Hush Puppies belongs to Wolverine World Wide, an American company listed on the New York Stock Exchange that also owns Merrell and Saucony. In India the brand is sold by Bata India Limited, a listed Kolkata company that names Hush Puppies in its own annual report and in a release filed with the stock exchange.
Those filings do not say on what terms. Indian tax tribunal orders show Bata paying royalty to Wolverine under a licence, but none of them names the brand. On Myntra on 21 September 2026, 39 of 40 Hush Puppies listings read declared India as the country of origin.
Hush Puppies is a Wolverine World Wide brand everywhere except China, Hong Kong and Macau, and Bata India Limited sells it here. Bata’s filings name the brand but not the arrangement behind it. On one Indian marketplace it sold at 71.8% of MRP, and most listings read were declared made in India, many by Bata itself.
Snapshot
- Brand owner
- Wolverine World Wide, Inc., listed on the New York Stock Exchange, ticker WWW
- The exception
- China, Hong Kong and Macau: the marks were sold to Beijing Jiaman Dress Co., Ltd., under an agreement announced on 31 August 2023
- Brand age
- The brand dates itself to 1958 on Wolverine’s own brands page
- Indian seller named in its own filings
- Bata India Limited, CIN L19201WB1931PLC007261, NSE: BATAINDIA; holding company Bata (BN) B.V., Amsterdam
- Bata India revenue from operations
- ₹34,880.26 million, year ended 31 March 2025, in the report’s own unit
- Arrangement type
- Not stated in the Bata passages that name the brand
- Myntra brand listing
- 733 products at “Hush Puppies”, 21 September 2026
- Price band in India
- Mid-range — median MRP ₹3,899, median paid ₹2,799, 100 distinct listings, 21 September 2026
- Declared country of origin
- India on 39 of 40 listings read; Hong Kong/China on 1
Who owns Hush Puppies
Wolverine World Wide’s annual report for the year ended 3 January 2026 lists the brands it “sources and markets” footwear under. Hush Puppies is on the list, beside Merrell, Saucony, Sweaty Betty, Chaco, Cat, Bates, Harley-Davidson, HYTEST and Wolverine itself. The group reported revenue of $1,874.3 million for that year.
There is one territory where Wolverine no longer owns the name. On 31 August 2023 it announced an agreement to sell the Hush Puppies trade marks, patents, copyrights and domains in China, Hong Kong and Macau to Beijing Jiaman Dress Co., Ltd., its existing sublicensee there, for about $58.8 million. The same release said Wolverine “will continue to own and operate the Hush Puppies brand throughout the rest of the world.” Its annual report for the year to 3 January 2026 records the sale as done. India falls in the rest of the world.
Wolverine’s annual report says that after its 2023 decision to license the brand in North America, Hush Puppies “became a fully global licensed brand”. The North American deal was announced on 8 February 2023 as an exclusive licence to Designer Brands Inc. for Hush Puppies footwear in the United States and Canada, expected to take effect on 1 July 2023. No term was stated.
The licensing runs beyond shoes. The report lists “Hush Puppies® apparel, eyewear, watches, socks, handbags and plush toys” among licensed products. In the accounts, the brand sits in neither of Wolverine’s two reporting segments. It falls in what the report calls “Other”, described as including “Hush Puppies® footwear and apparel”. We found no Hush Puppies revenue figure in the report.
Wolverine’s own Indian company is a separate question, and it is covered on our Merrell audit and our Saucony audit. Nothing we read links that company to Hush Puppies, and it is not the seller named on any Hush Puppies listing we read.
Who sells Hush Puppies in India
Here the Indian partner says so in its own filings. Bata India Limited is a listed company, incorporated in West Bengal in 1931, with its registered office at 27B Camac Street in Kolkata. Its holding company, named in its 2024-25 annual report, is Bata (BN) B.V. of Amsterdam. For the year to 31 March 2025 it reported revenue from operations of ₹34,880.26 million.
That annual report, filed with the National Stock Exchange on 18 July 2025, gives Hush Puppies its own passage. It calls Hush Puppies “the global brand that epitomizes comfort and elegance”, and says a new collection “brings in new-age casuals, loafers and wedges, crafted with exclusive materials and high-end leathers”. It names Vir Das as “the Brand’s India ambassador”.
Bata’s press release to the exchange on 27 October 2025, covering the quarter to 30 September 2025, reported “Premium products showing robust growth in brands like Hush Puppies and Power.” An older report gives the only store count we have. Bata’s 2015-16 annual report counted 102 Hush Puppies stores in India at 31 March 2016, within more than 1,265 stores in all. That figure describes 2016, not today.
