A buyer emerges for Keds
Footwear group Wolverine World Wide has announced the sale of its Keds brand to Designer Brands, the parent company of footwear retail group DSW.
Wolverine announced in December that it was looking for a buyer for the casual shoe brand.
In addition, Designer Brands has acquired an exclusive licence in the US and Canada for another Wolverine brand, Hush Puppies.
Wolverine chief executive, Brendan Hoffman, said: “We are particularly pleased to have reached this agreement with Designer Brands, a longtime retail partner of ours and a natural fit to guide the iconic Keds brand into its next phase.”
The Keds brand sale closed on February 4; the Hush Puppies licence is anticipated to be effective as of July 1. He said these transactions would generate cash of more than $90 million for Wolverine.
