As Western boots remain in the cultural spotlight this year, Tecovas is moving full steam ahead on an ambitious store opening plan.
According to Kim Heidt, chief retail officer of Tecovas, the Austin-based Western brand is opening 11 stores this year.
“We opened eight new stores in 2023, representing 30 percent growth over 2022,” Heidt told FN in an exclusive interview. “So now we have over 30 stores in 17 different states, and we are looking to grow another 30 percent this year. We’re adding three new states for us in 2024 – Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Ohio. And for a small company like ours, these plans are pretty robust.”
Two of the 11 new stores have already opened, Heidt noted. One at San Diego, Calif.’s Fashion Valley shopping center on June 19 and one inside the King of Prussia mall in Philadelphia, Penn. on June 26 – the latter of which represents the company’s first location in the Northeast.
In July, the company will add stores in Tampa, Fla. at International Plaza as well as Green Hills mall in Nashville, Tenn. In August, three stores will open – one at the River Street Marketplace in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., another in Alpharetta, Ga. and a location at Legacy Place mall in Dedham, Mass. near Boston. Later this fall, Tecovas will then open the doors to a new flagship in San Antonio, Texas as well as other shops in Columbus, Ohio; Georgetown, Texas; and Sevierville, Tenn.
All told, Tecovas is slated to end the year with 42 stores nationwide.
Each store takes a “radically hospitable” approach to retail and customer experience, Heidt noted. In each store, Tecovas offers complimentary beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic, dependent on the market – often in the form of a full-service bar), boot shines, and other complimentary customization options like hat and boot branding and leather embossing.
“We like people to feel like they can come in and they can hang out,” Heidt said. “We’re not rushing them to get in and out. We have plenty of seating, we have a bar – which everybody loves. But you know, we love to be great storytellers and love when people come in to talk and tell stories. So, we do kind of have that ‘old-timey’ community store feeling. Let’s talk, let’s get to know each other, and let’s try on some boots.”
Looking ahead, Heidt is keeping a steady approach to new openings in the future. “Right now, we’re continuing to evolve our retail strategy as our product grows, and our customer base grows,” the executive said. “We’re going to open about 10 stores a year. So, we’re feeling pretty good about that growth. But again, I think we’re trying new things this year. So, if these bigger malls work out for us, it kind of opens up the gates a little bit for more openings.”
Tecovas’ new retail expansion plans comes at a time when demand for western footwear styles is on the rise. In the U.S., Western boots totaled $888.5 million in sales in 2023, up 30 percent from 2019, according to Circana’s consumer tracking data.
The company has been ramping up business for a few years now. In 2022, Tecovas secured $56 million in Series C funding that went towards investing significantly in hiring, expanding the brand’s retail footprint, buying more inventory, and launching new products.
Later that same year, the company hired Deckers alum David Lafitte as its chief executive officer. With this move, Paul Hedrick, who founded Tecovas in 2015 and has served as its CEO since then, stepped into a full-time executive chairman role.
