Outback cattle business, S. Kidman and Company, has stepped out onto the catwalk again, buying South Australian rural footwear business, Rossi Boots, just weeks after picking up the Driza-Bone brand.
Both were sold separately by Melbourne-based Propel Group, which is also the parent company of the popular RB Sellars rural clothing label and Goodwoods horse rugs.
Rossi Boots will continue to be stocked by RB Sellars stores nationally, as will Driza-Bone's jackets and coats.
It's the third ownership restructure for Rossi in recent years, which included a period when its boot factory was temporarily closed in 2021 because of liquidity issues.
Rossi's new owner and another big South Australian-born brand name, S. Kidman and Co, has been majority owned by mining and agriculture billionaire, Gina Rinehart, since 2016.
The historic Kidman pastoral group, founded in 1899, had no previous rural fashion industry interests until last month's move to buy Driza-Bone's oilskin coat brand.
However, acquiring the Rossi business gives Mrs Rinehart the "Kidman" boot trademark, which the Adelaide company has used on one of its boot styles.
Kidman and Co became part of her Hancock Agriculture portfolio when she trumped local pastoralists and overseas bidders with a $365 million joint venture buy from descendants of cattle king Sidney Kidman.
Hancock holds a 66 per cent of the Kidman parent company, Australian Outback Beef, in partnership with Chinese infrastructure, real estate and farming business, Shanghai CRED.
Kidman's investment in Rossi Boots makes Australia's richest woman a strong competitor in the "outdoor wear" space with fellow West Australian mining and farming magnates, Andrew and Nicola Forrest, who bought the upmarket RM Williams boots and clothing name, also based in SA, in 2020.
Fashion industry observers are anticipating a full Kidman apparel line of footwear and durable clothing for country and city customers, will follow the Rossi Boots deal.
Founded by Arthur Rossiter, in a backyard shed in Adelaide in 1908, the fourth-generation Rossi Boots business has made a name for itself supplying hardy footwear to farmers, rural workers, miners and the Australian army.
Propel joined forces with the Rossiter family and investment group, GP Securities, to initially hold joint shares in the re-organised business in early 2020, while the boot factory in Kilburn stayed in family ownership supplying its products under contract.
However, the boot manufacturing plant, trading as Adaptive Industries, stopped operating about 15 months later with debts of almost $3m, before eventually being bought by Propel and GP Securities and re-opened.
The Propel Group will use funds generated by this month's undisclosed sale price to invest in growing its RB Sellars' clothing range and stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Kidman and Company chairman, Gina Rinehart, said acquiring Rossi Boots was not just a business decision - "it's a recognition of our national history".
Late last week Mrs Rinehart was presented with a prototype pair of new "Kidman" boots styled in Pilbara red at a Brisbane Christmas function hosted for company staff.
The event showcased the beginning for the company's new fashion venture ambitions, and its plans to "bring back affordable leather boots to Australians".
Rossi's business has been synonymous with footwear worn by the armed forces since 1915 when Arthur Rossiter designed a combat boot "fit for our boys".
Its designs have since included the Ripple Sole Desert Boot launched more than 70 years ago and the Endura Sole, launched in 1993 to become its most popular style.
Mrs Rinehart said Kidman's acquisition ensured Rossi's manufacturing excellence remained in Australian hands and could be expanded into new markets.
"Rossi represents the heart and soul of Australian craftsmanship and embodies the quintessential Australian spirit of hard work, resilience and quality," she said.
"Rossi Boots is more than just a brand; it represents a cherished part of rural Australia's way of life."
Hancock Agriculture chief executive officer, Adam Giles said the company's plans for Rossi underscored S. Kidman and Co's dedication to preserving Australian tradition, while also exploring avenues for taking Australian brands to the world stage.
"Many more exciting fashions are to be unveiled with Hancock Ag's new agriculture-inspired fashion line."