While sailing on the
Long Island Sound, inventor and sailor
Paul A. Sperry slipped on the deck of his boat and fell overboard. He was able to pull himself back on board, but the experience drove him to develop a non-slip shoe for boating. While experimenting, he noticed his
cocker spaniel's ability to run down an icy hill without slipping. Examining its paws, he noticed traction-enhancing grooves, which he sought to mimic by cutting a pattern of them into a natural rubber
sole utilizing a process known as
siping. The Sperry "Top-Sider" boat shoe that was introduced in 1935 featured a canvas upper,
herringbone siping, and a white outsole to prevent the shoe from leaving dark scuff marks on a boat's deck. The
Commonwealth Shoe and Leather Co. later partnered with Sperry on a design using specially tanned water-resistant leather, which became the familiar Sperry "boat shoe". In 2007,
Payless ShoeSource acquired Sperry Top-Sider as part of a multi-brand acquisition. The company was purchased, along with the other brands from Payless's Collective Brands Performance and Lifestyle Group portfolio, in 2012 by
Wolverine World Wide and
Blum Capital Partners for US$1.23 billion. In 2009,
Footwear News named Sperry Top-Sider the Brand of the Year. In early 2015, Sperry announced that the brand had dropped the defining trait "Top-Sider" name from the company as part of the footwear company's new brand campaign. Since 2021, Sperry has opened 2 specialty stores and 40 outlet stores across the United States. In May 2023, Wolverine World Wide announced the search for "strategic alternatives" for the Sperry brand, as part of a broader move to focus on growth sectors. In January 2024, Wolverine World Wide announced the sale of Sperry to
Authentic Brands Group who in turn is licensing the brand to the
Aldo Group for North American operations. ==Sponsorships==