Wolverine World Wide is getting more orders than expected for its stylish new Merrell Barefoot collection of shoes, forcing the company to twist the arms of its Asian suppliers to plan higher production runs. Deliveries of the first collection will be in the hundreds of thousands of pairs, company officials say, stressing that there will be enough product available for the major foreign markets, especially those where the brand already has a strong presence. The company will concentrate on outdoor and specialty shops in the U.S., but in Europe the focus will be rather on the outdoor specialty sector plus a few running specialists. Many important European outdoor retailers have reacted positively to Merrell’s new line and to the first global presentation by Wolverine at the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen of its extended Chaco collection, which targets a younger customer.
