Wolverine places Sweaty Betty under London-based international group

Wolverine World Wide has announced that Sweaty Betty, the women’s activewear brand acquired in August 2021, will now report into the company’s London-based international group led by Isabel Soriano, which is responsible for the operations outside the US.

This move, the company said, “will more closely align Sweaty Betty with Wolverine’s global centres of excellence”.

“Bringing Sweaty Betty under Isabel Soriano and the international group fits perfectly with our strategy to prioritise resources and support to the brands with the biggest global growth opportunities,” said Brendan Hoffman, Wolverine Worldwide’s president and CEO in a release.

“Our regional teams have deep commercial experience in key international markets and are well-positioned to bring their sourcing, logistics, technology, and operational expertise to help accelerate Sweaty Betty’s growth,” Hoffman added.

Job cuts, CEO exits

As part of this transition, the company added, several opportunities have been identified to better align Sweaty Betty’s cost structure to Wolverine’s other brands and enable future investments. These include consolidating London office space, securing savings through Wolverine’s new profit improvement office, and proposing a UK workforce reduction.

“These decisions were not taken lightly but are necessary in order to position Sweaty Betty for long-term success,” said Julia Straus, CEO of Sweaty Betty.

The company further said that Straus will be leaving the business in June 2023 and returning to the US to be closer to family and a search for her successor is underway.

Wolverine World Wide acquired Sweaty Betty for 410 million dollars in 2021.