R.M. WILLIAMS

R.M. WILLIAMS in St Ives, Sydney, NSW is listed under Clothing Stores.

Born in the Australian Outback, R.M.Williams creates purposefully designed and beautiful footwear, craft and accessories to help enjoy all of life’s adventures.

R.M.Williams was founded in 1932 by Reginald Murray Williams. RM – as he liked to call himself – recognized the need for hard-wearing products and was determined to create a boot that could endure the harsh Australian bush. Months were spent adapting a single piece of softened hide into one of the world’s most recognized footwear styles.

With an advertisement for ‘Elastic Side Boots’ published in Adelaide’s Chronicle Newspaper in 1934, R.M.Williams the brand was born and the people of the Australian outback started to make their way to 5 Percy Street.

The foundations of the R.M.Williams business are firmly built on the spirit of RM, the man. Reginald Murray Williams was a serial entrepreneur who spent his many years inventing, reinventing and perfecting new techniques. He investigated new businesses and markets but remained grounded by his upbringing and experience – he was a man happy with hard work.

This entrepreneurial, driven spirit remains at the core of the company culture today. Leaders across the globe are drawn to the effortless style and reliability that is at the heart of the brand, as are some of the most famous people on the planet – actors Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman and politicians Bill Clinton and David Cameron to name a few.

The R.M.Williams brand is and always has been inspired by the remarkable land of the Australian outback, and the people who live there. The brand is active in rural and remote communities, sponsoring key events around the stockman’s crafts and taking boots and clothing to the far-flung reaches of the country with the travelling Longhorn Express truck and store. R.M.Williams supports community activities such as the Australian Stockhorse Association, The Man from Snowy River Festival and the major agricultural shows in each state.

R.M.Williams publishes the bi-monthly OUTBACK magazine, telling the great stories of the outback – ordinary people doing extraordinary things, away from the bright lights of our cities.

The craftsmanship of the 300-staff boots, craft and clothing workshop in Adelaide is something special and unique. Many of these staff members have a lifelong dedication to the company, and pass their skills down from generation to generation.

The classic boot styles incorporate more than 80 hand-held processes, each performed by craftsmen and women with multiple years’ training and an eye for quality and detail. They also produce remarkable hand-plaited belts, made with more than 1000 plaits – a skill handed down from bushmen, to RM himself, and then to the team that crafts the products today.

The iconic elastic-sided boot, made from one piece of leather, is durable enough to stand up to the rigours of the outback. This one-piece leather construction stands R.M.Williams boots apart. Goodyear welting – the strip of leather that runs along the perimeter of the boot outsole – means not only a well-made, durable boot, but also one that can be repaired as good as new with a life expectancy of decades, if well looked after. The simplicity of the design means it can work with jeans in the outback or a suit in the city.

From the very early days, RM built his business around making to order. The R.M.Williams museum in Percy St in Adelaide houses RM’s metre-long Remington Rand card machine that dates back to the 1950s, and in which he kept the typed names and addresses of customers, plus their sizes and fabric preferences, long before data-marketing and loyalty programs existed. In keeping with the times, the business is now migrating what was a mail-order catalogue business into a state-of-the-art e-Commerce business, servicing both remote outback customers and international fans.

Helping the customer choose the perfect-sized boot remains critical to the enduring success of R.M.Williams. There’s expert staff in store and multiple size and width boot combinations available. Online, customers are given step-by-step instructions to ensure they order the perfect fit for them. Boots are also made to order when a specific leather, size or width combination is not immediately in stock.

A new bespoke program will take choice to a whole new level. Customers will be able to design their own handcrafted, elastic-sided boots, right down to the absolute perfect size for each foot, and complete with a personalised message of your choice on the sole. A wide variety of leathers, sole types, stitching colours and elastics will be on offer.

Through quality craftsmanship and extraordinary attention to detail, R.M.Williams now gives a piece of Australian bush culture to passionate followers of superior products the world over.

Today, R.M.Williams exports to 15 countries, has more than 50 retail stores in Australia and a store in London. In addition, R.M.Williams is available at more than 900 stockists around the globe.

