Wolverine World Wide names new CFO, reports 34% revenue decline

Dive Brief:

Wolverine World Wide has named Taryn Miller its new CFO, effective May 9. She succeeds Michael Stornant, who will work closely with Miller during the transition until he retires in early 2025, according to a Wednesday press release.
Miller was most recently vice president of corporate and commercial finance at Corteva Agriscience, after stints at Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Kraft Heinz Company. She will report to Wolverine president and CEO Chris Hufnagel.
The hire was announced the same day as Wolverine’s first quarter earnings, in which it saw total revenue fall 34.1% to $395 million year over year. The company also swung to a net loss of $13.7 million from a net income of $18 million last year. Despite the dip, Hufnagel said the results were better than expected.

Dive Insight:

In November 2023, Wolverine announced a restructuring plan that looks to generate $215 million in annual savings. The company said the plan’s mission was to stabilize the business by divesting the company’s noncore assets, reducing inventory and paying debt, and right-sizing cost structure.

“[W]e are beginning to see proof points emerge as early validation of our strategy and execution — including record gross margin in the quarter, acceleration in our direct-to-consumer business, improving order trends across our wholesale operations, and a healthier balance sheet,” Hufnagel said in Wednesday’s earnings release. “We’re executing our turnaround and transformation with pace and continue to make meaningful progress towards realizing the full potential of our brands, platforms, and teams. While we have more work to do, I’m encouraged by the great work of our teams and the power of our brand-building model.”

Each of the company’s brands saw revenue decline year over year for the quarter, with Merrell falling 26.2%, Saucony falling 24.5%, and its namesake brand falling 20.3%. Sweaty Betty fell 4.8%. In March, the company announced that two of its brands, Merrell and Sweaty Betty, would collaborate on a women’s hiking capsule collection.

Its reported DTC revenue fell 15.9% for the quarter, and its reported international revenue fell 31.5%.

Wolverine updated its full year 2024 financial outlook, and said it now expects revenue to total between $1.68 billion to $1.73 billion, a 15.7% to 13.2% year-over-year decrease. The results are adjusted for its new licensing model for the Merrell and Saucony kids business.

After the November restructuring plan was announced, Wolverine sold Sperry to Authentic Brands Group. It permanently closed its distribution center in Louisville, Kentucky, in March, laying off about 150 people. Wolverine sold the facility at the end of 2023, which added about $23 million to its bottom line. The company had previously said Saucony and Sperry would continue to operate out of the building.