Wolverine Worldwide (WWW) President and CEO Chris Hufnagel informed participants on the company’s second-quarter conference call that the company had exceeded expectations on nearly every financial measure. He said the results were headlined by double-digit revenue growth, with increases in every region and strong growth from the company’s two largest brands — Saucony and Merrell.
Saucony brand sales jumped 41.5 percent y/y to $144.3 million, representing a 40.0 percent constant-currency increase for the quarter. The brand also delivered 560 basis points of gross margin expansion in the quarter.
The brand reportedly saw broad-based growth across regions and channels, led by wholesale performance in both the U.S. and internationally. Direct-to-consumer sales increased in the low double-digits. Saucony reportedly delivered strong results in both Performance Run and in Lifestyle, reinforcing the continued expansion of its Lifestyle distribution footprint with leading retailers.
“I believe 2025 will be a pivotal year for the brand, the result of an ambitious strategic reset in 2023 and 2024 and our new growth agenda,” offered Hufnagel. “We position the brand at the intersection of authentic performance and lifestyle running, given the unique foothold in the competitive landscape and opening up a significant addressable market opportunity for the brand.”
Hufnagel said Saucony executed with excellence on many fronts over the last several months. Its Run As One campaign, launched earlier this year, reportedly continued to position and build the brand with its target consumer. Hufnagel said brand search interest is “up meaningfully around the world” compared to last year, and he noted that they are seeing a stronger affinity for the brand, specifically among runners and younger consumers.
Saucony also continued to advance its key city strategy. Just a few weeks ago, following the recent opening of its store in Harajuku, Tokyo, the brand opened its pioneering store in London’s Covent Garden, one of the UK’s prime shopping destinations. Importantly, the store serves as a hub for brand activations in London.
“Last month, building on a success in 2024, Saucony was again the title sponsor for the London 10K, an amazing event with over 17,000 runners this year,” the CEO noted. “The brand took over the city for the week with an impactful slate of great marketing and brand activations. I was fortunate to run in the event and couldn’t have been more impressed by the brand’s overwhelming presence around the city and how far the brand has come in such a short time. Saucony will expand its event sponsorship in London with the Shoreditch 10K and then to France with the Eiffel Tower 10K later this year.”
In Paris, the brand reportedly garnered extensive interest a few weeks ago at Paris Fashion Week. Hufnagel said this highlighted the brand’s disruptive approach to collaborations and taking appointments with a rapidly growing number of highly influential retail partners. He also announced that the company just signed a lease to open the Saucony brand’s third pioneer store in Paris next year.
“Saucony’s activations and compelling retail execution are engaging consumers directly and providing a vision and inspiration for our partners around the world,” the CEO said. “Building on our efforts in Tokyo, for example, we’ve already started opening a host of new stores with our best-in-class partners in Asia Pacific with plans to open more in the second half of this year.”
Product Innovation
On the product front, Saucony reportedly continued to fuel product innovation with its Endorphin franchise.
Hufnagel said the brand followed the introduction of the Endorphin Elite 2 super shoe in March with the new Endorphin Speed 5, which combines a nylon plate with Pwrrun PE foam. The brand also continued to push forward its Core 4 franchises, squarely aimed at the broader casual run opportunity, with the launch of the Triumph 23, its premium neutral runner.
“Together, the Core 4 franchises, including the Ride, Guide, Triumph, and Hurricane, grew at a very strong double-digit pace at U.S. retail in the quarter,” Hufnagel shared.
On the Lifestyle side, the CEO said Saucony continues to leverage its deep product archive to deliver authentic trend-right styles to the marketplace. The brand’s expansion of distribution within the lifestyle athletic specialty channel reportedly continues to progress, driven by positive sales performance, and is expected to add roughly 400 doors for the back half of this year. This will raise the brand’s store count in this channel to roughly 1,300 doors.
“While the opportunity is meaningful, we continue to take a methodical approach to thoughtfully expanding distribution,” Hufnagel stated. “Saucony has made a remarkable amount of progress, but I have maintained that it’s poised to do more. The brand boasts a unique and compelling blend of heritage and authenticity, complemented by best-in-class innovation and emerging cultural relevance. I believe that Saucony is positioned to do something very special.”
The company reminded call participants that the second quarter of 2024 included $2 million of revenue that did not repeat in Q2 this year, related to the change in the Saucony and Merrell Kids’ business model.
Overall, the WWW Active Group segment revenues, which include Merrell, Saucony and Sweaty Betty, amounted to $355.5 million in the second quarter, a 16.2 percent y/y increase, or a 14.3 percent increase in constant-currency terms. Merrell increased 9.1 percent y/y in constant-currency terms and increased 10.7 percent to $157.9 million in reported terms.
Consolidated revenues on an ongoing basis for parent company Wolverine World Wide, Inc. registered growth of 11.6 percent (+10.4 percent cc) to $474.2 million in the 2025 second quarter. Adjusted EPS was pegged at 34 cents per diluted share in constant-currency terms, compared to 15 cents per share in the 2024 second quarter.
Images courtesy Saucony / Wolverine Worldwide, Inc.
