Australian bootmaker RM Williams is considering an expansion into Japan, with chief executive Paul Grosmann identifying the country as the company’s leading potential new market.
Speaking to Nikkei Asia, Grosmann named Japan as the company’s most promising prospective market, pointing to its craftsmanship-focused culture and the relatively high disposable income of male consumers as reasons the brand could connect with shoppers there.
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He cautioned that discussions remain “very early in the process”, adding that he plans to travel to Japan soon for meetings with prospective partners.
A move into Japan would sit within a wider international expansion programme.
RM Williams wants overseas markets to contribute 15%-20% of total revenue next year, compared with 10% currently.
During the 12 months to April, the company opened four stores in the UK, taking its estate there to nine. Turnover in the UK is forecast to reach £15m or more in 2026.
The company has also begun expanding in Scandinavia, where Sweden and Denmark have been designated priority markets.
The US has become RM Williams’ second-largest market for online sales.
Asia is still a market where the company has no physical presence, and RM Williams has not yet opened a store in the region.
Japan and South Korea have both been selected as target markets, with Grosmann describing the two countries as “very influential” in style and fashion and calling them “trend centres for the region”.
RM Williams was founded in 1932 after Reginald Murray Williams developed a one-piece leather boot upper, having observed that stitched seams on cattlemen’s boots wore down through contact with stirrups.
The business has had two ownership changes over the past decade.
LVMH-backed L Catterton took control in 2014, and investment company Tattarang acquired the company in 2020, returning it to Australian ownership.
Grosmann said the company’s manufacturing model would not change as RM Williams enters new markets.