Bata also runs the brand’s Indian storefront. Hush Puppies is sold on bata.com/in, and the site’s online terms name Bata India Limited as the operator. Their intellectual-property clause says the marks on the site “are owned or controlled by us or licensed to us” — a general sentence that does not single out Hush Puppies.
What none of this says is what kind of arrangement stands behind the name. The passages that name the brand do not describe a licence, a distributorship or a franchise. They do not say whether Bata’s right is exclusive, when it began or how long it runs.
The licence that shows up in the tax records
The arrangement itself surfaces somewhere else: in Bata’s own tax appeals before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Kolkata. Three decided orders deal with royalty Bata paid to Wolverine, and each ended with that royalty treated as an ordinary business expense.
| Order | Assessment year | What it records about Wolverine | Decided |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITAT Kolkata “A” Bench, 23 May 2013 | 2005-06 | Quotes “the royalty agreement”: know-how marked “Secret and Confidential-property of Wolverine World Wide, Inc.”; royalty of ₹1,10,85,490 | Royalty allowed as revenue expenditure |
| ITAT Kolkata, 6 September 2019 | 2008-09 | Payments of ₹82,19,725 and ₹1,02,14,190 to two Wolverine entities, for “technical know-how and technical expertise and the use of the brand” | Tax department’s appeal dismissed |
| ITAT Kolkata “C” Bench, 8 June 2026 | 2010-11 | Royalty of ₹1,12,08,316 and ₹1,29,02,066 to “Wolverine Worldwide Ince, USA”, as the order prints the name | Tax department’s grounds on royalty dismissed |
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal orders in Bata India Limited’s appeals, as published on Indian Kanoon. An assessment year taxes the income of the year before it.
Read together, the orders establish that Bata was a licensee of Wolverine World Wide. The 2013 order quotes the agreement’s clauses: the know-how “imparted to licensee is and shall remain the exclusive and valuable secret property of licensor”, and on termination “licensed products were not to be manufactured nor was its trade marks to be used”. So the licence covered making shoes under Wolverine’s marks, at least then.
What the orders do not do is name Hush Puppies. They name Wolverine, and elsewhere they name other counterparties, such as SSL TTK Limited, when they list them. The brand is the obvious candidate, but no order we read says so, and none gives the agreement’s date, term, territory, exclusivity or royalty rate. The latest year they evidence is the 2010-11 assessment year.
These are tax decisions, and Bata won each one. Each order decided how one year’s payments should be treated, on the record as it then stood, and nobody has ruled on anything beyond that — including whether the licence they describe is the one in force today.
The filing that names the brand does not name the arrangement, and the orders that name the arrangement do not name the brand.
- AY 2005-06Tax order quotes a Wolverine royalty agreement
- AY 2010-11Latest royalty year in the tax orders read
- 31 Mar 2016Bata counts 102 Hush Puppies stores
- 2024-25Bata’s annual report names “the global brand”
- 27 Oct 2025Exchange release names Hush Puppies growth
- 21 Sep 2026Bata is seller of record on 23 of 40 listings
Six dated records. No single document joins the brand to the terms.
Tribunal orders; Bata India annual reports 2015-16 and 2024-25; Bata’s release to the National Stock Exchange; Myntra listings read 21 September 2026.
Made in India, under a foreign name
On 21 September 2026 Myntra’s brand listing carried 733 products under “Hush Puppies”. We read the statutory declaration on 40 of them — the block the Legal Metrology rules require, naming the country of origin and the company answerable for the goods. India was the country of origin on 39. The fortieth said Hong Kong/China.
The manufacturer line named Bata India Limited on 24 of the 40. Other named manufacturers included Excelsior Leathers on five, and VRD Exports and Srijati Shoes on two each.
Bata’s own site says the same about the one shoe we read there. Its page for a Hush Puppies black leather slip-on formal shoe gives an MRP of ₹3,999, “Country of Origin: India”, and “Manufactured by: Bata India Limited”. The page shows article number 8556732, while its web address carries a different code, 0HP8557320550F. It describes the upper as “Genuine Leather” and “premium cow milled leather”, on a TPR sole. That is one page, not the range.
Wolverine’s annual report says only that its licensees “directly control the balance” of units sourced under its brand names — a statement about the group, not India.
The origin line matters for price. A pair made in India pays no import duty, so duty does not explain what a Hush Puppies shoe costs here. The counter-case sits on the same shelf: every Birkenstock listing read that day declared Germany, and Birkenstock charged 94.4% of its MRP.
Read the manufacturer line
On 24 of 40 listings read it named Bata India Limited. The same block is printed on the box, with the country of origin beside it.
