The Rockport Group

Year of Investment:

2018

Strategy

Flagship

Industry

Consumer

Headquarters

Newton, MA

Status

Active

Website

https://www.rockport.com/

Business

The Rockport Group has two divisions: Rockport and Reef. Founded in 1971, Rockport is a global designer, distributor, and retailer of men’s and women’s footwear, primarily under the namesake Rockport brand. An innovator in its industry, Rockport is known for combining the comfort of athletic shoes with the latest casual and dress styles. Reef sells beach-inspired sandals to department stores, surfing-focused retailers, sporting goods stores, and through its owned e-commerce site. Focused on an active lifestyle, it sells millions of flip flops and sandals annually worldwide.

Charlesbank Investment

In August 2018, Charlesbank acquired substantially all the assets of Rockport, including the North American wholesale and e-commerce operations, all of Rockport’s operations and retail stores internationally, and the Aravon and Dunham brands. Charlesbank served as the stalking horse bidder in a Section 363 sale process that was approved by the US Bankruptcy Court in July 2018. That same year the company acquired Reef from VF Corporation.

Chairman & CEO

Gregg Ribatt

Key Team Members

January 29, 2019

REEF Appoints Mike Jensen As President

REEF, a leading premium surf lifestyle brand today announced that it has appointed Mike Jensen as President. Jensen most recently… Read More

October 29, 2018

The Rockport Group Closes Acquisition of the REEF® Brand

The Rockport Group (Rockport), a leading maker of casual and dress shoes, today announced that it has completed the acquisition… Read More

August 2, 2018

Charlesbank Capital Partners Acquires Shoemaker Rockport; Gregg Ribatt Announced as CEO

Charlesbank Capital Partners today announced that it has acquired the assets of The Rockport Group (Rockport), the Newton-MA-based maker of… Read More

Additional Consumer Portfolio Companies