Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 24, 2012

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Nature of Operations

Nature of Operations

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (the “Company”) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of quality casual footwear and apparel; performance outdoor footwear and apparel; industrial work shoes, boots and apparel; and uniform shoes and boots. The Company’s portfolio of owned and licensed brands includes: Bates ^®, Cat^® Footwear, Chaco^®, Cushe ^®, Harley-Davidson^® Footwear, Hush Puppies^®, HyTest ^®, Merrell^®, Patagonia^® Footwear, Sebago ^®, Soft Style^® and Wolverine^®. Licensing and distribution arrangements with third parties extend the global reach of the Company’s brand portfolio. The Company also operates a consumer-direct division to market both its own brands and branded footwear and apparel from other manufacturers and a leathers division that markets Wolverine Performance Leathers™.

Basis of Presentation

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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

Revenue is recognized on the sale of products manufactured or sourced by the Company when the related goods have been shipped, legal title has passed to the customer and collectability is reasonably assured. Revenue generated through licensees and distributors involving products bearing the Company’s trademarks is recognized as earned according to stated contractual terms upon either the purchase or shipment of branded products by licensees and distributors.

The Company records provisions for estimated sales returns and allowances at the time of sale based on historical rates of returns and allowances and specific identification of outstanding returns not yet received from customers. However, estimates of actual returns and allowances in any future period are inherently uncertain and actual returns and allowances may differ from these estimates. If actual or expected future returns and allowances were significantly greater or lower than established reserves, a reduction or increase to net revenues would be recorded in the period this determination was made.

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of goods sold includes the actual product costs, including inbound freight charges, purchasing, sourcing, inspection and receiving costs. Warehousing costs are included in selling, general and administrative expenses.

Seasonality

Seasonality

The Company’s business is subject to seasonal influences and the Company’s fiscal year has twelve weeks in each of the first three quarters and, depending on the fiscal calendar, sixteen or seventeen weeks in the fourth quarter. Both of these factors can cause significant differences in revenue, earnings and cash flows from quarter to quarter; however, the differences have followed a consistent pattern in previous years.

Reclassifications

Reclassifications

Certain prior period amounts on the consolidated condensed financial statements have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation. These reclassifications did not affect net earnings.

Earnings Per Share

The Company calculates earnings per share in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 260, Earnings Per Share (“ASC 260”). ASC 260 addresses whether instruments granted in share-based payment transactions are participating securities prior to vesting, and therefore need to be included in the earnings allocation in computing earnings per share under the two-class method. Under the guidance in ASC 260, the Company’s unvested share-based payment awards that contain non-forfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents, whether paid or unpaid, are participating securities and must be included in the computation of earnings per share pursuant to the two-class method.

Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures

The Company follows FASB ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”), which provides a consistent definition of fair value, focuses on exit price, prioritizes the use of market-based inputs over entity-specific inputs for measuring fair value and establishes a three-tier hierarchy for fair value measurements. This topic requires fair value measurements to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

Level 1:	Fair value is measured using quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets and liabilities.
Level 2:	Fair value is measured using either direct or indirect inputs, other than quoted prices included within Level 1, which are observable for similar assets or liabilities.
Level 3:	Fair value is measured using valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs are unobservable.

The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts and notes receivable, accounts payable, foreign currency forward exchange contracts and borrowings under the Company’s revolving credit agreement. The carrying amount of the Company’s financial instruments is historical cost, which approximates their fair value, except for the foreign currency exchange contracts, which are carried at fair value. The Company does not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes.

At March 24, 2012 and March 26, 2011, liabilities of $1,067 and $3,105, respectively, have been recognized for the fair value of the Company’s foreign exchange contracts. In accordance with ASC 820, these assets and liabilities fall within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. The prices for the financial instruments are determined using prices for recently-traded financial instruments with similar underlying terms as well as directly or indirectly observable inputs. The Company did not have any additional assets or liabilities that were measured at fair value on a recurring basis at March 24, 2012 and March 26, 2011.

Derivatives and Hedging (ASC 815)

The Company follows FASB ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, which is intended to improve transparency in financial reporting and requires that all derivative instruments be recorded on the consolidated balance sheets at fair value by establishing criteria for designation and effectiveness of hedging relationships. The Company utilizes foreign currency forward exchange contracts to manage the volatility associated with U.S. dollar inventory purchases made by non-U.S. wholesale operations in the normal course of business. At March 24, 2012 and March 26, 2011, foreign exchange contracts with a notional value of $102,090 and $111,743, respectively, were outstanding to purchase U.S. dollars with maturities ranging up to 336 days. These contracts have been designated as cash flow hedges.

Compensation - Stock Compensation (ASC 718)

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation in accordance with the fair value recognition provisions of FASB ASC Topic 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation (“ASC 718”). The Company recognized compensation expense of $3,659 and $3,281 and related income tax benefits of $1,182 and $1,054 for grants under its stock-based compensation plans in the statements of operations for the 12 weeks ended March 24, 2012 and March 26, 2011, respectively.

Stock-based compensation expense recognized in the consolidated condensed statements of operations for the 12 weeks ended March 24, 2012 and March 26, 2011, is based on awards ultimately expected to vest and, as such, has been reduced for estimated forfeitures. ASC 718 requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. Forfeitures were estimated based on historical experience.

The Company estimated the fair value of employee stock options on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes model. The estimated weighted-average fair value for each option granted was $10.78 and $10.41 for the 12 weeks ended March 24, 2012 and March 26, 2011, respectively, with the following weighted-average assumptions: