Westward Partners, a Seattle-based private equity firm focusing on companies in the Pacific Northwest, has acquired Superfeet, a manufacturer of insoles and recovery footwear founded in 1977 and based in Ferndale, Washington. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Westward will take over majority ownership of the company from its staff as it was owned by its employees through its Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP), and will change its structure to an LLC. The goal of the ESOP, established in 2005, was to ensure a secure future for the employee-owners based on success. Superfeet furthered this commitment by transitioning from partial to 100 percent employee ownership in 2015. The plan for Superfeet in its partnership with Westward is to expand the reach of its distribution network, according to a press release. Based in Belgium, Superfeet’s European operation has more than 15 distributors in the EU and the U.K. The brand also has a presence in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Thailand, Japan and Puerto Rico. Superfeet is known for its insoles, but in the early days of the pandemic, it shifted some of its operations to personal protective equipment manufacturing, including the production of more than 40,000 masks. At the end of last year, it brought its personalized insole fitting system to Europe in partnership with HP and Volumental.

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