Dive Brief:
- Continuing its office refresh, Wolverine World Wide opened a new global innovation hub in Boston, the company announced on Thursday.
- The 11,000-square foot space will house the company’s design and product staffers, including Saucony employees on the brand’s design, development, merchandising and product management teams.
- The company is also currently renovating its global headquarters in Michigan and offices for Merrell and Saucony will be completed in the spring of 2025, per the press release.
Dive Insight:
Wolverine World Wide has been enhancing its corporate spaces across multiple brands and locations in recent months.
“We believe that world-class environments are key to attracting and retaining talent, unlocking our team’s full potential, and driving our business forward,” Chris Hufnagel, president and CEO of Wolverine World Wide, said in a statement. “Spaces that encourage creativity, collaboration, and innovation are critical as we continue building a new company for the future.”
The company opened a new space in Zhuhai, China, a month ago, shortly after unveiling a workspace in Hong Kong. It also relocated the offices of its Sweaty Betty brand over the summer and renovated its King’s Place workspace in London, according to the announcement.
“Boston is an amazing city with a deep connection to our brands and exceptional design and footwear talent, and we are excited to open our first global Innovation Hub in the heart of downtown,” Hufnagel said. “With this Innovation Hub, our team of design, development, and merchandising leaders are well-positioned to design awesome products and continue transforming Wolverine World Wide into a consumer-focused builder of great global brands.”
Wolverine World Wide last year announced a strategic transformation plan to drive growth and deliver $215 million in annual savings. As part of its initiative, the company said it planned to form an in-house creative team, PR team and production studio; launch a global licensing division; create a global planning division; develop new digital product management and design tools; and consolidate its North American operations.
At the start of the year, the company sold its Sperry brand to Authentic Brands Group and the Aldo Group. By the spring, the company permanently closed a distribution facility in Louisville, Kentucky, and laid off around 150 workers.
Wolverine World Wide has also gone through a number of leadership changes. In August 2023, the company replaced former CEO Brendan Hoffman with Hufnagel. The company this spring named Taryn Miller as its new CFO.
In its latest earnings report, the company said revenue fell 16.6% year over year to $440.2 million. The Wolverine brand saw a 12.3% drop, while Saucony fell 10% in Q3 compared to the year-ago quarter. Sweaty Betty rose 3% and Merrell increased 1.4% year over year. The company said its fiscal 2024 outlook projects a revenue decline of between 12.4% and 13.1% compared to last year.
