Who owns Merrell?
Merrell is owned by Wolverine Worldwide (the United States, NYSE: WWW), which has owned the brand since 17 October 1997.[1][2]
Evidence: Wolverine World Wide, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-27, SEC EDGAR, 27 February 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Wolverine World Wide, Inc. verified
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, Rockford, Michigan
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Founded
- 1981
- Category
- Apparel, footwear & accessories › Sportswear & footwear › Outdoor & workwear
- Parent ticker
- NYSE: WWW
- Trademark registrant
- WOLVERINE OUTDOORS, INC. (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 3 sources
About Merrell
Merrell makes hiking boots, trail shoes and outdoor apparel and is the largest brand in the Wolverine Worldwide portfolio. It was founded in 1981 by a custom bootmaker and two partners, and its Jungle Moc slip-on became an unexpected mass-market success well outside the hiking market it was designed for.
What Wolverine Worldwide's annual report says about Merrell
Sentences about Merrell from Wolverine Worldwide's latest annual filing[1], copied word for word.
After over 40 years, with a persistent focus on innovation, design and testing, Merrell has become a global leader in hiking footwear, with a rapidly growing following in trail running and lifestyle.
Merrell can be found across the globe, on Merrell.com, in key outdoor and sporting goods retail stores and in Company owned Merrell stores.
How often Wolverine Worldwide names Merrell in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central. The brand is named more often than it was three years earlier.
Trademark record for Merrell
The USPTO record for the Merrell mark lists WOLVERINE OUTDOORS, INC. as the owner of record (serial number 73484218). That name matches the owner named above.[3]
Ownership timeline of Merrell
- 1997 – present Wolverine Worldwide [1][2] verified
Where Merrell sits in Wolverine Worldwide
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Wolverine Worldwide ownership tree →
See the full Wolverine Worldwide brand portfolio (7) →
Other brands owned by Wolverine Worldwide
Wolverine Worldwide controls 7 brands on Brandtree, 7 of them in apparel, footwear & accessories.
Also in apparel, footwear & accessories
- Bates (1885)
- Chaco (1989)
- Hush Puppies (1958)
- Saucony (1898)
- Sweaty Betty (1998)
- Wolverine (1883)
Other brands in outdoor & workwear, and who owns them
The 52 brands in outdoor & workwear on Brandtree belong to 28 owners. The largest is Clarus, with 5; Wolverine Worldwide has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| PG Golf | Acushnet | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Black Diamond | Clarus | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Arc'teryx | Amer Sports | 🇫🇮 Finland |
| Cannon | Johnson Outdoors | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Kathmandu | KMD Brands | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| Dickies | VF Corporation | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Callaway Golf | Callaway Golf | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Columbia | Columbia Sportswear | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: Wolverine Worldwide
Wolverine Worldwide is a publicly listed company headquartered in Rockford, Michigan, United States, founded in 1883. Brandtree records 7 brands under its control, and it is listed as NYSE: WWW.
Wolverine World Wide is a Michigan footwear company founded in 1883 that now owns a portfolio of outdoor, running and work brands. It reports through an Active group built around Merrell and Saucony and a Work group built around its own Wolverine boots, and it also makes footwear under licence for Caterpillar and Harley-Davidson. It sold the global Sperry business in January 2024 as part of a decision to concentrate on the brands it considered to have the most growth ahead of them.
Wolverine Worldwide: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇺🇸 Merrell and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,570 brands that began in the United States. 501 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Merrell is not one of them.
- 7 For All Mankind — Delta Galil 🇮🇱
- AKHG — Duluth Holdings 🇺🇸
- Adore Me — Victoria's Secret 🇺🇸
- Aerie — American Eagle Outfitters 🇺🇸
- All in Motion — Target 🇺🇸
- Allen Edmonds — Caleres 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Merrell?
The parent company of Merrell is Wolverine Worldwide, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
Is Merrell American?
Yes. Merrell originated in the United States in 1981 and its owner, Wolverine Worldwide, is also headquartered in the United States.
Since when has Wolverine Worldwide owned Merrell?
Wolverine Worldwide has owned Merrell since 17 October 1997.
Is Merrell still owned by Wolverine Worldwide?
Yes. As of 29 October 2026, Merrell is still owned by Wolverine Worldwide. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (3) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Wolverine World Wide, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-27 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 27 February 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] Wolverine World Wide, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K405 filed 1998-04-01 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 1 April 1998; retrieved 4 October 2026.
- [3] USPTO: MERRELL, serial 73484218 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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