Dive Brief:
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A Delaware bankruptcy court on Wednesday approved a liquidation plan for The Relay Shoe Company (formerly known as The Rockport Company LLC), according to a court filing. The company previously owned comfortable shoe brands like Rockport, Aravon and Dunham.
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Rockport filed for Chapter 11 protection in May. At the time, the brand hoped to keep the business alive by selling to a private equity firm. In August, the company sold most of its assets, including the Dunham, Aravon and Rockport brands; the wholesale and e-commerce operations in North America for those brands; and all international operations for $150 million to an affiliate of Charlesbank Capital Partners, according to court documents and information from the company.
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Following the sale, The Relay Shoe Company owned no brands and it wound down store operations, which Charlesbank did not purchase. In August, Rockport also named footwear veteran Javan Bunch as president in a press release, in which executives highlighted their optimism for the company's future.
Dive Insight:
Earlier this year Rockport followed in the footsteps of fellow shoe retailers Payless and Nine West in filing for bankruptcy.
Amid bankruptcy proceedings, former owner Reebok (a unit of Adidas) blocked Rockport's bankruptcy plan, alleging it was liable for post-closing adjustments. In August, following mediation, both parties agreed that Rockport would pay Adidas $8 million from its sale proceeds and that Adidas would support a plan proposed by debtors. After an asset purchase agreement, the company also agreed to change its name, according to the court documents.
The brand, founded in 1971 in Massachusetts, describes itself as a sometime global leader in "lightweight, technology-infused comfort footwear for all occasions." Prior to filing for bankruptcy, wholesale operations selling in department stores and through online retailers accounted for about 57% of global sales, while the brand also held 27 stores in the U.S. and 33 in Canada.
Rockport is among the 15% of retailers acquired by private equity firms over the past 15 years that have filed for bankruptcy. The retailer was sold by Adidas in 2015 to Berkshire and New Balance, which created a joint entity, Rockport Group.
Correction: A previous version of this story contained incorrect information about the operating entities created in the wake of Rockport's initial bankruptcy proceedings. A liquidation plan for The Relay Shoe Company, formerly known as The Rockport Company LLC, was approved by a bankruptcy court. The company sold most of its assets in August, including brands Rockport, Aravon and Dunham; the wholesale and e-commerce operations in North America for those brands; and all international operations. Rockport continues to exist under private equity ownership.
