Brief company history

Sebago^® was established in Westbrook, Maine (Usa), in 1946. Daniel J. Wellehan, owner of five shoe shops in the area, decided to open his own factory. He became partners with two local shoe manufacturers – William Beaudoin and Joseph Cordeau – and Sebago-Moc was born. The name was inspired by nearby lake Sebago, that in the native Abenaki language means “long-shaped water basin”. Its first mocassin, the renowned “penny loafer”, was created in the same year, handsewn as by native tradition, still one of the brand’s best-sellers.

The first yachting shoes came out in 1948, but their patent was sold to Uniroyal. In 1950 Sebago-Moc’s turnover reached 1 million dollars and in 1952 daily production reached 2000 pairs of shoes: a new plant was built. In 1965 the company started selling in Europe thanks to a partnership with entrepreneur Francisco Gaudier. In 1963 it started to manufacture women’s shoes; in 1970 it launched the Docksides^® design, another of the brand’s bestsellers. For the occasion the company name was simplified into Sebago^®.

In 1978, passionate sailor and CNN founder Ted Turner agrees in lending his own image to Docksides^® products. In 1981 the Campsides^® outdoor line was launched. In 1984 Sebago^® was the first American company to sponsor a boat in the O-Star Race. More important sponsorship deals in the world of sailing followed including the Celebrity Regatta, the Liberty Cup, the Americas Cup and the Young America team in the Louis Vuitton Cup 96/97. The Drysides^® line of water-proof shoes was launched in fall 1994.

In the late 90s the company went through a time of crisis that peaked in 2003 when Sebago^® was acquired by US company Wolverine World Wide, Inc. On July 31^st, 2017 the brand became part of the BasicNet Group’s portfolio. Currently Sebago^® is distributed on 90 markets worldwide.

Sebago^®  is a brand of BasicNet Group, which also owns the brands Kappa^®, Robe di Kappa^®, Jesus^® Jeans, K-Way^®, Superga^®, Briko^®, Woolrich^® and Sundek^®. BasicNet’s leader brands are present in the sports and leisure apparel, footwear and accessories market. It operates worldwide through an international network of entrepreneurs, licensees of the brands, which produce or distribute the products. BasicNet offers to its network services of research, development, industrialization of the products and global marketing. All the company processes occur only through the Web, making BasicNet a “fully web integrated company”. BasicNet, with headquarters in Turin, Italy, is listed at the Italian Stock Exchange since 1999.