Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest Buys R.M. Williams
The iconic bootmaker is now solely in local hands.
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R.M. Williams is a brand that quite literally forms part of the fabric of Australia and now mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest has brought iconic bootmaker R.M. Williams back to local shores following a $190 million acquisition.
The news was announced by Forrest’s investment fund Tattarang who purchased the label from parent company LVMH, which had partnered with equity firm L Catteron to seek buyers for the brand.
“Nicola and I are incredibly proud and humbled to be able to bring R.M. Williams back under Australian ownership,” says Dr Forrest. “We just saw a Fantastic brand, a great Australian product, a legacy for the country and it just needed to be Australian – it just had to come back home.”
The bootmaker, originally founded in 1932 by Reginald Murray William, grew to include leather accessories and apparel before selling in 2014 for $110 million. At the beginning of negotiations, the controlling group was asking for as much as $500 million.
Tattarang has bought 100 per cent of the business, buying out minority shareholders, such as movie star and brand ambassador Hugh Jackman, who owned about 5 per cent of the business and is set to receive about a $10 million windfall from the deal.
The Forrests have also pledged to keep manufacturing jobs in Australia, with about 400 works currently employed in the label’s Adelaide workshop.
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Starbucks is making another major leadership change just one week after new CEO Brian Niccol started his job.
Michael Conway, the 58-year-old coffee chain’s head of North America, will be retiring at the end of November, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The decision came only six months after Conway took on the job. His position won’t be filled. Instead, the company plans to seek candidates for a new role in charge of Starbucks’ global branding.
The chief brand officer role will have responsibilities across product, marketing, digital, customer insights, creative and store concepts.
“Recognizing the unmatched capabilities of the Starbucks team and seeing the energy and enthusiasm for Brian’s early vision, I could not think of a better time to begin my transition towards retirement,” wrote Conway in a statement.
Conway has been at Starbucks for more than a decade, and was promoted to his current job—a newly created role—back in March, as part of the company’s structural leadership change under former CEO Laxman Narasimhan.
The coffee giant has been struggling with weaker sales in recent quarters, as it faces not only macroeconomic headwinds, but also operational, branding, and product development challenges.
Narasimhan was taking many moves to turn around the business, but faced increasing pressure from the board, shareholders, and activist investors.
One month ago, Starbucks ousted Narasimhan and appointed Brian Niccol, the former CEO at Chipotle, as its top executive. The stock has since jumped 20% in a show of faith for Niccol, who started at Starbucks last week.
When he was at Chipotle, Niccol made a few executive hires that were key to the company’s turnaround.
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Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
