Mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest buy iconic Aussie brand R.M. Williams - NEWS.com.au

Iconic Australian bootmaker R.M. Williams is back in Aussie hands after being bought by mining tycoon Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.

The investment group Tattarang, owned by Dr Forrest and wife Nicola, has announced its purchase of the 88-year-old company from private equity firm L Catterton in a deal believed to be worth almost $200 million.

Dr Forrest said R.M. Williams was “a quintessential Aussie brand” and they were proud to be able to bring it back under Australian ownership.

“Everything about the great Australia character you can see depicted in a pair of boots and know that it was made right here in Australia,” he said.

“We just saw a fantastic brand, a great Australian product, a legacy for country and it just needed to be Australian, it just had to come back home.”

Dr Forrest said he wanted to build on the R.M. Williams legacy and employ more Australians.

Ms Forrest said buying R.M. Williams was “a bit like buying back the family farm”.

“It’s such a great Australian company, high quality products, beautiful boots that people wear in the country and the city, you can wear them anywhere,” she said.

“I think there are a lot of links with the way our family has developed new industries and been entrepreneurial and have created employment and opportunity for other people.

“We want to improve what we do and leave the world in a better place and we can all easily say R.M. Williams did that.”

Most of the R.M. Williams 900 employees are based in Australia, including 400 at its workshop in Salisbury, Adelaide.

The brand was founded in 1932 by bushman and entrepreneur Reginald Murray Williams and is one of Australia’s most iconic brands, famous for hand crafting the best boots in the world in its Adelaide workshop.

Dr Forrest said he still had his first pair of R.M. Williams boots, which he got for Christmas when he was 15 or 16 years old.

“They’re almost as old as I am but they’re going strong,” he said.

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2020-10-18 21:28:27Z
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