Sale of Wolverine Leathers still ongoing
Footwear group Wolverine Worldwide has still not been able to sell its in-house leather supplier. The group announced in December that it would let go of Wolverine Leathers as part of a wider cost-cutting programme.
It said in January this year that “potential strategic buyers” for this part of the business had already come forward, but on reporting its half-yearly results on August 10, it confirmed that Wolverine Leathers was still “the subject of a sale process”.
The group ran its own tannery in Rockford, Michigan, for 100 years, but production there ceased in 2009. After that, Wolverine Leathers remained an active part of the group, contracting leather production and colouring to suppliers in five locations in the US, Vietnam, Thailand and China.
In its most recent results, Wolverine said revenues from the leather division formed no part of its full-year guidance for 2023. However, in the first six months of this year, Wolverine Leathers still achieved revenues of $23.4 million, even though this represents a fall of 35% year on year.
On reporting its half-yearly results, the group announced the departure of its chief executive, Brendan Hoffman. He took up the role at the end of 2021. His replacement is Chris Hufnagel, who has worked at the group since 2008. Before that, he held senior roles at Under Armour, Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch.
