Dive Brief:
- Wolverine World Wide Inc. reported $2.24 billion in revenue for its 2023 fiscal year, representing a 16.5% year-over-year decline, according to a news release last week.
- The company’s Q4 results also showed a drop, falling 20.8% to $526.7 million. That drop included double-digit declines for the quarter at some of its key brands, including Merrell, which fell by 16.6%; Saucony, which dropped 13.4%; and the Wolverine brand, which declined 27.9%. Sweaty Betty fell 7.6%.
- Chris Hufnagel, the company’s president and CEO, said in the release that the firm was executing its previously announced transformation plan “with great pace,” and that the company was “much different than it was just six months ago.”
Dive Insight:
Wolverine announced its corporate restructuring plan in November 2023, which is meant to deliver $215 million in annual savings, per the company. The plan’s stated mission is to stabilize the business by divesting the company’s noncore assets, reducing inventory and paying debt, and right-sizing its cost structure.
Hufnagel, who stepped into the CEO role in August following the firing of previous CEO Brendan Hoffman, said the company had largely completed the stabilization phase of its turnaround plan.
The company is expecting further revenue declines. For fiscal 2024, Wolverine is anticipating revenue between $1.7 billion and $1.75 billion, marking a 12.2% to 14.7% decline.
Last week’s earnings follow Wolverine’s sale of the Sperry brand to Authentic Brands Group and the Aldo Group in January. That deal brought about $130 million to Wolverine for Q1 2024. Wolverine had been “exploring strategic alternatives” for Sperry since May 2023, and throughout that year, Wolverine sold or licensed several divisions, including Keds, in its streamlining efforts.
Wolverine also reported financial results for its “ongoing business,” which excludes the impact of Keds and the Wolverine Leathers Business, among others. Based on these metrics, the company’s ongoing revenue for Q4 was $521.2 million, a 17.9% decrease year over year. For the full fiscal year, its ongoing business saw $2.2 billion in revenue, a 13.1% decrease.
International revenue fell 5.1% in Q4 to $267.2 million. DTC revenue was also down, with revenue of $186.9 million, a 17.6% decrease.
The company ended the fourth quarter with $373.6 million in inventory, down $371.6 million or about 50% from the year prior, per the release.
