Rockport repositions shoewear, sees new HQ better for brand
The Rockport Group formally debuts its new global headquarters today in West Newton, where it’s focused on doubling revenue within five years and repositioning its namesake comfort shoe brand to appeal to “movers,” with a particular push on women.
The relocation from Canton comes about 18 months after Germany’s Adidas Group sold the 46-yearold Rockport brand for $280 million to Boston private equity firm Berkshire Partners and an investment arm of the Hub’s New Balance athletic footwear company. Rockport merged with Boston’s Drydock Footwear, a New Balance affiliate and owner of the Aravon, Cobb Hill and Dunham brands.
It’s the first time that the Rockport brand — founded in 1971 in Marlboro — is in a standalone company since its 1986 sale to Reebok, which later was acquired by Adidas. The 70,000-square-foot headquarters houses about 220 of Rockport Group’s some 2,000 employees.
“Our first and foremost intention was to bring our brand to life with this building,” said CEO Bob Infantino, formerly president of Drydock and British shoe brand Clarks’ North American operations.
The move caps months of repositioning the lead Rockport brand and Aravon and Dunham. “The first thing we did was we doubled the size of the product development group,” Infantino said. “We reworked every single collection.”
For the Rockport brand, there are more fashionable choices for men and an expanded selection of women’s heels built around its Total Motion technology for comfort and flexibility. The company hopes to convince women that its shoes are not only comfortable, but stylish. “I don’t think Rockport had a soul of its own for a long time,” said Infantino, who previously worked for Rockport from 1984 to 1992, when he left as senior vice president of marketing.
NPD Group analyst Matt Powell expects Rockport to fare better on its own. “The people who are running the company now ... understand the dress casual business — they’re not athletic (footwear) guys,” he said. “I always felt Adidas never really understood what to do with it. It was an attempt on their part to diversify from athletic, but they really did not grow the business.”