Hi-Tec Sports, trading as Hi-Tec, is a

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

producer and distributor of sportswear and accessories, headquartered in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

History

Hi-Tec Sports was founded in 1974, in

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness (; also called Shoebury) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. east of the city centre. It was an urban district of Essex from 1894 to 1933, when it ...

, Essex, England, by Frank Van Wezel. The company moved its headquarters to

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

, before relocating its head office to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Hi-Tec Sports USA was started in Modesto, CA in 1978 by Duke and Kathy Jones. They developed the first lightweight hiking boot. This became the main success of Hi-Tec Sports USA. They also developed and named the "Magnum" boot. Duke and Kathy Jones sold Hi-Tec Sports USA to Frank Van Wezel in 1990. In 1988, the company was floated on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

. Frank van Wezel bought the company back in 2000. It was privately held through 2013. Production was in China until 2005, when Hi-Tec acquired the Falcon shoe factory in Lewiston, Maine, enabling them to offer made-in-usa branded products and compete for US Federal government contracts. In 2013, Hi-Tec founder and chairman Frank van Wezel, was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration by Anglia Ruskin University. In 2016, it was acquired by

Cherokee Inc. Cherokee Inc., also known as Apex Global Brands, is an American based global apparel and footwear company, headquartered in Sherman Oaks, California. The company was established in 1973 and its brands are available in 110 countries in 12,000 ret ...

, later known as Apex Global Brands.

Awards

In 2012, Hi-Tec's V-Lite Altitude Ultra Luxe boot received a Which? Best Buy Walking Boot award. Hi-Tec's ZUUK trainer shoe was awarded Footwear Product of the Year 2013 at The Great Outdoors Awards. The UK based Hi-Tec office was announced Sports Footwear Brand of the Year 2014 and Outdoor Footwear Company of the Year 2013 at the Footwear Industry Awards.

References

{{Authority control Shoe brands Shoe companies of the Netherlands Shoe companies of the United Kingdom Sporting goods manufacturers of the Netherlands Sportswear brands Clothing companies established in 1974 1974 establishments in England Manufacturing companies based in Amsterdam Outdoor clothing brands Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange