Wolverine World Wide sell Hush Puppies IP in China

It will continue to own and operate the Hush Puppies brand in other markets.

Wolverine World Wide has entered a definition agreement to sell the Hush Puppies trademarks, patents, copyrights and domains in China, Hong Kong, and Macau to its current sublicensee Beijing Jiaman Dress Co., Ltd. for around $58.8m as part of its ongoing brand portfolio transformation.

In a statement, Wolverine said the entered into a License and Cooperation deal with Beijing Jiaman Dress for “mutual engagement and brands stewardship” of Hush Puppies in the Region, adding that will continue to own and operate the brand across the globe.

“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,” said Chris Hufnagel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wolverine Worldwide. 

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“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,” he added.

Aside from this, Wolverine also completed the sale of its U.S. Wolverine Leathers business to New Balance for around $6m. It assigned its U/S/ tannery contracts to New Balance to continue looking for alternatives for other non-U.S. Wolverine Leathers businesses.

“These transactions are the latest actions in our ongoing effort to reshape our portfolio and target our most meaningful opportunities,” said Mike Stornant, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Wolverine Worldwide. “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.”