Rockport History
Earlier company descriptions, brand line-ups, store counts and photographs from the history of Rockport, kept for historical reference.
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The Company Description of Its Time
Rockport was founded in New England in 1971, 'forever changing the shoemaking business by incorporating the comfort of sport technology into stylish men's and women's footwear.' It all started, the profile says, with a van and a simple plan: a father and son took footwear into their own hands, creating the first ever casual shoe infused with sports technology, utilizing a Vibram outsole. The founders were Saul Katz and his son Bruce. The philosophy has never changed since: there should not be a separation between stylish shoes and comfortable shoes, and it is manifested in the attention given to both design and comfort in every shoe.
From Reebok to adidas to Drydock: The 2015 Sale
Reebok was later sold to German athletic shoe pioneer adidas, taking Rockport with it, and Rockport 'joined forces in 2006 with the adidas Group,' in the filing's words. The record this profile keeps ends with the next separation: on January 23, 2015, adidas announced an agreement to sell Rockport to Boston-based athletic shoe maker New Balance and Berkshire Partners for $280 million. The Rockport brand was to be assigned to Drydock Footwear, New Balance's division for its non-athletic brands - alongside Aravon, Dunham and Cobb Hill - overseen by a former top Rockport executive. A comfort-dress shoe brand passing from a running-shoe giant to a neighboring running-shoe company's dress division was a tidy outcome on paper, and it is where the filed record stops.
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