Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 30, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Nature of Operations

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (the “Company”) is a leading designer, marketer and licensor of a broad range of quality casual footwear and apparel; performance outdoor and athletic footwear and apparel; children’s footwear; industrial work shoes, boots and apparel; and uniform shoes and boots. The Company’s portfolio of owned and licensed brands includes: Bates^®, Cat^®, Chaco^®, Harley-Davidson^®, Hush Puppies^®, HyTest^®, Keds^®, Merrell^®, Saucony^®, Sperry^®, Stride Rite^® and Wolverine^®. The Company’s products are marketed worldwide through owned operations and through licensing and distribution arrangements with third parties. The Company also operates retail stores and eCommerce sites to market both its own brands and branded footwear and apparel from other manufacturers, as well as a leathers division that markets Wolverine Performance Leathers™.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for a complete presentation of the financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for fair presentation have been included in the accompanying financial statements. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes included in the Company’s 2018 Form 10-K.

As described in Note 2, the Company adopted ASU 2016-02, Leases, at the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Under the modified retrospective method, comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for those periods. As described in Note 16, the Company realigned certain brands into a new operating segment during the first quarter of fiscal 2019. All prior period disclosures have been restated to reflect the new reportable operating segments.

Fiscal Year

The Company’s fiscal year is the 52 or 53-week period that ends on the Saturday nearest to December 31. Fiscal years 2019 and 2018 both have 52 weeks. The Company reports its quarterly results of operations on the basis of 13-week quarters for each of the first three fiscal quarters and a 13 or 14-week period for the fiscal fourth quarter. References to particular years or quarters refer to the Company’s fiscal years ended on the Saturday nearest to December 31 or the fiscal quarters within those years.

Seasonality

The Company’s business is subject to seasonal influences that can cause significant differences in revenue, earnings and cash flows from quarter to quarter; however, the differences have followed a consistent pattern in recent years.