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Rockport (company)

January 01, 1970

The Rockport Group is an American shoe brand owned by Authentic Brands Group. Associated brands include Aravon, Dunham and Rockport, and the Rockport Cobb Hill Collection.

Rockport
A Rockport store in Newport, Rhode Island
FounderSaul and Bruce Katz
Websiterockport.com

Founded in Marlborough, Massachusetts, in 1971 by Saul L. Katz and his son, Bruce R. Katz, the company marketed walking as a healthy alternative to running. In 2023 the Rockport Group was acquired by Authentic Brands Group.[1]

History edit

In 1930, Samuel Katz founded the Hubbard Shoe Company, which had its first factory in Rochester, New Hampshire; eight years later the company employed 700. In 1945, Saul Katz took control of Hubbard from his father. In the 1960s, U.S. shoe manufacturing increasingly moved to countries with lower labor costs, making it difficult for U.S. plants to stay competitive in the face of less expensive imports. Saul Katz urged Congress to aid the American shoe industry[2] and in 1977 the Carter administration imposed quotas on shoe imports,[3] but the controls arrived too late for Hubbard, which went out of business in 1970.[4]

Saul Katz continued to run a surviving subsidiary spun off from Hubbard, called Highland Import. It operated out of offices in the old Diamond Shoe Company in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and imported shoes from Brazil.[5] Highland Import worked with American branded shoe companies to develop special products. One was a hand sewn heavy leather moccasin modeled after a shoe developed by Walter Dyer in Rockport, Massachusetts. When Saul Katz went to the tannery in Brazil he named the leather Rockport.[6]

The 3,000 pairs of moccasins brought into Marlborough arrived too late for Highland’s customer and so the shoes remained in the warehouse for some months. Bruce Katz then began working with his father and travelled the East Coast from Boston to Washington, D.C., selling these shoes in plain white boxes to small leather shops and shoe boutiques in many small towns. The shoes carried no name until Katz learned that others were copying the shoes and calling them "Rockport type" shoes. He subsequently returned to Marlborough and started branding the shoes as "Rockport".[4]

In 1971, Saul Katz and his son, Bruce, formed The Rockport Company from Highland Import.[7] The company was started with $15,000 and grew by staying profitable each year. In 1986, shortly before the company was sold, Rockport's sales were reaching nearly $100 million a year, having turned a profit every year since it was founded.[8]

In 1986, Rockport was preparing to go public when the family decided instead to sell the company to British athletic footwear giant Reebok.[9] Bruce Katz remained as president for one year before turning over the management to a new Reebok CEO. Saul Katz stayed on as part of the management team until retiring in his 70s.[2][10] Later Reebok was sold to German company Adidas.[11]

On August 3, 2015, Berkshire Partners and New Balance Holding, Inc. completed the acquisition of The Rockport Company from the Adidas Group, and combined Rockport with Drydock Footwear, an affiliate of New Balance, to form a new company called The Rockport Group. Drydock brought with it the Aravon, Cobb Hill, and Dunham brands to the new firm.[12][13][14] Rockport moved its headquarters from Canton to Newton, Massachusetts.[15]

In December 2017, sources reported that Crescent Capital Group, a major creditor of The Rockport Group, acquired ownership of Rockport from Berkshire Partners.[16] On May 14, 2018, Rockport filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing a "costly and time-consuming separation" from their former owner, Adidas AG.[17] Charlesbank Capital Partners purchased the company out of bankruptcy in July 2018; on July 23, the company's 60 brick-and-mortar retail locations were closed.[18]

On June 14, 2023, Rockport filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy again.[19] In August, the brand was acquired by Authentic Brands Group.[1]

Products edit

 
The Rockport "World Tour" model, the company's signature walking shoe from the late 1990s until 2015.

Rockport is credited with popularizing walking as a healthy alternative to running. It invested heavily in design and spent lavishly on marketing to create a strong brand name and carve out a market niche. Rockport also invested in research into the biomechanics of walking to design its shoes.[8]

Rockport's first product was the Country Walker, introduced in 1973.[4] On the basis of the company’s subsequent RocSport shoe and those that followed, Bruce Katz is credited by the shoe industry monthly Footwear Plus with creating the "modern-day lightweight and technology-infused comfort shoe concept."[20]

Rockport shoes of this period were designed as alternatives to athletic shoes, which were gaining in popularity as all-purpose footwear. Rockport focused on designing shoes that more closely resembled traditional styles, but sought to incorporate the lightness and comfort of running shoes. This development effort made the RocSport "perhaps the first real 'high technology shoe'", according to James A. Phills, Jr., who teaches at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Apple University, Apple Inc.'s in-house business management school.[4][21]

In 1984, Rockport sponsored an 11,600-mile walk across the country and traversing every state to promote walking as a popular form of exercise. Company-sponsored walkers participating in “Walk for the Health of It” included Robert Sweetgall, whose books helped popularize walking for exercise. Sweetgall and the other walkers wore Rockport shoes and their trek was documented in a film, Walk America! Largely as a result of the company’s promotional activities, Rockport shoes became closely associated with walking.[4]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b "Rockport Privacy Notice". Rockport.com. Rockport. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Saul Katz, 95; Shoe Executive Reinvented Himself with Rockport Brand". The Boston Globe. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Reagan Expected to Drop Shoe-import Quotas". The Bangor Daily News. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e Kanter, Rosabeth Moss (1992). The Challenge of Organizational Change: How Companies Experience it and leaders Guide it. Free Press. pp. 63–79. ISBN 978-0029169919. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  5. ^ "The era of the shoe factor". Main Street Journal. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  6. ^ "Talking about footwear with Bruce Katz". Worldfootwear.com. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  7. ^ . Footwear News. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  8. ^ a b Butterfield, Fox (August 18, 1985). "Shoes that Sell—Made in America". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  9. ^ Hoover, Gary (2002). Hoover's Handbook of American Business 2003. Hoover's. p. 1178. ISBN 978-1-57311-081-5. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  10. ^ Abel, Katie (December 3, 2001). . Footwear News. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  11. ^ "Adidas agrees to buy rival Reebok". BBC. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  12. ^ Eric Convey. "Rockport is a Massachusetts shoe company again". BizJournals.com. Boston Business Journal.
  13. ^ . support.newbalance.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  14. ^ "Berkshire Partners and New Balance to Acquire The Rockport Company". Business Wire. January 23, 2015. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  15. ^ "The Rockport Group Relocates To Newton, MA". FDRA. 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  16. ^ Jessica DiNapoli (14 December 2017). "Shoemaker Rockport explores options including sale: sources". reuters.com. Reuters.
  17. ^ Nanos, Janelle (2018-05-14). . The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  18. ^ . Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  19. ^ "Rockport files for bankruptcy". Bloomberg Law. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  20. ^ Dutter, Greg (June 1, 2012). . Footwear Plus. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Linkedin". Retrieved 12 August 2014.

