The Beginning

Samuel Katz began the family’s shoe making legacy in 1930 with the founding of the Hubbard Shoe Company in East Rochester, New Hampshire. After immigrating from Lithuania, he started working in a shoe store at age fifteen. He took over a small men’s shoe factory and grew the Hubbard Shoe Company into one of the most comfortable shoe brands in the country.

1930

On the road

New tariff laws caused shoe manufacturing to leave the United States, forcing the Hubbard Shoe Company to close its doors. Determined to reinvent the business, Saul Katz traveled to Brazil to find high quality shoes to import. His son Bruce Katz joined him, selling shoes from town to town in a converted van. The business was so successful that the family decided it was time to start a new brand.

1970

Rockport Years

Bruce's sales and marketing skills and his father’s passion for creating high quality, comfortable shoes led them to found The Rockport Company. Rockport became an industry leader and Bruce helped elevate the brand by pioneering the fitness-walking movement, which is as relevant today as it was then.

1971

a new journey

After creating one of the most comfortable shoe brands in the world, it was time for a new adventure. The Katz family sold The Rockport Company and Bruce finally had the chance to build the Juliet, a boat he had dreamed of since his childhood. For the next 15 years he explored the world by sea, while also running multiple software and internet ventures.

1986

samuel hubbard

Back on dry land, Bruce was faced with a new dilemma: No one was making the kind of footwear that he loved. One day his young daughter asked him, “Why don’t you make shoes again?” Bruce accepted her challenge and in 2013 brought together a team of like-minded adventurers to create the Samuel Hubbard Shoe Company.

2014

our obsession

Simple. Creating shoes that people fall in love with. Shoes engineered for comfort and hand-crafted with uncompromising excellence. We listen to the fashion winds that blow, but most important, we listen to your feet. Because when your feet are happier, the world is a way happier place.

2021