Wolverine Worldwide (WWW) President and CEO Chris Hufnagel informed participants on the company’s second-quarter conference call on Wednesday that the company exceeded expectations on nearly every financial measure in the 2025 second quarter. He said the results were highlighted by double-digit revenue growth, with increases in every region and strong growth from the company’s two largest brands: Saucony and Merrell.
Merrell brand sales increased 10.7 percent (+9.0 percent cc) year-over-year (y/y) to $157.9 million for the second quarter, the brand’s fourth consecutive quarter of growth, with increases in “most regions and channels.”
The brand’s quarter also benefited from a timing shift between the second and third quarters, with ~$4 million in Merrell orders pulled forward to avoid higher tariffs. The company’s Active Group also saw approximately $6 million of favorable foreign currency relative to the year-ago period, with a large share of that number presumably going to Merrell.
Merrell, which is WWW’s largest brand by volume, delivered another strong performance. The brand experienced an 11 percent growth in the second quarter. Hufnagel also noted that Merrell delivered nearly 600 basis points of gross margin expansion versus the prior-year Q2 period.
“Merrell remains focused on modernizing the trail,” Hufnagel stated. “The brand’s faster, lighter, more athletic product offerings continue to fuel momentum and drive significant share gains in the hike category.”
The CEO stated that Moab Speed 2 revenue “nearly quadrupled” year-over-year at U.S. retail, making it the brand’s second-largest increase in the franchise, behind the industry-leading Moab 3, which grew at high single digits in the quarter. He said the SpeedARC Matis, built on the brand’s new visually disruptive SpeedARC platform for a “uniquely comfortable ride with exceptional energy return,” is now the No. 4 hike franchise on the brand’s website after just a few months of selling.
“Merrell has built good momentum,” Hufnagel suggested, “outpacing the market for 10 of the last 11 quarters in the U.S. hike category, which had been under pressure for the better part of two years. But encouragingly, we’ve now begun to see a broader hike trend improve a bit. We believe this is another positive indicator for Merrell, the market leader moving forward.”
In trail running, Hufnagel said the Agility Peak 5 franchise was up double digits at U.S. retail, and the brand launched the new ProMorph, an all-terrain hybrid runner. He said Merrell’s continued progress in modernizing the trail helped strengthen its ability to advance in lifestyle as well.
“Performance products like the Moab Speed 2 and Agility Peak 5 in lifestyle colorations and materials continue to gain traction at certain lifestyle retailers, reaching a younger consumer for the brand,” the CEO noted. “In addition, revenue from progressive casual styles like our Red franchise and the iconic Jungle Moc grew significantly in the second quarter as well.”
In the U.S., Merrell, still in the early stages of evolving its distribution, has reportedly rationalized its points of distribution over the last couple of years. The brand is now said to be focused on developing more impactful go-to-market plans with its key strategic partners in the outdoor specialty and sporting goods sectors and is establishing a footprint in the healthier lifestyle market.
Globally, the brand reportedly saw accelerated growth in the Asia Pacific region in the quarter, thanks in part to its key city strategy, which initially focused on Tokyo with its partner in Japan. Retail store concepts in Harajuku and Shibuya have continued to perform well, and, together with compelling marketing and storytelling in the market, have effectively helped elevate the brand in one of the world’s most influential cities. Merrell is also now beginning to activate Paris as part of its key city strategy with focused campaign investment. In Q2, the brand expanded its market share-leading position in outdoor footwear in France and achieved strong growth across the broader EMEA region.
During the call’s Q&A period, Hufnagel fielded questions about Merrell’s growth compared to the very strong double-digit growth at sister brand Saucony.
“I know a lot of headlines are going to be about Saucony growing 40 percent, but Merrell has four consecutive quarters of growth,” the CEO responded to one question. “I think 10 of the past 11 quarters we’ve gained share, and we’ve done it in a really responsible way while adding gross margin.”
He said it was important to note that the gains came on the backs of new product introductions.
“Obviously, the Moab 3 continues to be great. That is the original hiking boot,” he continued. “But what we’ve been able to do around the Moab Speed 2, the Agility Peak 5, the SpeedARC Matis, all of those new introductions are helping us to make the trail lighter, faster, more modern, and really responding to the consumers, and it’s really being innovative.”
He also said that the brand has been very thoughtful in its distribution in the U.S., giving a nod to the Merrell U.S. sales team for how they’ve approached the U.S. distribution landscape. “The doors we want to show up in, how do we show up in those doors, is great,” he said.
“I was in one of our best wholesale partners last week, and I never thought Merrell has looked better than what I saw last week. So credit to our partners for getting behind Merrell, credit for the growth that we’re driving, the investments we’re making in the ground game,” Hufnagel added.
The CEO noted that the hike category has been under a lot of pressure for the past two years, but he said they saw it improve slightly last quarter. “If that is a long-term trend for us, that bodes well for Merrell’s prospects,” he added. “Having gained share for the past two years, being the market leader, the retrenchment we’ve done to improve points of distribution, the new products we brought give us a lot of reasons to be encouraged about Merrell’s future trajectory.”
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. Saucony increased 40.0 percent y/y in constant-currency terms and increased 41.5 percent to $144.3 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 Merrell / Wolverine Worldwide, Inc. (Lead image: Merrell ProMorph, all-terrain hybrid runner)
