Profile: Wolverine World Wide Inc (WWW)

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of a range of casual footwear and apparel, performance outdoor footwear and apparel, industrial work shoes, boots and apparel, and uniform shoes and boots. The products are marketed under brand names, which include Bates, Cat Footwear, Chaco, Cushe, Harley-Davidson Footwear, Hush Puppies, HyTest, Merrell, Patagonia Footwear, Sebago, Soft Style and Wolverine. The Company directly sells its products in the United States, Canada and certain countries in Europe to a range of retail customers, including department stores, national chains, catalogs, specialty retailers, mass merchants and Internet retailers, and to governments and municipalities. Approximately 52 million pairs/units of the Company’s branded footwear and apparel were sold, during the year ended December 31, 2011, in more than 190 countries and territories around the world. The Company’s brands are sold at various price points targeting a range of consumers of casual, work and outdoor footwear and apparel. In October 2012, Wolverine World Wide Inc announced that a consortium comprised of Wolverine Worldwide, Golden Gate Capital and Blum Capital Partners acquired Collective Brands, Inc.

Branded Footwear, Apparel and Licensing

The Company sources and markets a broad range of footwear styles, including shoes, boots and sandals under many recognizable brand names, including Bates, Cat, Chaco, Cushe, Harley-Davidson, Hush Puppies, HyTest, Merrell, Patagonia, Sebago, Soft Style and Wolverine. The Company also markets Merrell, Sebago, and Wolverine brand apparel and accessories and licenses some of its brands for use on non-footwear products, including Hush Puppies apparel, eyewear, watches, socks, handbags and plush toys and Wolverine brand eyewear and gloves. The Company has three operating groups in branded footwear, apparel and licensing segment: the Outdoor Group, the Heritage Group and the Lifestyle Group. The Outdoor Group consists of Merrell footwear, Merrell apparel and accessories, Patagonia footwear and Chaco footwear.

Merrell footwear products offer a range of styles from technical hiking, multi-sport footwear and the minimalist Merrell Barefoot Collection to lifestyle product for more casual outdoor adventures for men, women and kids. Merrell footwear products are sold primarily through outdoor specialty retailers, sporting goods chains, department stores, on-line retailers and catalogs. Merrell footwear is marketed in approximately 150 countries and territories worldwide. The Outdoor Group markets Merrell accessories, including packs, bags and luggage for men and women. The Patagonia footwear line focuses primarily on casual and outdoor performance footwear. The Chaco footwear line focuses primarily on performance sandals and closed-toe products for the outdoor enthusiast.

The Heritage Group markets footwear, apparel and accessories products under the Wolverine brand and footwear under the Cat, Bates, Harley-Davidson and HyTest brands. The Wolverine brand offers boots and shoes. The Wolverine brand markets footwear in three categories: work and industrial, outdoor sport and rugged casual. The Wolverine rugged casual and outdoor sport product lines incorporate DuraShocks, Wolverine iCS and other technologies into products designed for casual and outdoor sport use. The Heritage Group markets a line of work and rugged casual Wolverine brand apparel. In addition, the Company licenses its Wolverine brand for use on eyewear and gloves. Cat brand footwear products include work boots and shoes, sport boots, rugged casual and lifestyle footwear, including lines of work and casual footwear featuring iTechnology and Hidden Tracks comfort features. Cat footwear targets work and industrial users and active lifestyle users. Cat footwear is marketed in approximately 145 countries and territories worldwide.

The Bates brand supplies footwear to military and civilian uniform users. Bates utilizes DuraShocks, DuraShocks SR, CoolTech and Wolverine iCS technologies in the design of its military-style boots and oxford shoes. Bates contracts with the United States Department of Defense and the military branches of several foreign countries to supply military footwear. Civilian uniform users include individuals in police, security, postal, restaurant and other industrial occupations. Bates products are also distributed through specialty retailers and catalogs. The Company has footwear marketing and distribution rights for Harley-Davidson brand footwear. Harley-Davidson footwear products include motorcycle, casual, fashion, work and western footwear for men, women and children. Harley-Davidson footwear is sold globally through a network of independent Harley-Davidson dealerships and other retail outlets. The HyTest product line consists primarily of work boots and shoes. HyTest footwear is distributed primarily through a network of independently-owned Shoemobile mobile truck retail outlets.

The Lifestyle Group consists of Hush Puppies footwear and apparel, Sebago footwear and apparel, and Cushe and Soft Style footwear. Hush Puppies brand offers shoes, sandals and boots for men, women and children, and is marketed in approximately 140 countries and territories. In addition, the Hush Puppies brand is licensed for use on certain items, including apparel, eyewear, handbags, socks, watches and plush toys. The Sebago product line consists primarily of casual footwear for men and women, such as boat shoes and hand sewn loafers. Sebago line extensions include Sebago Docksides, Drysides and Athletic Marine. The Sebago product line is marketed in approximately 125 countries and territories worldwide. The Company also markets a classic and marine Sebago apparel line. The Cushe business focuses on footwear for men and women. Cushe is marketed under three collections: Universal Traveler, Urban Safari and Coastal Supremacy. The Soft Style product line consists primarily of women’s dress and casual footwear.

Other Businesses

In addition to the Company’s branded footwear, apparel and licensing operations, as of December 31, 2011, the Company also operated 89 retail stores in North America and 12 retail stores in the United Kingdom that feature footwear and apparel, and operated a performance leathers business through its Wolverine Leathers Division. Its retail stores are operated under the Hush Puppies, Hush Puppies and FamilySM, Track’N Trail, Sebago, Wolverine Company Store, Rockford Footwear Depot and Merrell names. The Rockford Footwear Depot, Track’N Trail, Hush Puppies and Hush Puppies and Family retail formats carry a large selection of Company’s products, featuring such brands as Wolverine, Merrell, Hush Puppies, Cat, Chaco, Cushe, Patagonia, Sebago and Harley-Davidson.

The Company also operates Merrell concept stores, Hush Puppies concept stores and Sebago concept stores, providing a platform to showcase these brands. In addition, the Company operates 42 consumer-direct retail Websites, including www.merrell.com, www.wolverine.com, www.cushe.com, www.hushpuppies.com, www.chacos.com, www.catfootwear.com, www.sebago.com and www.batesfootwear.com. The Wolverine Leathers Division markets pigskin leather for use primarily in the footwear industry.