R. M. Williams (company)

R.M. Williams is an Australian footwear and clothing company. It is best known for producing chelsea boots. The company was founded by Reginald Murray "R.M." Williams. It is currently owned by Tattarang, an investment company owned by mining magnate Andrew Forrest.

R.M. Williams
IndustryFootwear, clothing
Founded1932 (1932)
FounderR. M. Williams
Headquarters
Adelaide
,
Australia
Key people
  • Raju Vuppalapati (CEO)
Number of employees
~900 (2020)
ParentTattarang
Websitewww.rmwilliams.com.au

History
R. M. Williams founded the company in 1932

R.M. Williams learned his leather-working skills from a horseman called Dollar Mick, making bridles, pack saddles and riding boots. In 1932, with his son's illness and the expense of hospital treatment, he was in need of money and began selling his saddles to Sir Sidney Kidman, a wealthy pastoralist. R.M. soon had a small factory running in his father's back shed in Adelaide that rapidly expanded.[1]

Williams sold the business in 1988 to the long established South Australian stock and station agents Bennett & Fisher. That business went into receivership in 1993, after banks were concerned about $16 million of debts.[2][3][4] R.M. Williams was then placed under the ownership of long-time friend Ken Cowley, who acted in partnership with Australian business mogul Kerry Stokes, and together with his family, presided over R.M. Williams for 10 years. In late 2003, Cowley assumed full ownership of R.M. Williams when he bought out Stokes' and other shareholders' stake for $12.5 million.[5]

On 26 March 2013, the Cowley family released a statement which announced an intention to sell the company to a new owner for $100 million. The statement described the sale process as an assessment of "external commercial growth and expansion plans", and the list of potential buyers included Oroton Group, Premier Investments and LVMH.[6] In April 2013, R.M. Williams sold a 49.9% stake to L Capital Asia (which later became L Catterton), the private equity affiliate of LVMH.[7] In 2014, L Catterton increased its stake to 82% of R.M. Williams.[8] As of April 2020, L Catterton owned the majority share with 82%, IFM Investors owned 13% and actor Hugh Jackman owned the remaining 5%.[9]

In May 2019 R.M. Williams was placed for sale, with its owners reportedly seeking A$400–500 million.[8] In October 2020, Andrew Forrests' Tattarang investment company acquired R.M. Williams for $190 million.[10]

Products
R.M. Williams elastic side riding boots
R.M. Williams lace-up boots

Williams' most successful products were handcrafted riding boots. These boots unique when they were introduced to the market, as they consisted of a single piece of leather that was stitched at the rear of the boot (the models that featured an elastic side have been particularly popular). As of 2013, the R.M. Williams Company produced handcrafted riding boots, with the use of 70 hand processes and a single piece of leather externally (with the inside lining being made up of several pieces).

Over recent years R.M. Williams has focused on becoming a luxury shoe company aimed at city-dwellers.[11] R.M. Williams boots are often worn by Australian politicians.[12] Pairs of the boots have also been given to foreign leaders by Australian prime ministers.[13]

R.M. Williams' Craftsman boots were selected as the Australian Army's standard parade boots in 2013 following a competitive tender.[14]

The company brand is a Texas longhorn cattle head. Since 2015, Hugh Jackman has been a brand ambassador for the company.[10]

Manufacturing

As of 2002, about 80% of R.M. Williams products were made outside of Australia, mostly in China and South East Asia. This included lace up footwear, leather bags and accessories, T-shirts, caps, seasonal shirts/shorts, polo shirts and some leather wallets.[15]

In late 2019 it was reported R.M. Williams was doubling its production of boots to 500,000 pairs per year by 2023, and was aiming to achieve revenue of A$153 million over 2019.[16]

Locations and employees

R.M. Williams' headquarters is located in Salisbury, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide.[17] As of March 2013, R.M. Williams Pty Ltd consisted of 50 retail stores, 900 stockists and exports to 15 countries.[6] In 2013 the company employed 600 people globally, 300 of them based in South Australia.[6]

As of December 2020, it operated around 64 of its own retail stores in Australia and 7 in other countries.[5] As of 2019, its boots were available in 500 department stores.[11]

In 2020 it employs 400 people at its Salisbury workshop and another 500 across Australia.[18]

See also

References
  1. "R.M. Williams (1908-2003)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 November 2003. Archived from the original on 21 April 2006. Retrieved 19 June 2006.
  2. "R. M. Williams not for sale, yet". The Canberra Times. 67 (21, 254). 24 June 1993. p. 19. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "IN BRIEF R M Williams float option". The Canberra Times. 67 (21, 303). 12 August 1993. p. 17. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "R. M. Williams gets a boost". The Canberra Times. 62 (19, 042). 23 November 1987. p. 17. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. Evans, Simon (17 December 2020). "RM Williams online sales double in pandemic shift". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  6. Austin, Nigel (26 March 2013). "Legendary Australian bush outfitter R.M.Williams up for sale". The Australian. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  7. Colquhoun, Steve (15 April 2013). "R.M. Williams to remain Australian after sale". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  8. Hall, James (16 May 2019). "Aussie icon RM Williams has been put up for sale for $500 million". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  9. Evans, Simon (31 March 2020). "Bootmaker RM Williams shuts factory with 709 stood down". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  10. Powell, Dominic (18 October 2020). "Payday for Wolverine as Forrest acquires RM Williams". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  11. Hatch, Patrick (16 May 2019). "The Greatest Showman seeks $25 million R.M. Williams payday". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  12. Street, Andrew P. (10 July 2014). "RM Williams: these boots are made for posing (if you're an Aussie politician)". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  13. Jolliffe, David (12 November 2012). "Kevin Rudd's riding boots". Blog. Museum of Australian Democracy. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  14. Austin, Nigel (12 August 2013). "RM Williams to supply Army with boots for next five years". The Advertiser. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  15. AsiaPulse News (November 2002). "Australia's RM Williams To Start Manufacturing Products in China". Look Smart, Find articles. Retrieved 19 June 2006.
  16. Evans, Simon (17 October 2019). "RMs wins as 'boot boys, girls' reject fast fashion". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  17. "Company Overview of R.M.Williams Pty Ltd". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  18. "Andrew Forrest buys iconic bootmaker RM Williams". www.abc.net.au. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
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