The Saucony brand reportedly drove broad-based revenue growth across all categories, regions, and channels, resulting in a strong double-digit again in the fourth quarter. Performance, the majority of the brand’s business, was up over 20 percent for the period, with Lifestyle growing even faster, according to comments from parent company Wolverine Worldwide, Inc. President and CEO Chris Hufnagel.
Brand revenue increased 26.4 percent year-over-year to $125.9 million in the fourth quarter, representing growth of 24.2 percent in constant-currency (cc) term. Company CFO Taryn Miller said the increase was driven by strong growth in both the U.S. and international markets.
“In the biggest quarter for DTC, the channel grew mid-teens,” Hufnagel noted on a conference call with analysts on Thursday. “Importantly, Saucony saw further increases across brand health metrics, especially with runners.”
“Double-digit Wholesale growth was supported by continued positive sell-through at retail,” she noted. “DTC grew in mid-teens, and both performance and lifestyle categories delivered meaningful gains.”
As with its sister brand Merrell, Saucony brand growth for the second half of the year moderated to mid- to high-20 percent range gains in Q3 and Q4 after posting 40 percent growth in the second quarter.
He said the brand continues to lead with pinnacle innovation with an Endorphin collection for elite runners – which again drove strong growth year-over-year at U.S. retail in the quarter.
“The brand’s core four franchises, the Ride, Guide, Hurricane, and Triumph, aimed squarely at the broader casual running opportunity, continue to contribute good growth as well,” he added.
On the Lifestyle side, Hufnagel said Saucony continues to inject energy into the brand around the world.
“This past fall, the brand launched collaborations with Jae Tips and Engineered Garments, among others,” Hufnagel detailed. “In December, Saucony partnered with culture-shaping powerhouse, Westside Gunn, an influential retailer, Kith, to release a very special collaboration at Art Basel. The drop, featuring the Pro Grid Triumph 4, garnered global attention and drove record traffic to saucony.com and sold out in minutes.”
He said the brand continues to have a voice in the cultural discourse, in addition to innovating in performance running, and has strong plans in place once again for 2026.
Outlook
This year, Saucony said it expects to deliver new iterations for each of its core four franchises, starting with the Ride 19 launch last month, which has reportedly become a top seller on saucony.com.
“With this year’s updates, the Triumph 24 and Hurricane 26 are both slated to get new proprietary Incredilux foam, a high-end compound that delivers a luxurious ride with enhanced energy return, cushioning, and durability,” the CEO shared. “Just 25 days ago, Saucony brought to market what we expect to be its biggest debut launch of all time to date, the all-new Endorphin Azura, fueled by a fully integrated global activation plan.” The Azura is a lightweight super trainer with innovative geometry and advanced energy return foam to help the runner go fast every day, and delivers all this innovation for $150.
Hufnagel said demand at saucony.com is already far ahead of forecast, and sell-through at retail, both in the U.S. and abroad, has been “exceptionally strong.”
[Saucony] Lifestyle growth is expected to be led by international markets, particularly in EMEA, where the brand is reportedly seeing healthy demand supported by key city activations. In the U.S., following expanded distribution, 2026 is focused on optimizing the footprint through sharper assortments and marketing to support full price sell-through and sustainable long-term growth.
The Pro Grid Omni 9, Ride Millennium, and other key silhouettes are planned to see fresh colorways and materializations this year. The brand is also expected to add marketing fuel to the brand heat built in 2025.
“To capitalize on the momentum we have built, we plan to step up Saucony’s brand-building efforts in 2026, making our largest annual marketing investment ever in the brand,” Hufnagel shared. “Saucony plans to continue to sponsor key events like the London 10K, the Shoreditch Half Marathon, the Eiffel Tower 10K, and new this year, the Berlin 10K and organize its own events like The Maze, a series of exclusive run club races with recent installments in Seoul, New York City, and London.
In addition, the brand anticipates expanding its key city strategy from Tokyo and London into Paris, with continued events and activations and the planned opening of a new pioneer store in Paris later this year.
“While we are investing in growing awareness and fueling brand heat, we continue to strengthen the brand’s ground game as well, driving sell-through with point-of-sale and co-op activations and enhanced field support,” Hufnagel stated. “The brand has been able to marry performance and culture in a unique and compelling way, and we expect another year of double-digit growth in 2026.”
Saucony is expected to drive outsized and broad-based growth in the low- to mid-teens in 2026, with gains across both Performance – which makes up the majority of the brand’s revenue – and Lifestyle. In Performance, the recent Endorphin Azure launch and the planned refresh of all the four franchises in 2026, supported by continued marketing investment and ground game activations, are expected to drive global growth.
Image courtesy Saucony/Wolverine Worldwide, Inc.
