The company, headquartered in Long Island City, N.Y., opened a new 1,600-sf store on Dec. 21 at the Danbury Fair Mall. In addition, the retailer opened a 1,400-sf store at the Westfarms Mall (a suburb of Hartford). Both the Danbury and Westfarms stores will carry the Steven Madden Women's Collection and accessories, company officials say. The Westfarms store first opened its doors on Dec. 14, according to Steven Madden representatives.

Commenting on its two Connecticut stores, Mark Jankowski, president of Retail for Steven Madden Ltd., says, "We are very excited to be opening two new retail stores in Connecticut as the available market share in these areas is exceptional. We believe that expansion into both Danbury and Westfarms will contribute to, and further round out, our successful existing presence in the New England area. We are especially pleased that both new stores are placed in premier malls featuring top retailers and we look forward to the opportunity to build brand awareness and customer loyalty in each new market."

Richard Olicker, president and chief operating officer of Steven Madden, Ltd., adds, "We are very pleased with the progress we made this year with our retail expansion strategy which continues to be a driving force for the company's overall growth. The addition of these two new locations brings our total store count to 73. We will continue to focus on further penetrating new and existing markets with strong sales and growth potential and we look forward to responsible and productive retail expansion in the future."