Products currently commercialized by Merrell include hiking boots, athletic shoes, sandals, jackets, knit caps, gloves, t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, and socks.

Merrell was established in 1981 when two executives for the Rossignol ski company, Clark Matis and John Schweizer, launched a new maker of hiking boots.

Plans were made for production of the new line in factories located in Italy, a leading exporter of footwear to the world market at the time.

[1] In 1983, the new Merrell company delivered its first product to the market, making shipments to a pair of east coast retailers specializing in hiking gear.

[1] In 1986, Randy Merrell sought to return to his previous life as a maker of custom boots and sold his share of the company bearing his name.

[2] Wolverine introduced a new lighter-weight sensibility to the line, beginning with a trail running shoe called the "Jungle Runner".

[3] This initial foray into lightweight footwear was not a commercial success, but a team led by Clark Matis came up with the idea of using a very aggressive trail running outsole with a casual slip-on upper made of pigskin suede, a material previously perfected and used extensively in the Hush Puppies line.

[11] In September 2023, Merrell invited six athletes to run 3.2 miles up the technical dirt hiking trails of Colorado’s Steamboat Ski Resort, climbing 2,200 feet with an average grade of 12 percent, with the promise of sponsoring the top male and female to set a new Fastest Known Time (FKT) record.