Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW) will be honored with the Excellence in Lifestyle Branding Award at the American Apparel & Footwear Association’s (AAFA) 31st Annual American Image Awards to be held on May 12, 2009 in New York City. Blake W. Krueger, the Company’s CEO and President, will accept the award, which recognizes Wolverine’s success in building one of the most diverse and preeminent portfolios of footwear and lifestyle brands in the industry
Other corporations and individuals to be honored at AAFA’s 2009 American Image Awards include QVC (Retailer of the Year); Gilbert Harrison, founder and chairman of Financo, Inc. (Lifetime Achievement); Norma Kamali (Designer of the Year); and Lily Pulitzer (Spirit of a Woman Award).
During 2008, Wolverine celebrated its 125th anniversary by marketing nearly 48 million pairs of footwear globally and delivering its eighth consecutive year of record revenue and earnings. This success is derived, in part, from the Company’s strong and extensive portfolio of footwear and lifestyle brands, which includes Bates(R), Caterpillar(R) Footwear(R), Chaco(R), Cushe(TM), Harley-Davidson(R) Footwear, Hush Puppies(R), Merrell(R), Patagonia(R) Footwear, Sebago(R) and Wolverine(R). These brands reach consumers through owned-wholesale operations which cover North America and Europe, and a network of independently owned distributors and licensees servicing 180 countries. The foundation of this global brand network dates back to 1959, when the Company had the foresight to introduce the new Hush Puppies brand to international markets through licensing programs in Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.