The spirit of entrepreneurship and focus on quality and durability remains part and parcel of the exciting future of R.M.Williams, building on the legacy of one man, and continuing to be inspired by the Australian outback.

Reviews

“The sheer craftsmanship of every pair of boots I own is astonishing, from the classic flat heel to the Cuban heel I am yet to find any flaws.

You’d think that the craftsmanship ends after you buy the product however, R.M.Williams goes above and beyond to service their customers and to ensure the quality of their products. For example the sole of one pair finally broke through and some of the seams were damaged- I went to one of their retailers and was told that the re-sole wouldn’t be too difficult and they wouldn’t be imposing any cost!

I can say without a doubt I would recommend the brand to anyone looking for quality products built to last.”

“After over 40 years of buying R.M.Williams, today I was disappointed. I sent my daughter to buy a new pair after her Uni class and because I was unable to be with her she got no help. Last time we got her a pair from there a lovely elderly lady served her. I told my daughter to go back and ask when the elderly lady was working but my daughter said no because whoever was working was patronising. My daughters father said he felt uncomfortable also, him working until 4am this morning he shouldn’t have to dress up for service. Yet there was another father and daughter that came in afterwards and the staff member couldn’t be nicer to them, although they were dressed up � My daughter was only pointed to $100 suede ones. Yet my daughter wanted a tan classic craftsman pair as she already has a black Yearling pair and my old Santa Fe’s. My daughter rang me from inside the store to get the right sizing and the name, then I was surprised when my daughter called me back to say I was more helpful. Her father also wanted to see the Tambo’s for himself. It looks like I’m back at shopping at R.M.Williams Wintergarden and I did notice the one at Garden City yesterday also. I’m just upset my daughter was treated that way and felt that way, R.M.Williams has always been regarded highly in my family since my mothers and my Grandfathers droving days. I am so disappointed with R.M.Williams outlet at Harbour Town Qld.”

“My husband and I went to your castle hill store today where you had 2 staff on and one other customer. We were looking to invest in expensive bespoke boots and she was buying a 70 dollar wallet. For some reason this meant we were asked to wait as both were talking to her about if she wanted to purchase the one on the shelf as their were none out the back. After 15minutes we walked out without a single blink or word from your staff who had continues chatting and even flocking through books at the counter. To charge the prices you do, the least you’d expect as a customer is decent service. When we do invest it will be in a different brand who seems more appreciative of almost a grand of our money.”

“I am an extremely loyal customer and own numerous pairs of your boots as well as several belts, shirts and trousers. The service that I received yesterday in your Melbourne Central store was the worst I can ever recall receiving in any store/brand. I was in the store for over twenty minutes looking at almost every item available. I was never greeted upon arrival or in the 20 minutes following and numerous staff passed me by. There were 2 other people in the store who were together and both being served by the same staff member. The other 3-4 people working there completely ignored me despite almost brushing shoulders with me. I am extremely disappointment that an Australian brand that I know and love could offer such atrocious customer service.”

“I bought my Adelaide black boots leather sole for office work in March 2016 and wearing them 2-3days a week on carpeted office flooring and walking 10 minutes to the car in them and 2 holes appeared in the sole! This is dreadful for boots nearing $500 a pop. I took them in to show the staff and now $165 to resole them.
This is not good enough for a quality boot! I expect that the sole was paper thin. I had an expectation of gem lasting for at least 1 year!
Took them to the new store at Warringah Mall and the staff were blasé about their quality.
RM Williams always stood for quality but I would have to question that.
Not good enough, drop your prices or up your game.”

“After years of owning RM Williams boots, receiving great customer service and having them repaired and resoled at the factory I am sad to say this has come to a very abrupt end…. I sent a fairly new rarely used pair of boots to get their soles changed from leather to rubber so that they can be used more often in wet and humid environments only to receive them back badly marked, cut and looking like they were repaired by a 2 year old and not a craftsman. I have sent an email via customer service but am yet to get a response. At this stage I would not be recommending the repair service to anyone who values their boots :-(“