Wolverine World Wide Inc. continues to transform its portfolio with the sale of its U.S. Wolverine Leathers business as well as a new agreement to sell the intellectual property of its Hush Puppies brand in parts of Asia. 

The roughly $58.8 million Hush Puppies deal, which is expected to close in the coming weeks, gives the brand trademarks, patents, copyrights and domains in China, Hong Kong and Macau to current sublicensee Beijing Jiaman Dress Co. 

With the deal, Wolverine and Beijing Jiaman Dress will provide “mutual engagement and brand stewardship of the Hush Puppies brand in the region” under a license and cooperation agreement, according to a news release. 

Wolverine will retain ownership and continue to operate the Hush Puppies brand across the rest of the world. 

“Our strategic approach in China, Hong Kong and Macau is to focus on our biggest brands, and selling the Hush Puppies intellectual property in these countries is a part of this strategy,” Chris Hufnagel, president and CEO of Wolverine World Wide, said in a statement. “Hush Puppies remains an important brand in our portfolio, and we are committed to growing it through strong global licensing partnerships and expanding our connections with local consumers. We look forward to partnering with Beijing Jiaman Dress and to ensuring the global success of Hush Puppies.” 

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In February, Wolverine announced its intent to grant an exclusive license to Designer Brands Inc. for Hush Puppies in the U.S. and Canada, where DBI has been the exclusive retail partner for Hush Puppies since 2022. 

Hush Puppies — which offers various styles of loafers, flats, boots and casual shoes — has been a division of Wolverine World Wide since the brand’s founding in 1958. 

Wolverine also announced today the completed sale of its U.S. Wolverine Leathers business to footwear company New Balance for about $6 million. Plans to divest the Leathers business were announced in December of last year. 

The tannery contracts in the U.S. now are assigned to New Balance, a longtime customer of Wolverine. Alternatives for the non-U.S. Leathers business will continue to be explored. 

“These transactions are the latest actions in our ongoing effort to reshape our portfolio and target our most meaningful opportunities,” Mike Stornant, executive vice president and CFO of Wolverine World Wide, said in a statement. “We continue to streamline our organization and become more efficient, so that we can direct greater resources into our growth brands, pay down debt, and enhance long-term shareholder value.”

Today’s brand portfolio changes also follow the recently completed sale of Keds to Designer Brands Inc., the parent company of footwear retailer DSW, and and announcement in May about the new strategic alternatives process for the Sperry brand. 

The deals also come after Wolverine recently reported disappointing quarterly earnings of $589 million in revenues, which fell more than 17% from the $713 million reported for the same period last year. The company also experienced widespread declines among its brands and business segments. 

“Wolverine Worldwide maintains some of the world’s most recognizable and loved lifestyle and footwear brands, and transforming our business to bring the full power of these brands to life will be a key driver of our success,” Hufnagel said in a statement last month.

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