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 also reported Q4 revenue fell 20.8% year over year to $526.7 million. That 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’s revenue fell 7.6% from the year-ago period.
- Chris Hufnagel, the company’s president and CEO, said the firm was executing its previously announced transformation plan “with great pace,” and that “Wolverine Worldwide is a much different company 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, 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.
Howwver, 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 Sperry 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.
The company also reported that international revenue fell 5.1% in Q4 to $267.2 million. DTC revenue fell 17.6% to $186.9 million.
The company ended the fourth quarter with $373.6 million in inventory, down $371.6 million, or about 50%, from the year prior.
