the pages are viewed. Clear gifs are tiny graphics with unique identifiers embedded in web pages and email messages that track whether a user has viewed a web page or email message. The software may also track user engagement with our Sites such as links and other content clicked on by the user. User activity information may be associated with additional information about a user’s session and personal information, if provided by the user. 

If you arrive at our Sites by "clicking through" from another website, certain information about you that you provided to that other website, such as the terms you were searching on that led you to our Sites, may be transmitted to us and we may use it. You should review the privacy policy of any website from which you reached our Sites to determine what information that website collects and for what purpose(s) the website operators use that information. We may retain information about you provided to us by other websites and will use it in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Such information may be associated with other Usage Data or personal information. 

 

VISITORS FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S.

If you are visiting the Website from a location outside of the U.S., your connection will be through and to servers located in the U.S. All information you provide to the Website will be maintained in our web servers and/or internal systems located within the U.S.

 

LINKS TO AND FROM OTHER WEBSITES AND SERVICES

For your convenience, our website may contain links to other websites. Links that appear on DesignerBrands.com should not necessarily be deemed to imply that we endorse or have any affiliation with the linked websites. Designer Brands is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites. We encourage you to review the separate privacy policies of each website you visit.

 

ADDITIONAL STATE PRIVACY RIGHTS 

 

If you are a resident of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, or Virginia, you have additional privacy rights, as outlined further below. Exemptions may apply. Please reach out to customerservice@dsw.com to request fulfillment of such rights. Consumer privacy rights for residents of these states include: 

 

Right to Know 

You have the right to request twice per 12-month period that we provide you with a copy of the categories or specific pieces of personal information we collected about you.

 

Right to Delete 

You have the right to request that we delete any personal information we collected about you. We may deny your request if an exemption applies such as if we need the information to prevent security incidents or fraud or comply with legal obligations. 

 

Right to Correct 

You may update your contact information and other personal information by logging into your applicant account. If you are unable to correct certain personal information on your own, you may request that we correct information you believe to be inaccurate. When you make your request, please be sure to provide us the specific information that you believe is inaccurate and the correct information. You should also provide us with any documentation you believe supports your proposed correction, and we will take that documentation into consideration. We will only correct the information if we determine, based on the totality of the circumstances, that your correction is more likely than not accurate. We may also choose to delete the allegedly inaccurate information instead of correcting it. 

 

SECURITY STATEMENT

We employ reasonable security measures to secure the information we receive. For example, we take the following types of security measures: use of technologies and policies such as limited access data centers, firewall technology, and secure socket layer certificate authentication.

While we implement the above security measures on this website, you should be aware that 100% security is not always possible.

This Policy was last updated on June 26, 2024. We may make changes to this Policy, and may apply any changes to information previously collected, as permitted by law. Please check here periodically for notice of updates to this Policy.