By Jon Chesto | Globe Staff | Updated June 24, 2024, 5:58 p.m.

The name RG Barry Brands may not be familiar to many Bostonians. But it soon will be, if Bob Mullaney has anything to say about it.

Mullaney, RGB’s chief executive, rose up through the ranks of Boston’s footwear industry, eventually holding top jobs at Rockport and Shoebuy.com. Now, with the help of a new investor, he’s looking to grow a consumer products team in Boston, under the RGB name. The company’s flagship product is Dearfoams, a slipper brand, and it owns a few others. Mullaney hopes to expand that portfolio, now that Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corp. has acquired a majority stake in RGB from private equity firm Blackstone. Marubeni, Mullaney added, is committed to providing the capital to help him make acquisitions of other consumer products companies.

RGB’s traditional headquarters will remain in Ohio, though Mullaney is based in an office he opened in Boston’s Seaport three years ago, in part to take advantage of all the local talent in the footwear and e-commerce sectors. He employs 30 people there now. But he envisions that number growing to 200 within a few years as RGB expands, perhaps making the office even bigger than the headquarters someday.

“I believe I could scale the number of people in Boston pretty quickly,” Mullaney said. “Hopefully, this will be a good local success story.”

Originally Published: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/06/24/business/jordans-furniture-bike-giveaway/