Wolverine Worldwide grows, announces strategic plan

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Jul 17, 2014

The good times are the best times for reform. Clearly, Wolverine Worldwide has learned that lesson. For its second quarter ending on June 14, the US footwear giant (Sperry Top-Sider, Sebago, Merrell ...) saw its sales rise by 4.4% to more than 454 million euros (613 million dollars).

All of its divisions made progress. Lifestyle attained 195 million euros (+3.5%), Heritage approached 84 million (+2.6%) and Performance generated 156 million (+5.8%). Finally, its "Other" division made up 18 million euros (+10.8%).

The group noted that the brands Saucony, Keds, Caterpillar footwear, Chaco and Wolverine saw their turnovers record double-digit growth Europe, Latin America and the Asia Pacific.

Progress has also been reflected in terms of profitability. Wolverine Worldwide reported an operating profit of 36 million euros as opposed to 27 million one year earlier. And its gross margin rose from 6.3% to 8%.

In this context, the group is working on a strategic plan intended to restructure its organization. It also aims to refine its retail fleet.

Over the next 18th months, it has announced the closure of 140 stores. The childrenswear retailer Stride Rite will be the most affected. It has just over 250 stores in the United States (full price or outlet stores), and is also present internationally.

By the end of its fiscal year, the group expects sixty closures. In this way, the group aims for an annual gain before taxes of over 8 million euros, which it has announced it will reinvest in a "direct to consumer" and omni-channel strategy.

For the entire fiscal year, the group announced expectations at 2.051 billion euros, up 3% compared to last year.