On Dec. 3, Wolverine Worldwide will be honored as Company of the Year at the 39th annual FN Achievement Awards. Below is an article from the magazine’s Dec. 1 print issue about how Wolverine secured big wins this year.
When Chris Hufnagel rose to the position of president and chief executive officer of Wolverine Worldwide in 2023, he was faced with an intense and challenging road ahead.
“I was named CEO on a Thursday and our stock crashed,” Hufnagel told FN when speaking about his first day in the top job. “And on Friday, I pulled our executive team together and I said at that point in time that, given all the challenges we had, there was no guarantee that we were going to make it another year.”
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But the CEO — who described the weight of running a then-140-year-old company as “immensely heavy” — faced the moment with steely determination.
“I told our executive team that this is going to be really hard, but we can’t let this happen on our watch,” he added.
Hufnagel and his team took swift action, including aggressive divestitures and cost-cutting measures such as the sales of Sperry and the Wolverine leather business. And for several quarters now, the moves have been paying off.
Wolverine Worldwide has reemerged as a formidable player in the industry, with market experts particularly praising the Saucony brand’s success among women. “Most retailers are realizing far stronger sell-through rates with Saucony women’s and kids’ shoes (women are buying the kids’ grade school shoes for themselves),” Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser wrote in a recent note. “Saucony has the opportunity to own the women’s running business, by taking advantage of what it has.”
Most recently in November, the Rockford, Mich.-based company said it ended the third quarter of fiscal 2025 with revenue of $470.3 million, up 6.8 percent from $440.2 million the same time last year. Net earnings in the quarter were $25.1 million, up from $23.2 million in the third quarter of 2024.
Behind the strong results in 2025 was a more focused brand-building model, most notably seen at Saucony, where sales increased 27 percent in the third quarter to $133.1 million; and at Merrell, which saw sales rise 5.1 percent to $167.3 million during the same time.
Texas-based retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors is finding success with Wolverine Worldwide’s new vision. “Under Chris Hufnagel’s leadership and his team’s strategic approach to collaborative partnerships, they’ve offered strong and focused brands in both the work and lifestyle segment that resonate with our customers and deliver results that outpace the competition,” said Matt McCabe, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Academy.
Here, Hufnagel discusses five ways Wolverine secured big wins this year.
1. RUNNING AHEAD
In the third quarter, Saucony grew performance run revenue by strong double digits globally compared to last year and again took market share in the important U.S. run specialty channel, powered in part by the brand’s core four sneaker franchises: the Ride, Guide, Hurricane and Triumph.
“Saucony sits at this amazing intersection in athletic run, performance and lifestyle. We can tap into both elite super shoes that the best athletes in the world wear, and at the same time, tap into culture and sell amazing lifestyle products,” said Hufnagel. “Saucony has a fantastic archive. We’ve got a great product team. And we’re telling better stories. When I think about the market size that Saucony plays in, it’s easily the biggest opportunity we have in the portfolio.”
But at the same time, the CEO does acknowledge that the brand “faces stiff competition” in a crowded market filled with the likes of Nike, Hoka, Brooks, Asics, On, New Balance and more. “We’re up against some of the very best brands in the world,” he said. “However, I love being a disruptive challenger brand in the market and having that mindset of going up against the competition.”
2. GLOBAL PURSUITS
International growth is a major opportunity for Wolverine Worldwide. Global interest in the company’s brand roster was evident in its most recent earnings, which showed international revenue up 13.5 percent to $242.7 million compared to the prior year.
“Wolverine Worldwide’s turnaround is not just a U.S. story,” Hufnagel maintained. “I can’t stress enough how important our long-standing international partners are to us. [They’re] certainly a big, big part of the turnaround effort and our success.”
This can be best seen at Saucony and Merrell, which both have flagships in Tokyo. Saucony is slated to open a host of new stores more broadly in China with its partner. In Europe, the running brand landed in Covent Garden in June with its first London store. And looking ahead, Saucony plans to expand its key city strategy to Paris, sponsoring the Eiffel Tower 10K in December and opening its next “pioneer store” in the City of Light in 2026.
3. HOME IMPROVEMENTS
Along with focusing on product, brand storytelling and physical retail, the company looked to its own workspace as a way to improve performance.
In May, the footwear company wrapped up a “major renovation” of its headquarters in Rockford, Mich., as part of its continued efforts to “modernize facilities, centralize core business operations and attract and retain top-tier talent.”
The centerpiece of the project is a top-to-bottom renovation of 40,000-square-feet of space to house the company’s two biggest brands, Merrell and Saucony. “We believe that to create amazing, thoughtful, trend-right, innovative products and experiences that improve our consumers’ lives and drive growth, we must provide our team members with great environments to work and win together,” Hufnagel said at the time of its opening in May.
This renovation comes after Wolverine Worldwide opened a new global Innovation Hub in Boston last October. The hub, located in Boston’s West End, houses employees from the company’s design and product teams, including Saucony product team members in design, development, product management and merchandising.
Wolverine Worldwide also opened new office space in Zhuhai, China, and a workspace in Hong Kong last year. What’s more, the company’s Sweaty Betty brand relocated to new offices last summer following renovations to the company’s King’s Place office in London.
4. DRIVING CULTURE
These facilities come at the same time Hufnagel is working to create a positive work environment.
“I get emotional talking about culture,” the CEO admitted. “This is so important. Ultimately, I will facilitate and foster environments and careers where people both feel like they belong and feel like they can thrive. Part of our turnaround story has been working to build a culture. And this culture, for me, is this notion of ‘One Wolverine,’ where we all work together to win.”
The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. The company recently received the “Great Places to Work Certification,” with 88 percent of U.S.-based employees saying Wolverine Worldwide is a great workplace – 33 percentage points higher than the average company.
“And in our recent employee ‘Pulse’ survey, we had 13,000 written comments – a record for the company,” Hufnagel said. “To me, this is a sign of an engaged workforce that cares about the success of our company. I want to make sure that this company can thrive, to create brands that thrive, to create a company that grows and is profitable and rewards our shareholders, and I want to create great careers for the people who have worked so hard to turn this place around.”
5. FORWARD THINKING
Great leaders know there is always more work to do, and Hufnagel is very aware of the challenges ahead around the company’s work division. On the company’s third-quarter earnings call in November, the CEO admitted to analysts that the Wolverine brand and its Work Group “have not made the progress” executives anticipated.
“While I’m disappointed in our performance here, I believe we have a firm handle on the work that’s necessary to get this business back on track,” he noted on the November call. “This said, we believe we have diagnosed the challenges. And effectively using our proven playbook will return the brand to steady growth in the future.”
As for what’s next, Hufnagel told FN that he is up to the task. “I don’t think our transformation chapter can ever end,” he said. “Modern brands and smart companies always have to evolve.”
For 39 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2025 event is supported by Caleres, Listrak, Nordstrom, Skechers, Vibram and Wolverine Worldwide.