In His First Major Interview as Wolverine CEO, Chris Hufnagel Opens Up About Big Opportunities Ahead in Product, Retail Innovation and International Growth
Stephen Garner
Senior Editor
Even after a period of immense change at Wolverine Worldwide, chief executive officer Chris Hufnagel isn’t letting his foot off the gas.
Indeed, the company’s transformation efforts kicked into high gear in 2023 when Hufnagel ascended to the role of president and chief executive officer following the exit of Brendan Hoffman last August.
Since then, Hufnagel has remained committed to taking the “necessary actions” to best position the company for future profitable growth, while making sure the company moves with “speed and urgency” to capitalize on its biggest growth opportunities, the CEO noted to analysts in November 2023.
The urgency led to quick moves including aggressive divestitures and cost cutting measures, which included the sale of Sperry and the Wolverine leather business.
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Now, the moves are slowly paying off. Last month, the company said that it ended the third quarter of fiscal 2024 with revenue of $440.2 million, down 16.6 percent from $527.7 million the same time last year. Ongoing total revenue in Q3 – which excludes the impact of sold assets – was $440.1 million, a decrease of 7.0 percent from $473.3 million the prior year period.
The marked improvement in Q3 came as Hufnagel praised Merrell’s “return to growth” and the stabilization of sales at Saucony and Sweaty Betty.
In his first major interview since taking over as CEO, Hufnagel sat down with FN to discuss the importance of stores, a new flagship in London, his approach to innovation and what’s next in the company’s transformation.
Now that you’re seeing some success in your earnings, what’s working at the company?
CH: The headline for me is that the most important chapter is the next one. It’s not what we’ve done so far, it’s what we’re going to do now. We’re a 141-year-old company. Companies that have been around for longer in a century, go through good times and bad times. We found ourselves in a tough spot in late August ‘23 and I think what we’ve done since then wasn’t rocket science. We had to stabilize the business. We had too much debt, we had too much inventory, and we had to restructure. And we did those things. And then I think for brands to compete and win today, it just it’s a different skill set and a different mindset and different tools and capabilities. So, we worked hard to begin to transform the organization, taking existing talent plus bringing new talent to the team, and then building up new competencies, opening up The Collective for greater investments in consumer insights and market intelligence, focusing on trend and innovation and really bringing the consumer to the center of the discussion. And if we did the stabilization phase right, and we began to transform, that would only give us the privilege to inflect to growth and ultimately drive accelerated growth. So, it has been an unbelievable 481 days since I was lucky enough to get this job. The team has been simply fantastic.”
Some of your colleagues at Wolverine have praised your management style. What’s your approach to cultivating company culture?
CH: “Obviously, I have a great responsibility to our shareholders, but my number one job is to help everyone else in our organization be great. I don’t have all the answers at all. My job is to help craft a vision and a strategy and then empower and enable our teams to go do great work. I firmly believe in this notion of ‘One Wolverine.’ We’re a parent company. We’ve got lots of brands, we operate all over the world, but at the end of the day, we should collectively win together. So I really believe in this notion of greatness. I think greatness is a choice. I ask the team to wake up every single morning and choose to be great and do their very best work, lead with empathy and conviction and authenticity.”
Innovation has been a hot topic in the footwear market. How are you making sure Wolverine stays at the forefront?
CH: “In the business that we’re in, it begins with product. If you don’t have the right product, nothing else matters. And clearly regardless of the environment we’re in, there’s always going to be winners. And the winners, I think, have products that are disruptive, that are innovative, that consumers’ problems and then ultimately give consumers joy and delight. And I think product innovation is paramount, and in our category, we see that each and every day. The disruptive brands that have developed products that solve consumers problems, that look different, that are trend right, that are style right — those brands are winning.”
What is unfolding in your product pipeline?
CH: “Saucony is probably out in front of that from a product innovation standpoint. The brand has brought innovation and really focused on their core silhouettes. Saucony has also attacked both the performance piece as well as the lifestyle piece. And I think we’ve been really encouraged by the progress Saucony has made. I also think that Merrell’s right there also. Merrell is the number one leader in an outdoor hike footwear. At the same time, the trail continues to evolve, and consumers want lighter, faster, more versatile shoes. Some of the best new product and innovations are still coming in 2025 with the Merrell Speed Arc, the Adapt, and we’ve got Saucony launching new updates to the Endorphin series and updates to the core four.”
The company recently debuted a new Innovation Hub in Boston. What was the intention in opening this space after closing the city’s larger offices?
