R. M. Williams (company)

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]

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]

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]

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]

• R.M. Williams Outback, aka Outback, a bi-monthly magazine
• Australian work boot

Wikimedia Commons has media related to R. M. Williams.

• Official website