Look at who is selling
The seller of record is shown on the listing. Bata India Limited appeared on 23 of the 40 read, under two versions of its name.
Who is selling Hush Puppies on Myntra
Four seller names appeared across the 40 listings read on 21 September 2026. Bata’s two name forms together make up the largest share.
| Seller of record | Listings of 40 | What is on the record |
|---|---|---|
| RetailNet | 15 | A marketplace seller name; “Retailnet” is a registered trade mark of Tech Connect Retail Private Limited, New Delhi |
| Bata India Limited (OMNI) | 13 | Bata India Limited, the listed company |
| Bata India Limited | 10 | The same company |
| Bonjourretail | 2 | A marketplace seller name |
Myntra product records, read 21 September 2026; trade-mark details from the QuickCompany register mirror.
The marketplace named “RetailNet” as seller of record on 15 of 40 listings read on 21 September 2026, and Bata India Limited, under its two name forms, on 23.
The last name, Bonjourretail, appeared on two listings. Compare the shelf with our audit of Bata’s own brand, where the partner and the owner are the same company.
Nothing published says whether Bata’s right to Hush Puppies in India is exclusive. Whoever the seller is, the manufacturer line and country of origin on the box are the details to read.
What Hush Puppies costs in India
We sounded 100 distinct Hush Puppies listings on Myntra on 21 September 2026. The median MRP was ₹3,899 and the median price paid was ₹2,799, which is 71.8% of MRP. Sixty of the hundred were reduced. There were 19 distinct MRPs and 12 discount rungs, from 10% to 38%. Formal shoes led with 46 listings, then sandals with 26.
On the same shelf that day, Clarks charged 88.0% of MRP with only 8 of 100 listings reduced; FILA charged 64.5%; Birkenstock 94.4%. Columbia, read in the same session as a check, showed 2,432 listings at 95.0%, in line with earlier readings.
The price band here is Mid-range, computed from the ₹2,799 median actually paid across a shelf that is mostly formal shoes and sandals — the brand’s core line, not its cheapest or its flagship.
The foreign half of a comparison is thin. The Australian Hush Puppies site, run by a local company, listed its Bounce range on 21 September 2026 at A$179.95 for the Piccolo and Pandero and A$189.95 for the Rori, with no statement on whether tax is included. Bata numbers its articles its own way, and we found no code shared between its range and the Australian one. No matched-code comparison was taken, and no conversion is printed here.
Bounce, Genius Fit and Zero G: names, not numbers
The brand’s comfort technologies are described on hushpuppies.com.au, whose terms name Brand Collective Pty Ltd of Cremorne, Victoria, as the operator — the Australian seller’s wording, not Wolverine’s or Bata’s.
Bounce promises “Energy rebound with every step” and “cushioned soles that absorb shock and return energy”. Deep Comfort offers “Multiple layers of plush cushioning”. Genius Fit is a “podiatrist-designed footbed” with a “metatarsal dome, arch support, and heel contour”, but no podiatrist or professional body is named. Zero G is “So lightweight it defies gravity”, and no weight is given.
Across all four, the pages publish no figure, no standard and no test house. The same site published prices and style codes that day, so it carries figures elsewhere. The Bata product page read carries no technology claim at all. Its leather is described as genuine cow leather, with no tannage and no Leather Working Group rating stated.
Authenticity and the record
Bata’s Hush Puppies brand page, the product page and the online terms, read on 21 September 2026, carry no way to check a specific pair — no code lookup, hologram or verification page. They publish no list of authorised sellers, and the terms mention no seller other than Bata India Limited. Such lists do exist: Casio publishes a per-platform list of authorised Indian online sellers, which we read on 19 September 2026.
One decided court matter involves Wolverine in India. On 11 December 2023 the Madras High Court dismissed, for non-prosecution, a petition by Wolverine World Wide, Inc. that sought to remove Registered Trade Mark No. 1881174 from the register. The order does not say what the mark is, and no ruling was made on the merits.
Who Hush Puppies is actually for
Hush Puppies in India suits a buyer who wants a leather formal shoe from a company that answers for it in its own filings. Bata names the brand to the stock exchange, runs its storefront and is the declared manufacturer on most listings read. It suits less well a buyer who wants to know the terms that stand behind the name, because no document read sets them out.
Anyone weighing it against Woodland or Metro Shoes should know it is a foreign name on shoes that are, on the declarations read, mostly made in India.
Common questions
Is Hush Puppies an Indian brand?
No. It is owned by Wolverine World Wide, an American listed company, everywhere except China, Hong Kong and Macau. In India it is sold by Bata India Limited, and 39 of 40 Myntra listings read on 21 September 2026 declared India as the country of origin.