External links edit

  • Official website

January 01, 1970
rockport, company, rockport, group, american, shoe, brand, owned, authentic, brands, group, associated, brands, include, aravon, dunham, rockport, rockport, cobb, hill, collection, rockporta, rockport, store, newport, rhode, islandfoundersaul, bruce, katzwebsi. The Rockport Group is an American shoe brand owned by Authentic Brands Group Associated brands include Aravon Dunham and Rockport and the Rockport Cobb Hill Collection RockportA Rockport store in Newport Rhode IslandFounderSaul and Bruce KatzWebsiterockport wbr com Founded in Marlborough Massachusetts in 1971 by Saul L Katz and his son Bruce R Katz the company marketed walking as a healthy alternative to running In 2023 the Rockport Group was acquired by Authentic Brands Group 1 Contents 1 History 2 Products 3 Footnotes 4 External linksHistory editIn 1930 Samuel Katz founded the Hubbard Shoe Company which had its first factory in Rochester New Hampshire eight years later the company employed 700 In 1945 Saul Katz took control of Hubbard from his father In the 1960s U S shoe manufacturing increasingly moved to countries with lower labor costs making it difficult for U S plants to stay competitive in the face of less expensive imports Saul Katz urged Congress to aid the American shoe industry 2 and in 1977 the Carter administration imposed quotas on shoe imports 3 but the controls arrived too late for Hubbard which went out of business in 1970 4 Saul Katz continued to run a surviving subsidiary spun off from Hubbard called Highland Import It operated out of offices in the old Diamond Shoe Company in Marlborough Massachusetts and imported shoes from Brazil 5 Highland Import worked with American branded shoe companies to develop special products One was a hand sewn heavy leather moccasin modeled after a shoe developed by Walter Dyer in Rockport Massachusetts When Saul Katz went to the tannery in Brazil he named the leather Rockport 6 The 3 000 pairs of moccasins brought into Marlborough arrived too late for Highland s customer and so the shoes remained in the warehouse for some months Bruce Katz then began working with his father and travelled the East Coast from Boston to Washington D C selling these shoes in plain white boxes to small leather shops and shoe boutiques in many small towns The shoes carried no name until Katz learned that others were copying the shoes and calling them Rockport type shoes He subsequently returned to Marlborough and started branding the shoes as Rockport 4 In 1971 Saul Katz and his son Bruce formed The Rockport Company from Highland Import 7 The company was started with 15 000 and grew by staying profitable each year In 1986 shortly before the company was sold Rockport s sales were reaching nearly 100 million a year having turned a profit every year since it was founded 8 In 1986 Rockport was preparing to go public when the family decided instead to sell the company to British athletic footwear giant Reebok 9 Bruce Katz remained as president for one year before turning over the management to a new Reebok CEO Saul Katz stayed on as part of the management team until retiring in his 70s 2 10 Later Reebok was sold to German company Adidas 11 On August 3 2015 Berkshire Partners and New Balance Holding Inc completed the acquisition of The Rockport Company from the Adidas Group and combined Rockport with Drydock Footwear an affiliate of New Balance to form a new company called The Rockport Group Drydock brought with it the Aravon Cobb Hill and Dunham brands to the new firm 12 13 14 Rockport moved its headquarters from Canton to Newton Massachusetts 15 In December 2017 sources reported that Crescent Capital Group a major creditor of The Rockport Group acquired ownership of Rockport from Berkshire Partners 16 On May 14 2018 Rockport filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection citing a costly and time consuming separation from their former owner Adidas AG 17 Charlesbank Capital Partners purchased the company out of bankruptcy in July 2018 on July 23 the company s 60 brick and mortar retail locations were closed 18 On June 14 2023 Rockport filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy again 19 In August the brand was acquired by Authentic Brands Group 1 Products edit nbsp The Rockport World Tour model the company s signature walking shoe from the late 1990s until 2015 Rockport is credited with popularizing walking as a healthy alternative to running It invested heavily in design and spent lavishly on marketing to create a strong brand name and carve out a market niche Rockport also invested in research into the biomechanics of walking to design its shoes 8 Rockport s first product was the Country Walker introduced in 1973 4 On the basis of the company s subsequent RocSport shoe and those that followed Bruce Katz is credited by the shoe industry monthly Footwear Plus with creating the modern day lightweight and technology infused comfort shoe concept 20 Rockport shoes of this period were designed as alternatives to athletic shoes which were gaining in popularity as all purpose footwear Rockport focused on designing shoes that more closely resembled traditional styles but sought to incorporate the lightness and comfort of running shoes This development effort made the RocSport perhaps the first real high technology shoe according to James A Phills Jr who teaches at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Apple University Apple Inc s in house business management school 4 21 In 1984 Rockport sponsored an 11 600 mile walk across the country and traversing every state to promote walking as a popular form of exercise Company sponsored walkers participating in Walk for the Health of It included Robert Sweetgall whose books helped popularize walking for exercise Sweetgall and the other walkers wore Rockport shoes and their trek was documented in a film Walk America Largely as a result of the company s promotional activities Rockport shoes became closely associated with walking 4 Footnotes edit a b Rockport Privacy Notice Rockport com Rockport Retrieved 7 August 2023 a b Saul Katz 95 Shoe Executive Reinvented Himself with Rockport Brand The Boston Globe 12 August 2012 Retrieved 13 July 2014 Reagan Expected to Drop Shoe import Quotas The Bangor Daily News 12 August 2012 Retrieved 14 July 2014 a b c d e Kanter Rosabeth Moss 1992 The Challenge of Organizational Change How Companies Experience it and leaders Guide it Free Press pp 63 79 ISBN 978 0029169919 Retrieved 12 July 2014 The era of the shoe factor Main Street Journal 13 October 2017 Retrieved 9 April 2019 Talking about footwear with Bruce Katz Worldfootwear com 4 March 2019 Retrieved 9 April 2019 Bruce Katz The Man Who Build Sic Rockport Footwear News Archived from the original on 28 March 2015 Retrieved 13 July 2014 a b Butterfield Fox August 18 1985 Shoes that Sell Made in America The New York Times Retrieved 12 July 2014 Hoover Gary 2002 Hoover s Handbook of American Business 2003 Hoover s p 1178 ISBN 978 1 57311 081 5 Retrieved 14 September 2010 Abel Katie December 3 2001 By the Numbers How Rockport Grew From a Small Family Operation to a Leading Men s Casual Brand Footwear News Archived from the original on March 29 2015 Retrieved 13 July 2014 Adidas agrees to buy rival Reebok BBC 3 August 2005 Retrieved 14 September 2010 Eric Convey Rockport is a Massachusetts shoe company again BizJournals com Boston Business Journal Can Cobb Hill Aravon And Dunham Products Still Be Purchased support newbalance com Archived from the original on 2017 12 30 Retrieved 2017 12 30 Berkshire Partners and New Balance to Acquire The Rockport Company Business Wire January 23 2015 Retrieved 2022 03 25 The Rockport Group Relocates To Newton MA FDRA 2017 01 13 Retrieved 2023 08 19 Jessica DiNapoli 14 December 2017 Shoemaker Rockport explores options including sale sources reuters com Reuters Nanos Janelle 2018 05 14 Shoemaker Rockport files for bankruptcy protection The Boston Globe Archived from the original on 2018 05 14 Retrieved 2018 05 14 2 LI shoe stores close in parent s bankruptcy Archived from the original on 2018 07 31 Retrieved 2018 07 30 Rockport files for bankruptcy Bloomberg Law June 14 2023 Retrieved June 15 2023 Dutter Greg June 1 2012 Follow the Leaker Footwear Plus Archived from the original on 16 October 2014 Retrieved 12 July 2014 Linkedin Retrieved 12 August 2014 External links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rockport company amp oldid 1222313047, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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