RCKY

Rocky Brands, Inc.

A maker of rugged outdoor, work, and western footwear, Rocky Brands designs and sells boots and shoes under names like Rocky, Durango, Georgia Boot, and Lehigh, worn by hikers, ranchers, and safety-conscious workers. It began in 1932 when brothers Bill and Mike Brooks, out of work during the Great Depression, opened the William Brooks Shoe Company in a rent-free vacant factory in Nelsonville, Ohio. The "Rocky" brand name came later, in the 1970s, when the family relaunched the business to focus on the outdoor market.