74
John Justin Jr. retired in April 1999, and John Roach, former
head of the Tandy Corp., came in to lead a restructuring. In just
over a year, the new management engineered an impressive
turnaround—adding new footwear products, consolidating the
existing lines to eliminate duplicate designs, and instituting eff i-
ciencies in manufacturing and distribution. In April 2000, the
streamlined company announced f irst quarter results: footwear
sales rose 17 percent to $41.1 million, and both net earnings and
gross margins increased signif icantly.
Two months later, Berkshire Hathaway announced it had
reached an agreement to buy the company, prompting Bear
Stearns analyst Gary Schneider to comment, “This is good
news for employees. Management made all the changes last
year. They’ve already taken the tough measures necessary to
lower costs.”^18
Today the boot division of Justin has 4,000 vendors and
about 35 percent of the Western footwear market; in stores that
specialize in Western apparel, some 70 percent of the boots on
the shelves are Justin brands. Most prices start at around $100.
In the higher price brackets (several hundred dollars and up),
Justin has about 65 percent of market share.Acme Building Brands
The other division of Justin Industries is also a pioneer Texas
company that is more than a century old. Founded in 1891 in
Milsap, Texas, Acme became a Justin company in 1968, when
John Justin Jr. bought it. Today, Acme is the largest and most
prof itable brick manufacturer in the country.
Because long-distance shipping costs are prohibitive, bricks
tend to be a regional product. Acme dominates its region
(Texas and f ive surrounding states) with more than 50 percent
of market share. In its six-state area, Acme has 31 production
facilities, including 22 brick plants, its own sales off ices, and
its own f leet of trucks. Builders, contractors, and homeowners
can order bricks direct from the company, and they will be
delivered on Acme trucks. Acme sells more than one billion