KEDS SHOES OUTLET

Wolverine Worldwide To Acquire Collective Brands' Performance + Lifestyle Group

31.12.69

Created a classic American sneaker, called "the Champion," which has remained a style icon for over 90 years.  Since then, its original Champion silhouette has been worn by legends and style icons through the decades. From movie stars, artists and tennis pros, to first ladies and beatniks, just about everyone has walked, skipped or jumped in a pair of Keds. Today, Keds continues its almost 100-year legacy of keeping it happy and light by injecting feel-good style into everything it makes from head to toe -- for life, play, and the passionate pursuit of happiness.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the growth of the Performance + Lifestyle Group brands; growth of the Company's revenue and profits; effect of the acquisition on earnings; timing of completion of the acquisition; growth in specific product categories; growth of international reach and margin expansion for Performance + Lifestyle Group brands; procurement of financing for the acquisition; ability to aggressively reduce debt; and expected earnings per share relating to Performance + Lifestyle Group brands. In addition, words such as "estimates," "anticipates," "believes," "forecasts," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "is likely," "expects," "intends," "should," "will," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions ("Risk Factors") that are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence. Therefore, actual results and outcomes may materially differ from what may be expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements.  Risk Factors include, among others:  the possibility that the Performance + Lifestyle Group acquisition does not close, including, but not limited to, due to the failure to obtain governmental approval; the Company's ability to realize the benefits of the Performance + Lifestyle Group acquisition on a timely basis or at all; the Company's ability to combine its businesses and the Performance + Lifestyle Group successfully or in a timely and cost-efficient manner; failure to obtain any required financing on favorable terms; the degree of business disruption relating to the Performance + Lifestyle Group acquisition; the Company's ability to successfully develop its brands and businesses; changes in duty structures in countries of import and export including anti-dumping measures and trade defense actions; changes in consumer preferences or spending patterns; cancellation of orders for future delivery, or the failure of the Department of Defense to exercise future purchase options or award new contracts, or the cancellation of existing contracts by the Department of Defense or other military purchasers; changes in planned customer demand, re-orders or at-once orders; the availability and pricing of footwear manufacturing capacity; reliance on foreign sourcing; failure of international licensees and distributors to meet sales goals or to make timely payments on amounts owed; disruption of technology systems; regulatory or other changes affecting the supply or price of materials used in manufacturing; the availability of power, labor and resources in key foreign sourcing countries, including ; the impact of competition and pricing; the impact of changes in the value of foreign currencies; the development of new initiatives; the risks of doing business in developing countries, and politically or economically volatile areas; retail buying patterns; consolidation in the retail sector; changes in economic and market conditions; acts and effects of war and terrorism; weather; and additional factors discussed in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and exhibits thereto.  Other Risk Factors exist, and new Risk Factors emerge from time to time that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, as a prediction of actual results.  Furthermore, the Company undertakes no obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements.

Source: PR Newswire (press release)