Some of the biggest boot brands in the world once said no to us. Why? Because they were already selling to the store down the street. That store doesn’t exist anymore. But we do.
When Wei Mah started this business, he wasn’t taken seriously. He was a small-town Chinese immigrant trying to sell Western boots in Red Deer, Alberta. The big brands didn’t see him as a real player. But Wei knew something they didn’t. This business wasn’t just about what you sell. It was about how you sell, and who you sell to.
While others chased volume, he chased relationships. When big companies tried to tell him how to run his shop, he turned them down. He believed small businesses had an advantage: the freedom to choose who they worked with and how they worked.
He saw what happened when big corporations took over. Levi’s at Costco. Wrangler at Walmart. Boots on Amazon. Once they’re there, they lose their soul and their identity. Real cowboys know the difference between something made for them and something made for everyone.
Wei built his business protecting that authenticity. He fought to earn respect from the brands that once shut him out. Tony Lama and Justin Boots didn’t start selling to Wei until they saw how fast he moved the product.
And when his sons went down to Denver in 2000 and picked up Lucchese, a small bootmaker at the time, they trusted their instincts. Now you hear Lucchese in country songs and see it on rodeo champions’ feet. Wei’s carried it long before it was famous.
We’ve outlasted the stores that once blocked us. We’ve protected the brands that trusted us. And we’ve stayed loyal to the customers who value quality over convenience.
That’s what it means to beat the competition. Not by being the biggest, but by being the best — the Wei’s way.
Wei’s Western Wear has never followed the crowd. We’ve built our reputation by doing things our way — authentic, independent, and true to the West.