Gina Rinehart to launch a fashion brand with purchase of Rossi Boots

Mining Magnate Gina Rinehart’s foray into country chic continues with her livestock company buying a popular Aussie shoe brand.

Gina Rinehart’s foray into country chic continues with her livestock company S.Kidman & Co buying popular Aussie shoe brand Rossi Boots.

The acquisition follows the company’s purchase of Driza-Bone, makers of the iconic oilskin jackets beloved of stockmen, earlier this month.

Both brands were previously owned by the Propel Group, and the company has not released details of the amount it paid for either brand.

Rossi Boots owns the Kidman trademark with will serve as the launch pad for Ms Rinehart's new fashion brand.

The expansion of S.Kidman & Co into the apparel retail space echoes similar moves made by fellow WA rich lister and mining magnate, Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest.

Dr Forrest’s investment company Tattarang recently bought iconic Aussie hat maker Akubra and in October 2020 it acquired boot brand R.M Williams.

S. Kidman & Co chair Ms Rinehart said: “Acquiring Rossi Boots is not just a business decision; it’s a recognition of our national history.”

“From being worn on stations and farms around the country to supplying hundreds of thousands of pairs to our soldiers in WWI and WWII, Rossi represents the heart and soul of Australian craftsmanship and embodies the quintessential Australian spirit of hard work, resilience and quality.”

Ms Rinehart has backed up the recent acquisition of Drizabone with the purchase of Rossi Boots.

S.Kidman & Co will use the recent retail purchases to spearhead a foray into a new branded fashion business, the company said.

The deal gives S.Kidman & Co control of the ‘Kidman’ trademark, which Rossi owns and uses for one of its boot lines.

At a recent staff Christmas function for S.Kidman & Co and Ms Rinehart’s mining business Hancock Agriculture, the first product prototype, the Kidman boot in a Pilbara red colourway was unveiled.

S.Kidman & Co said the prototype “showcases the beginning for the new fashion venture, and brings back affordable leather boots to Australians!”.

Ms Rinehart unveils the Kidman boot in a Pilbara red colourway at a recent staff lunch.

S. Kidman & Co was founded by celebrated cattle baron Sir Sidney Kidman, and is a joint venture between Ms Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture and Chinese company Shanghai CRED, who bought the business in 2016.

Rossi Boots was founded in Adelaide by Arthur Rossiter in 1910, and was bought by Propel in 2020.

Originally published as Gina Rinehart to launch a fashion brand with purchase of Rossi Boots