Wolverine Names New President; Teams for Predictive Analytics
Wolverine World Wide named Brendan L. Hoffman as its new president, effective Sept. 8.
Hoffman, who most recently served as CEO of Vince Holding Corp., will join the footwear and apparel company’s board of directors and is expected to transition to become the next CEO.
Hoffman has also served as Bon-Ton Stores CEO and president, as well as CEO and president of Lord & Taylor, and president and CEO of Neiman Marcus Direct, a subsidiary of The Neiman Marcus Group.
Blake Krueger, current chairman, president and CEO, called out Hoffman’s strategic vision for consumer-direct and omnichannel retail, describing it as “well-suited for the digital pivot and accelerated changes in consumer behavior that are now taking place in the global marketplace.”
Wolverine, which includes such brands as Keds, Sperry, Hush Puppies and Saucony in its portfolio, recently tapped First Insight to further leverage data in its product decision making process. It’s integrating the provider’s Voice of the Customer predictive analytics solution across all of its 12 brands.
The solutions are expected to increase speed to market, sell-in, sell-through and reduce markdowns, and Lindsey Goodman, Wolverine Worldwide director of consumer insights, cited its scalability and ability to deliver measurable ROI as the reasons it selected the provider.
“With the guidance and support of First Insight’s Key Account Management team, we have been able to leverage robust consumer demand data to increase product confidence, leading to higher sales at sell-in,” said Goodman in a statement. “Wolverine Worldwide is viewing the current COVID-19 crisis as a catalyst to leverage customer research and accelerate our digital transformation to emerge better and stronger than ever.”
Kate Pinkham, global general manager and VP of the Hush Puppies brand, noted that First Insight’s testing, consumer insights and analytics have helped drive sales for the brand internationally.
“First Insight has helped us to better understand our international consumer desires, enabling us to optimize our global product offerings,” said Pinkham. “Additionally, by testing with different regions and leading with the winners, we are able to build confidence and increase sell-in with our international partners. With First Insight’s tools, we’re able to innovate faster and ensure our global partners are aligned on product, price points and marketing.”
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