After raising millions, Austin boot maker Tecovas is making changes at the top

Lori Hawkins, Austin American-Statesman
·3 min read
After raising millions of dollars for expansion, Austin-based cowboy boot and western apparel company Tecovas is bringing in new leadership. (Provided by Tecovas)
After raising millions of dollars for expansion, Austin-based cowboy boot and western apparel company Tecovas is bringing in new leadership. (Provided by Tecovas)

After raising millions of dollars for expansion, Austin-based cowboy boot and western apparel company Tecovas is bringing in new leadership.

Paul Hedrick, who founded Tecovas in 2015, will leave his CEO position this month and become the company's executive chairman.

The company's new CEO will be David Lafitte, who is currently chief operating officer at Deckers Brands, which operates brands including UGG, HOKA, Teva, and Sanuk.

In January, Tecovas raised $56 million to expand the company with new retail stores. Before opening its first location on South Congress Avenue in 2019, the company generated all of its revenue from online sales.

More: Austin bootmaker Tecovas lands $56 million to open more stores, add apparel

Tecovas currently operates 20 stores in 10 states. With the new funding, the company plans to open 15 stores in the next 18 months.

The company has raised $120 million to date. The most recent investment was led by Elephant, a venture capital firm founded by eyewear retailer Warby Parker co-founder Andy Hunt.

Tecovas' business model is similar to Warby Parker, in which people try on products in-store and then go online to make purchases. Tecovas is one of a number of retailers that were initially online-only before embarking on a brick-and-mortar expansion. San Francisco-based footwear brand Allbirds, which also launched on the web, opened a store on South Congress Avenue in Austin in 2020.

More: Austin's beloved Tesoros Trading Company is closing its South Congress store

Austin-based boot maker Tecovas is moving from its current retail space at 1333 South Congress Ave. to the location currently occupied by Tesoros Trading Company at 1500 South Congress Ave. (Provided by Tecovas)
Austin-based boot maker Tecovas is moving from its current retail space at 1333 South Congress Ave. to the location currently occupied by Tesoros Trading Company at 1500 South Congress Ave. (Provided by Tecovas)

Tecovas cowboy boots are designed in Austin and crafted in Leon, Mexico, in one of the oldest bootmaking factories in the world by a team of artisans. Using a more than 200-step process, each boot is made using custom tanned leathers, according to the company.

The company said it posted 70% revenue growth in 2021 from the previous year and expects more than 40% growth in 2022. Tecovas said it expects to reach more than $200 million in sales this year.

"Tecovas is an exciting young brand with an enormous amount of potential and opportunity, and I do not see that slowing down," Lafitte said. "Thanks to the great foundation that Paul has laid, I’m looking forward to collaborating with him and the rest of the leadership team on further establishing the next great American footwear and apparel brand."

Tecovas made its Austin debut with a store at 1333 South Congress Avenue, where the company had its headquarters upstairs.

The company has since moved its headquarters to WeWork offices on Barton Springs Road. And soon it will move its South Austin store from its current space to 1500 South Congress Avenue, a site that is about to be vacated by the closing of Tesoros Trading Company.

The 4,000-square-foot Tesoros space Presto will provide an opportunity to offer more public gatherings and live events, Hedrick said.

"I think it's probably the best retail space in Austin," he told the Statesman. "It's almost twice our size now and we will have the opportunity to create a true flagship store experience."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin boot maker Tecovas is making changes at the top