Just one year after it was acquired by a Los Angeles private equity firm, the successor to Denver’s Miller Stockman Group has struck a deal that will make it the largest Western- and work-wear retailer in the country.
Corral West Ranchwear, based in Cheyenne, will announce this week that it has merged with BTWW Retail LP, creating a company with 138 Western clothing and workwear stores in 20 states. The merged company will be called BTWW and will remain in Cheyenne. It will operate a regional office in Dallas, where BTWW is based.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Corral West is owned by Sage Capital Partners. BTWW is backed by Luther King Capital Management of Fort Worth, Texas.
Corral West is best known in Colorado as the company that bought out the retail business of Denver’s storied Miller Stockman Co. in 1999 so Miller could concentrate on clothing manufacturing. The company has 16 stores in Colorado.
“It totally changes both our businesses,” said Corral West CEO Leslie Ball, who will retain his position in the combined company. “We will, by quite a margin, have total dominance in the work-wear business and in Western stores.”
When Sage Capital Partners acquired Corral West in December 2005, the company said the capital it was infusing in the company would allow it to make an aggressive expansion into the work-wear business. Both the Western- and work-wear retail segments are made up of fractured regional players, and the company said it saw an opportunity to create a national player in the sector.
Dan Gardenswartz, managing director of Sage Capital Partners, said the merger is a significant first step in that direction.
“It really gives the company the critical mass to go out and really start growing. We feel like we’ve reached an inflection point where there is a lot of growth potential,” he said.
BTWW operates multiple retail brands, including Western Warehouse, Boot Town, Job Site and Sergeant’s Western World. It operates three Western Warehouse stores in Colorado. Corral West operates all of its stores under the Corral West Ranchwear name, except for two recently opened Work Wear Depot stores.
All retail stores will continue operating under their existing names.
“All those entities are very strong brand names that have a loyal following and consumer base in the markets they serve,” said Paul Leroue, president of Federal Heights-based Rocky Mountain Clothing Co., a manufacturer of Western clothing.
The merger will give the combined company significant buying power, said Leroue, whose company previously sold clothing through both Corral West and BTWW.
The combined company will have more than 1,800 employees.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-954-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