Does Bata own Hush Puppies?
Not on anything we read. Wolverine’s filings say Wolverine owns the brand outside China, Hong Kong and Macau. Bata’s filings name Hush Puppies and describe selling it, and tax tribunal orders show Bata paying royalty to Wolverine under a licence, though those orders do not name the brand.
Is Hush Puppies made in India?
Most listings read say so. India was the declared origin on 39 of 40 Myntra listings, and Bata India Limited was the named manufacturer on 24. Bata’s own product page read declares a Hush Puppies shoe made in India by Bata.
Who is RetailNet, the seller on Myntra?
RetailNet is the seller name shown on 15 of 40 Hush Puppies listings read on 21 September 2026; “Retailnet” is a registered trade mark of Tech Connect Retail Private Limited. Bata India Limited was seller of record on 23.
What does Hush Puppies cost in India?
On 100 Myntra listings read on 21 September 2026, the median MRP was ₹3,899 and the median paid ₹2,799, or 71.8% of MRP. Bata’s own site listed one leather slip-on formal shoe at ₹3,999.
References
- Wolverine World Wide, Form 10-K for the year ended 3 January 2026 — the brand list, “a fully global licensed brand”, licensed product categories, the “Other” category, licensees’ share of sourcing, the completed China sale
- Wolverine World Wide, fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results announcement — group revenue of $1,874.3 million
- Wolverine World Wide press release, 31 August 2023 (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K) — sale of the China, Hong Kong and Macau rights to Beijing Jiaman Dress Co., Ltd. for about $58.8 million; “the rest of the world”
- Wolverine World Wide press release, 8 February 2023 (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K) — the exclusive US and Canada footwear licence to Designer Brands Inc.
- Wolverine World Wide, Hush Puppies brand page — the 1958 date
- Bata India Limited, Annual Report 2024-25, filed with the NSE on 18 July 2025 — the Hush Puppies passage, Vir Das, revenue from operations, holding company
- Bata India Limited, press release filed with the NSE, 27 October 2025 — “Premium products showing robust growth in brands like Hush Puppies and Power”
- Bata India Limited, Annual Report 2015-16 — 102 Hush Puppies stores at 31 March 2016
- Bata India, online terms and conditions — operator, CIN, registered office, the intellectual-property clause
- bata.com/in, Hush Puppies brand page and Hush Puppies Black Slip On Formal Shoes For Men, read 21 September 2026 — MRP ₹3,999, country of origin, manufacturer, materials, article number
- Bata India Ltd, ITAT Kolkata “A” Bench, 23 May 2013 and companion order — the royalty agreement clauses, ₹1,10,85,490, royalty allowed as revenue expenditure
- Bata India Ltd v DCIT Circle-2(1), ITAT Kolkata, 6 September 2019 — payments to Wolverine entities for know-how and “the use of the brand”; appeal dismissed
- ACIT Circle-2(1) v Bata India Ltd, ITAT Kolkata “C” Bench, 8 June 2026 — royalty to Wolverine for assessment year 2010-11; grounds dismissed
- Madras High Court, rectification petition by Wolverine World Wide, Inc. concerning Trade Mark No. 1881174, order of 11 December 2023 — dismissed for non-prosecution
- Myntra brand listing and product records for Hush Puppies, with the Birkenstock, Clarks, FILA and Columbia readings, 21 September 2026 — 733 products, the 100-listing sounding, 40 declarations and sellers of record
- QuickCompany trade-mark mirror, application 3306158 — the Retailnet mark and its proprietor (register mirror)
- hushpuppies.com.au, Our Technology and Bounce technology — the Bounce, Deep Comfort, Genius Fit and Zero G wording
- hushpuppies.com.au, Bounce collection, read 21 September 2026 — A$179.95 and A$189.95 list prices and style codes
- Casio India, authorised online sellers — a brand-published Indian seller list, read 19 September 2026
What is good about Hush Puppies in India is who stands behind the box: a listed partner that names the brand to the stock exchange, runs its storefront and is the declared manufacturer on 24 of 40 listings read. At a median ₹2,799, or 71.8% of MRP, a buyer who waits for a reduction pays well under the printed price, and 60 of 100 listings were reduced on the day.
Two things are not in print. The terms behind the name are not published: the tax orders stop at 2010-11 and never name the brand. And the comfort names — Bounce, Genius Fit, Zero G — arrive without a number, a standard or a test house on the one brand site that describes them.
An American name on shoes declared made in India, with a listed Indian partner behind most of them — buy the pair that names Bata on the box.
