Online boot maker Tecovas, named after a rock formation in the Palo Duro Canyon of Texas, is opening its first brick-and-mortar stores.
Tecovas Dallas
The company scored a round of $30 million in venture-capital funding last year and opened its first stores last month: one in Austin, at company headquarters; one in San Antonio; and one in Dallas.
The company is opening two additional stores later this month — in Oklahoma City and in Houston. "I thought it was a misunderstood niche and needed a new brand with a great product and a price people would appreciate," founder Paul Hedrick told The Dallas Morning News. Tecovas has attracted many first-time boot buyers, he said. "We ask (customers), and new people represent in the high teens, almost 20 percent of our business."
Hedrick says opening stores is important to the growth of his brand. A memorable shopping experience is tough to pull off, he said, "with an internet purchase in a corrugated box on the doorstep."
By Brannon Boswell
Executive Editor, Commerce + Communities Today
