Pentland invests in SeaVees, plans global growth for heritage sneaker brand

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 15, 2017

UK-based Pentland Brands has added to its portfolio of sports-linked labels with an investment in Californian casual lifestyle sneaker brand SeaVees.

 
The new investment, the size of which has not been specified, is part of its portfolio development programme and will see it taking the SeaVees growth plan forward both in the US and abroad.

Pentland’s global strategy director Chirag Patel said the company’s portfolio development programme “looks for high potential, high growth brands.”

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SeaVees was born out the Californian surf movement in the 1960s and rode the wave of California’s status as a key fashion and lifestyle influencer for several years. originally established in 1964, that meant it was a pioneer in the game-changing transformation that saw athletic footwear moving into the casual shoe sector. But it closed in 1971 as new owner Converse focused its attentions elsewhere. It was only revived by footwear buyer and designer Steven Tiller in 2009 after he came across an original shoe in a Tokyo vintage store.

His revival has seen him mixing the brand’s original style with updates and has included collaborations with Grayers, J Crew, Taylor Stitich, Gap, Trina Turk and others.
 
Pentland said its new investment in the brand aims to make the most of Tiller’s footwear market knowledge and creative direction with its own strong experience in growing international footwear brands.

Privately-owned Pentland is a $3bn company with 19,000 employees that owns Speedo, Berghaus, Canterbury of New Zealand, Boxfresh, Ellesse, KangaROOS, Mitre and Red or Dead. It is also the global licensee for Lacoste Chaussures and Ted Baker footwear, plus Kickers in the UK.

The pair said their partnership “hopes to bring this long-lost, but rediscovered, authentic sneaker brand to new consumers across the world.”
 
“We have a strong track record of investing in brands in the long-term, so our plan is to give Steven and his team space to build the SeaVees brand, while giving them access to the size and scale of our network that, as a global brand management company, Pentland can offer,” Patel added.