X-Men Legends: Wolverine's Revenge "The Wolverine Mania"

   By Shara Tibken
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Wolverine World Wide Inc. (WWW) jumped 12% Thursday after an analyst said the company is poised to profit when the economy recovers.

"Wolverine World Wide is managing as well as any company during this recession and is positioned to reach higher levels of profitability than ever before as soon as an economic recovery unfolds," CL King analyst Scott Krasik said in a note.

He boosted the footwear maker's stock-investment rating to strong buy from neutral on the possible earnings upside and compelling valuation.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales increased 0.5% last month, largely in line with Wall Street expectations. While much of the increase was due to higher gasoline prices, the retail sales data suggest that, at a minimum, the recession is moderating.

In recent trading, shares of the maker of the Hush Puppy and Merrell show lines climbed 12% to $23.64, up nearly 75% for the past three months. They are still off the company's 52-week high of $29.44 from September, and fell as low as $13.15 in March.

In the past week, Wolverine executives have been meeting with analysts and investors in its New York showroom for the Fashion Footwear Association of New York Shoe Expo and also presented Tuesday at the Piper Jaffray Consumer Conference.

Krasik said his meeting with Chief Executive Blake Krueger and other brand leaders gave him the impression that several brands have "compelling" product that should drive top-line growth in 2010 if the spending environment improves.

In addition, Krasik said that if sales trends stabilize later this year, Wolverine could easily outperform its guidance due to better fourth-quarter sales, a weaker dollar and higher-than-expected savings from its restructuring programs announced in January.

Christi Cowdin, Wolverine's director of investor relations and corporate communications, told Dow Jones Newswires that the company's multi-branded portfolio with 10 different shoe brands, its geographic diversity and its innovative product development have helped it weather the recession.

"We serve a lot of different customers - a lot of varied customers - and we're also diversified through our distribution," Cowdin said, adding the company sells some shoe brands at the Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) department store, but sells others at retailer tractor supply stores. She said that diversity has helped it through the tough environment.

"Our customers in the form of retailers are comfortable with brands they know ... and [along with that], we're delivering new and fresh styles that can deliver [results] for them," Cowdin said.

Going forward, Cowdin said the company plans to concentrate on increasing its apparel and accessories business and expanding its direct-to-consumer business, along with maintaining focus on its core footwear business. Cowdin said the direct-to-consumer business, which includes its own stores and selling products online, currently constitutes less than 7% of its annual revenue; Wolverine hopes to eventually grow that business to nearly 20% in the next several years.

In addition, Cowdin said data the company has collected has "made us confident we're taking market share in this environment," which should position it to profit when the market rebounds.



-By Shara Tibken, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2168; shara.tibken@dowjones.com;


"This is just one of the effects of X-men Legends: Wolverine" .