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Non-Tech : Wolverine World Wide: Need some good shoes? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ken Turetzky who wrote (60)	2/12/1998 8:53:00 PM
From: Chip Roos	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 178

Ken: Just returned from the Las Vegas Shoe Show and as promised, I checked out happenings with Wolverine. As you are probably aware, WWW secured a licensing agreement with Harley Davidson to use the Harley name on their work shoes and boots. Previously, H H Brown, a great footwear company owned by none other than Warren Buffett, had the license. This should be good for WWW although surprisingly, another company also has a Harley Davidson license for different types of boots. Doesn't make much sense but this agreement will benefit WWW. I spoke to any retailers who carry Hush Puppy and other Wolverine products. Their dressier footwear business is just ok but their utility footwear and their casual shoes business is strong. And the company is in a buying mode.....increasing the scope of their business. A friend who is a high ranking executive with the company told me that overall, their business is solid but he cautioned not to expect the same type of returns the company has had during the past three years. I believe his comment was "The business and the stock price should be very stable; just not skyrocketing like the past few years." This was, of course, his opinion not based upon any good insider info or anything. And often I find the adage that "you can't see the forest through the trees" to be true in cases like this. Based upon the response from retailer and what I personally saw at the show, I would say that this stock is definitely a hold and a good place to have your money in the near to mid term. Don't know if I would jump in at this point but it is a well managed company that is definitely on a positive track in a rather tough industry. I will also tell you that Nike is in for a somewhat rocky period but longterm, it too is a great company. Right now, Adidas is the king with Vans not far behind. And LA Gear filed chapter 11....a bunch of arrogant dummies who probably should have opted for chapter 7. Stay away from Nine West Group (NIN) and Brown Group (BG). The hottest line in America today is Doc Martins which is an English company that I think is a private company. But they too are arrogant and will not enjoy extended success in my opinion. The best line at the show was, of course, that of my company. We're small but really had a great show. I'll post additional information as it becomes available. Regards, Chip