Cavenders
Cavender's Boot City (Sometimes Cavender's) is a western clothing store. It is a privately held company owned by the Cavender family, with James "Joe" Cavender as the company's current Chairman, President and CEO. Cavender's is one of the largest western clothing stores in the US, operating 50 stores (as of June 2009), with 46 of the stores located in Texas. Cavender's has its corporate offices Tyler, Texas, Texas, United States, in the northeastern region of the state.
History
In 1957, founder James R. Cavender started Cavender’s Dairy Mart in Pittsburg, Texas. Eventually, in 1965, he decided to open a new business which featured the latest fashion trends in western clothing. The store was so popular that the chain grew to over 50 stores, located in 6 states.
In the 2003 Cavender's acquired the retail company called Boots & Spurs which had locations in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Springdale, Arkansas. The company tried to convert these stores to the Cavender's floor plan, and still operates both of these locations.
Growth of the company has not slowed down in the late 2000's as it has continued to open new locations and expanded on older locations. Recently they expanded their store in Plano, Texas to double the square feet while remaining open for operation the entire time. Since the grand reopening in October of 2008 it has become one of the highest volume stores in the chain, followed by the West Houston store.
Business
Cavender's busiest times of year fall when the local rodeo's are in town, and the back to school time of year. In Fort Worth, Texas this falls usually during January, while in Houston, Texas it falls around late February and early March. In San Antinio it is during the month of March when the rodeo is in town, and the stores generally see more traffic.
Often times the stores carry the same general merchandise at each location depending on size of the location. Brands which you can see in most any Cavender's location are Wrangler, Cinch/Cruel Girl, Justin Boot Company, Lucchese Boot Company, Anderson Bean Boot Company, Stetson Hat Company, Resistol Hat Company, Ariat Boot and Clothing company, and many others. Cavender's is the exclusive outlet for Larry Mahan Clothing.
Much of the Cavender's success can be attributed to a lack of competition in most general areas that Canvender's has locations. Often times they are the only outlet for the clothing they provide in the area due to the recent closing of gaint competitors Boot Town and Western Wearhouse. Some customers have no other options for the items and selection that Cavender's carries, which draws the similarity to Wal-Mart.
The store staff pay structure is divided into 2 different areas, commission, and hourly pay. The sales staff all work off commission. This includes the general sales members, and also the managers. This promotes compition within the store and can lead to tension over one sales member or manager "stealing" the customer of another sales member. The hourly paid employees are the ones who work the cash registers at the front of the store, and handle the day-to-day business in the back of the store.
Locations
Cavender's Boot City can be found in the following cities:
- Abilene, Texas
- Amarillo, Texas
- Arlington, Texas
- Austin, Texas
- Baytown, Texas
- Beaumont, Texas
- Bossier City, Louisiana
- Clear Lake, Texas
- College Station, Texas
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Dallas, Texas
- Fort Worth, Texas
- Greenville, Texas
- Houston, Texas
- Humble, Texas
- Huntsville, Texas
- Hurst, Texas
- Kansas City, Kansas
- Lewisville, Texas
- Longville, Texas
- Lubbock, Texas
- Lufkin, Texas
- McAllen, Texas
- Mesquite, Texas
- Midland, Texas
- Palestine, Texas
- Paris, Texas
- Pasadena, Texas
- Plano, Texas
- San Antonio, Texas
- San Marcos, Texas
- Springdale, Arkansas
- Temple, Texas
- Texarkana, Texas
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Tyler, Texas
- Victoria, Texas
- Waco, Texas
- Gainesville, Texas
- Nocona, Texas
- Vernon, Texas
- Wichita Falls, Texas