CH: There is great talent in Boston. Obviously, our Boston-based brands were there for years. So opening up an Innovation Hub in downtown Boston to give our teams a place so we can recruit great talent, a great environment for they can go do great work, I think is really important. We’ve got about 50 associates based there. Importantly, though, we used to have an office in Boston, but it was out in Waltham, so it was out in the suburb, and it was actually kind of hard to get to, and it was not in a great spot this space. You know, we looked at five locations. I flew to Boston for the day. We looked at five different locations, all downtown. It’s close to mass transit. It’s convenient for our associates. It’s in a phenomenal part of town. All things that are important to attract talent. And the great thing about that office, it’s almost exclusively focused on product.”
Do you plan on opening more Innovation Hubs in the future?
CH: “Yeah, I think so. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we open our next Innovation Hub someplace internationally. We already have an office in London, but that’s largely commercial teams, along with our Sweaty Betty brand. Certainly you could imagine having product design talent based in London helping feed our teams.”
At Saucony, you’ve been focused on unique marketing. What have been the highlights?
CH: “We’ve talked a little bit about this key city strategy where we focus on influential cities around the world. So earlier this year, we decided to go into London with Saucony. The team has really done a great job so far. We inked a deal to be the multi-year sponsor of the London 10K and we really pushed our activation dollars into the market.”
How are you looking to continue to amplify the brand’s presence in London?
CH: “We’ll be opening a Saucony pioneer store in London in the first half of 2025. It will be in Covent Garden, and it’s a great location. Just tons of traffic and good tenants next to us, but we’re excited. I love the fact of going up against the competition. I love sitting next to them and seeing how we’re doing versus how they’re doing. Saucony competes against some amazing brands, and I think if we want to be in the discussion with those brands, we have to show up. So, I think it’ll be good for our brands, good for our teams, good for our consumers, and certainly good for competition.”
How does this London store opening play into your outlook on physical retail?
CH: “I grew up in stores, so to be able to be able to actually open brick-and-mortar, I think it’s critically important. The fact that we don’t have a stronger brick-and-mortar presence is a weakness for us. So, I think stores are going to make us better. Brand builders, better merchants, better marketers. It allows our consumers to engage with our products, while we create amazing experiences. And I can’t wait to get over there and open that store.”
Is this opening part of a larger store strategy?
CH: “While we’re not aggressively announcing anything yet, I do think great brands have to meet consumers where and when they want to be met. Whether that’s being able to shop our brands at one of our amazing wholesale partners, like an REI, or Fleet Feet, or Dick’s Sporting Goods, or directly with us on our own e-commerce. We just opened two stores here in the U.S. We’ve got out Merrell outlet stores, but I firmly believe, you know, brick-and-mortar is an important piece, both to have consumers touch and feel your product, plus the ability to create experiences and to have our associates engage with consumers help them. Ultimately, I think the Wolverine Worldwide brands have to help make consumers lives better. And I think one of the easiest ways to go do that is when you can actually touch and feel and be in a store together with product.”
There seems to be more movement in the work category, which is your namesake brand’s bread and butter. What’re you seeing in work lately?
CH: “Between Wolverine, Cat Footwear, Hytest and Merrell Work, we command a significant share of the work category domestically. What we’re seeing more of is higher price points, more premium products and premium brands that are doing well in that work boot space. We’re also seeing the influence of Western in the work space. It’s not a slow-moving category that’s insulated from trends as one would think. Overall, work continues to be a steady category for us, but I think we have an opportunity to be better there looking forward.”
What are some of your more long-term goals for the company?
CH: “We haven’t been great brand managers historically. And I think we have to invest in our brands to drive brand affinity, to drive brand awareness, to command both share of closet and share of mind, to become part of the cultural conversation. So for me, that’s a longer term play, to become part of the dialog of cool brands. While we’ve made great products, I don’t think we’ve always been great brand builders. So during the time I’m in my position, I’m hopeful that we’ve become better brand builders and focus more on sell-through than we do on sell-in.”
How do you get there?
CH: “We need to manage the marketplace extraordinarily well, be great partners to our wholesale partners and run a great direct to consumer business. So for me, longer term, and why I think this is a great question, we really need to drive those emotional connections with consumers. I think when you can do that, you can build a flywheel for growth, versus just to be dependent upon what the next shoe is, or what the next selling season is.”
What’s next on your to-do list?
CH: “I’m privileged to be here and to be able to say we can talk about what’s next, you know, because a year ago, we had a lot of work to go just, just to save the company. So my eyes are sort of wide open, thinking about what the future and about what we can do in 2025 to accelerate our growth. When I think about brands and where they choose to play, how they plan to win, I focus a lot on what tools and capabilities do we need, what talent do we need? How do we update the tool sets we use, and how do those teams work together? So we’ve brought a lot of talent to the organization. I’m talking a lot to the board about what the vision for Wolverine Worldwide is, and then how we can go do that. But for me, right now, it’s very much focused on letting the past be the past, and really focusing on the next chapter, which is to drive growth.”
