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.
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
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.