Boot fits: Andrew Forrest puts R.M. Williams back in Australian hands

Iconic bootmaker and bush outfitter R.M. Williams is back in Australian hands after mining magnate Andrew Forrest bought the company for almost $200m.

Twiggy Forrest and his wife Nicola riding horses while wearing R.M. Williams gear.

Iconic bootmaker and bush outfitter R.M. Williams is back in Australian hands after mining magnate Andrew Forrest snared the legendary brand from French fashion giant Louis Vuitton in a deal believed to be worth almost $200m.

The return of the company to 100 per cent Australian ownership has also delivered a personal payday of close to $10m to Australian Hollywood star and former shareholder Hugh Jackman, who has sold his 5 per cent stake but will stay on as an international brand ambassador.

The purchase by Dr Forrest’s private investment group, Tattarang, bucks the trend of famous Australian brands being snapped up by foreign conglomerates and is good news for the 900 Australian employees of the company that started in an inner-Adelaide backstreet in 1932 making handcrafted elastic-sided riding boots.

Only 2 per cent of the company’s sales are overseas and ­Tattarang believes it can expand the reach of R.M. Williams with more ambitious international marketing, a bigger online push and a keener focus on the youth market.

The purchase is a major coup for Dr Forrest and his wife Nicola who both love the brand and started secretly planning their bid when former owners American private equity group L Catterton, in which Louis Vuitton is a major shareholder, announced last year they were selling R.M. Williams with a reported asking price as high as $500m.

The impact of the coronavirus drove the price down significantly and The Australian understands the offer by the Forrests to L Catterton was just shy of $200m, enough to edge out a rival bid from another American private equity firm, TPG Capital.

“Nicola and I are incredibly proud and humble to be able to bring R.M. Williams back under Australian ownership,” Dr Forrest said on Sunday.

“R.M Williams is a quintessential Aussie brand with a long and proud history of high-quality craftsmanship.”

Dr Forrest, who grew up on Minderoo Station in Western Australia’s remote Pilbara, said his rural background made him especially excited about the purchase.

“My life began in the outback and I’ve never left,” he said. “I’ve never forgotten the first time I pulled on a pair of RMs. To wear RMs is to wear the boots of the countless hardworking Australians that have come before us.”

The company started at 5 Percy Street in the inner-north Adelaide suburb of Prospect in 1932 and turned founder Reginald Murray Williams from a humble swagman into a multi-millionaire and fashion pioneer.

While its boots, moleskins and oilskin jackets are synonymous with life on the land, it’s the “townies” who have driven the expansion of the brand into a fashion juggernaut with a pair of RMs enjoying street cred when worn with a suit in the office or at formal occasions.

R.M. Williams chief executive officer Raji Vuppalapati said the company had already undergone considerable growth under the control of L Catterton and Louis Vuitton over the past five years, but that he looked forward to an even more exciting future under the ownership of Tattarang.

Sales grew from $124m in 2015 to $142m in 2018, with much of that growth attributed to the company’s use of international ambassadors such as Jackman to promote the brand, prompting the company to boost staff numbers at its factory in the northern Adelaide suburb of Salisbury from 400 to 500.

“Our 2019 decision to invest in the second boot line, recruiting and training 100 additional employees in our Salisbury workshop, was an important milestone,” Mr Vuppalapat said.