Wolverine to let go of Keds
Footwear group Wolverine World Wide has announced its intention to let its Keds casual footwear brand and its in-house supplier of leather go as part of a series of cost-saving measures.
In a statement on December 8, the Michigan-based company said it wanted to sell Keds and Wolverine Leathers or licence their operations to third parties.
The footwear group ran its own tannery in Rockford, Michigan, for 100 years, specialising from the 1950s onwards in making nubuck leathers from pigskin for brands in its portfolio, including Hush Puppies.
This tannery ceased production in 2009, but Wolverine Leathers has, until now, remained an active part of the group, contracting leather production and colouring to suppliers in five locations in the US, Vietnam, Thailand and China.
