Western & English Today

JANSB 2014

W&E; Today provides retailers and manufacturers with education and ideas that provoke innovation in the Western and English markets.

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Corral business partners Hector and Francisco Cuadra visit with Swarovski reps Guadalupe Lozano and Luis Tellez. map," Tillmin says. "Western  lifestyle is  no longer found just  in the  Western hemisphere, but  has spread  to Europe, Asia, Great Britain and Australia. It's not a fad; it's  mainstream fashion, formal and informal for both men and women. At Corral we feel like we are leading the way in style, design and fashion with our constant introduction of new Western products and designs.  We are proud to be associated so closely with the Western industry and equally proud to be setting the trend in Western fashion as well." "We're in the buckle stores," Othell says. "We're in Dillard's, we're in mainstream stores. I just don't see it going away. It's totally entrenched. Now, it's going to have its ups and downs. It's going to peak and it's going to have valleys, but it will never go away like it did afer Urban Cowboy." Staying entrenched in the mainstream, however, means staying ahead of the curve. "We're starting to do more and more lacing," Othell says. "More intricate looks, whip-stitching, lace-stitching, kind of combining it all and seeing what happens. We're getting bolder and bolder looks on our men, and are getting more fashion looks into our men's lines." To that end, Corral has expanded into belts, purses and jackets and in September 2012, Welch announced that Mesquite, Texas-based Cowgirl Justice Apparel had become a sister company. Yet Corral Boots isn't just a modern-day success story. It's a feelgood story that reinforces that "Code of the West," where neighbors are neighborly and everyone lends a hand. "Tere's a boot for everybody," Liberty Boot Co. president Tony Benattar says. "Tere's a customer for every boot company, and Corral has certainly found its niche." It's a competitive business, but cutthroat isn't in Othell's vocabulary. "Here's one thing I can say about Othell that I wish we all would follow," says LaDane Smith, a designer and representative for Lane Boots, another fashion-forward ladies' boot company. "Never in this industry have I seen anybody who goes so far out of his way to help his competitors. "I have watched him walk people to other boot companies. Anytime he fnds out that I'm having an issue, he's saying, 'Let me see what I can do to help you, honey.' Tell me who else does that. He's set a huge example for me because I want to strive to be more like him as a competitor and a manufacturer. He's amazing. In my mind, I can't think of anybody in this industry who's more humble, knows where he came from, and is proud to share his knowledge, unrestrained and unselfshly to all of us." In addition to expanding into belts, purses, jackets and apparel, the company has launched its ItÕs a feel-good story that reinforces that ÒCode of the West,Ó where neighbors are neighborly and everyone lends a hand. 58 Western & English Today

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