Tecovas opens almost 15 stores a year, and its stores now do double duty as retention plays and acquisition channels.

That pace will continue. The digitally native Western boot brand plans seven more openings before the end of 2026, including a Williamsburg, Brooklyn location in September, and 15 additional openings in 2027, according to Kim Heidt, the company's chief retail officer.

The store fleet anchors a strategy the Austin-based retailer calls "radical hospitality." Walk into the SoHo flagship, open for one year, and the leather smell hits before anything else. The sprawling New York space displays boots and Western apparel, but it also includes a bar where shoppers can grab a drink, couches for lounging, and stations offering boot shines and product customization.

"You show up in New York and you show experiential [retail] and try to be there for the customers more than for the transaction," Heidt told Retail Brew following a recent walkthrough. "New Yorkers have just really been treating us well."

Stores Drive Acquisition, Not Just Sales

Heidt said Tecovas isn't "chasing a store count." The retailer weighs its existing e-commerce penetration when deciding where to open, which gives new locations an established customer base. Stores have also become central to acquisition: almost half of store shoppers are existing customers, and half are first-timers, per Heidt.

Physical presence generates demand in low-tech ways. Heidt said the leather smell from stores lures in passersby, some customers use Tecovas stores as meetup spots, and regulars stop by weekly.

Hospitality as Operating Expense, Not Marketing Gimmick

Keeping customers in the store is where "radical hospitality" comes in, though Heidt resists calling it a retail strategy.

"It's who we are," she said. "It's how we show up."

In practice, that means store associates maintain deep product and fit knowledge to help shoppers who have never tried on cowboy boots, plus training in active listening and community building. Store managers act as local ambassadors, and several outposts regularly host events for businesses and community members.

The drinks, boot shining, and customization staffing are not marketing tactics that must justify their ROI by converting every visitor. Heidt said those hospitality elements run through stores' P&Ls as operating expenses.

The philosophy extends beyond the brand's own four walls. Tecovas recently announced a partnership with Bass Pro Shops, where it operates shop-in-shops staffed by its own employees. Heidt said Tecovas was drawn to Bass Pro's loyal customer base and its shared focus on quality, craftsmanship, and hospitality.

"You'll feel like you're in a Tecovas store," she said.

A Bounded Footprint, by Design

Heidt does not envision Tecovas becoming a chain of hundreds or thousands of stores. Locations are meant to serve markets capable of sustaining them. Wholesale partners fill geographic gaps, and e-commerce handles repeat purchases once shoppers know their boot size and preferred fit.

For Heidt, keeping that model working as Tecovas grows comes down to something simpler than omnichannel strategy.

"Yes, we're selling product, and we all believe in that product, and that product is what got us here," she said. "But what keeps us going and maintaining it is the people. So I feel like I am more in the people's business than anything else."