Merrell - Fashion Company Profile

Merrell is the outdoor footwear brand founded in 1981 by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell and John Schweizer - maker of the hiking boots and the moc that created the aftersport category, and since 1997 a brand of Wolverine World Wide (NYSE: WWW).

Company Snapshot

Status
Operating - an outdoor footwear and apparel brand, and the largest brand of Wolverine World Wide by revenue in recent company reporting
Type
Brand of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW), which acquired Merrell in 1997
Headquarters
Rockford, Michigan, United States
Founded
1981, by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell and John Schweizer, as a maker of high-performance hiking boots
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A display of outdoor hiking boots, trail shoes and a slip-on moc on a wooden studio bench with folded apparel and a small Apparel Search tag, product photography with no people

Company Profile

Current styles are on the Merrell website, linked above; the shop box covers Merrell products sold through Amazon and eBay. Merrell has been a Wolverine World Wide brand since 1997 and is headquartered with its parent in Rockford, Michigan; company reporting in 2025 described it as the group's largest brand, with its Rockford campus renovated that year around the Merrell and Saucony teams. The fuller record - the Green Mountains beginnings, the telemarking boots and the moc, and the brand's own account of the new outdoor - is kept in full on the history page, with its photograph.

That framing separates Merrell from a pure expedition brand. A hiker on a Vermont trail and a commuter crossing a wet city in trail shoes are, in this philosophy, the same customer on different days, and footwear has to travel between those days without apology. Performance remains the entry requirement, since the products are filed as performance footwear first, but the territory where performance is allowed to matter keeps expanding outward from the summit toward the street, the travel day and the hours after the hike ends.

Merrell History

The earlier record for this company - its history, past brand line-ups, figures and photographs from the periods described - is kept on a separate page for historical reference.

Merrell History & Historical Profile →

Common Questions

Who owns Merrell now?

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW), which acquired the brand in 1997. Merrell is one of Wolverine's leading brands, headquartered in Rockford, Michigan.

When was Merrell founded?

In 1981, by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell and John Schweizer, starting with high-performance hiking boots; Randy Merrell sold his share and left in 1986.

What is Merrell known for?

Outdoor footwear - hiking boots and shoes, trail runners, sandals and the slip-on moc credited with creating the aftersport category - plus outdoor apparel and accessories.

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