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quality. Both divisions of Justin have managed to turn them-
selves into a franchise, through a combination of top quality,
good marketing, and shrewd positioning.
Acme sells a product that most people consider a commodity.
Who, after all, can name the brand of bricks they prefer? Acme
customers, that’s who. With a skillful marketing campaign fea-
turing football legend Troy Aikman, Acme has made itself so
well known that when Texans were recently asked to name their
favorite brand of brick, 75 percent of respondents said Acme.
That brand consciousness is reinforced every time a consumer
picks up a brick and sees the Acme logo stamped into it.
The boots, too, have established themselves as franchises.
Spend a few minutes in any Western-apparel retail outlet, and
you’ll hear customers say things like “My son is ready for some
new Justins” or “Show me what you’ve got in Tony Lamas”
more often than you hear “I’m looking for some cowboy boots.”
When they mention the boots by name, and when they’re will-
ing to pay top price for top quality, that’s a franchise.
After the improvements of its new management team in
1999 and 2000, Justin began attracting attention. According to
Bear Stearns analyst Gary Schneider, there was widespread in-
terest from many buyers, including Europeans, but Buffett’s
was the f irst offer the company seriously contemplated.^20
Berkshire’s offer was for $22 per share in cash. That repre-
sented a 23 percent premium over closing stock price, but Buf-
fett was not fazed. “It was a chance to get not only one good
business but two good businesses at one time,” he remarked.
“A double dip, in effect. First-class businesses with f irst-class
managements, and that’s just what we look for.” Nor, he
added, did he have plans to change anything. “We buy business
that are running well to start with. If they needed me in Fort
Worth, we wouldn’t be buying it.”^21 The day after the deal
was announced, Justin’s stock price jumped 22 percent, and
Warren Buffett returned to Omaha with a brand-new pair of
ostrich-skin Tony Lamas.