Major footwear name files for bankruptcy protection
Outdoor footwear company Rockport has filed for bankruptcy protection. On June 14, a court in Delaware received petitions from Rockport and four subsidiary companies for relief under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
Immediate reports said Rockport would operate a ‘business as usual’ policy during the chapter 11 process, but they made it clear a specialist turnaround company, New Jersey-based PKF Clear Thinking, had been appointed “to maximise value recoveries for all stakeholders”.
Rockport chief executive, Gregg Ribbat, has resigned from his role, but will help PKF Clear Thinking with the transition.
PKF partner Joseph Marchese has been appointed chief restructuring officer of Rockport. He said: “Rockport has valuable assets that can be effectively administered in an organised process. I want to assure every employee, customer, creditor, contract party, investor and other stakeholders that we are going to conduct this effort with diligence, thoroughness and transparency.”
The development comes a year after the death of the founder of Rockport, Bruce Katz. He set the company up with his father in 1971. He promoted the brand as a maker of shoes for walking, insisting that walking was as much a sport as running or tennis and required appropriate footwear. From this, Rockport earned the reputation of being the first company to put performance footwear technology into casual shoes.
The Katz family sold the brand to Reebok for almost $120 million in the 1980s. As part of Reebok, it passed into adidas’ ownership and, from there, to New Balance. Venture capital firms later took ownership of the brand.
