Wolverine Worldwide swings to profit on record sales

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jul 30, 2021

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (Wolverine Worldwide), the Rockford, Michigan-based owner of the Wolverine, Saucony and Merrel brands, among others, reported record Q2 revenue of $631.9 million on Thursday, progress which drove the company’s return to profit in the quarter.

 
The group’s revenue in the second quarter ended July 3, 2021 represented growth of 81.0% compared to the $349.1 million reported by the company in the same period in the previous year, when sales were negatively affected by the impact of disruptions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
According to Wolverine Worldwide chairman and CEO Blake W. Krueger, the combined revenue of Merrell and Saucony – the company’s two largest brands – more than doubled year over year and increased more than 40% compared to the second quarter of 2019, when the group’s performance was still unaffected by the coronavirus crisis.

In Wolverine Worldwide’s direct-to-consumer channel, revenue rose 17.5% compared to the prior-year period and 68.8% compared to Q2 2019. Quarterly owned e-commerce sales posted a year-over-year decline of 2.7% but increased 90.7% compared to the same period in 2019. In the company’s owned brick-and-mortar locations, on the other hand, revenue increased 380.5% compared to Q2 2020, when the pandemic led to widespread store closures, and rose 19.2% compared to the same period two years ago.
 
Wolverine Worldwide’s quarterly net income totaled $44.7 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, up from a loss of $1.6 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, in the prior-year period.
 
Taking into account the first quarter of the year, the company’s first-half sales totaled $1.14 billion, up 44.9% from the same period in the previous year, when revenue was $788.4 million. Income for the six-year period was $83.2 million income, or $0.98 per diluted share, compared to $11.4 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, in 2020.
 
“The Company exceeded 2019 revenue and earnings by double digits in the second quarter, with broad-based contributions across brands and regions,” commented Wolverine Worldwide SVP and CFO Mike Stornant in a release. “Our future order book remains at historically high levels, sell-through at retail is strong, and our inventory position continues to improve. These positive trends give us confidence to again raise our outlook for fiscal 2021.”
 
The company now expects its full-year revenue to be in the range of $2.34 billion to $2.40 billion, representing growth of between 31% and 34% compared to 2020. At the high end of its range, this outlook also implies growth of 5.6% compared to 2019. Annual diluted earnings per share are now expected to be between $1.85 and $1.95.