Pajar Canada has acquired Canadian competitor Cougar Shoes for an undisclosed sum.
Pajar Canada, based in Montreal, is an upscale footwear and outerwear brand best known for its sheepskin boots. Quebec-based Cougar Shoes makes suede and leather waterproof boots and known for its brown leather “pillow boot.”
In an interview with the Globe & Mail, Cougar’s co-owner and president Steve Sedlbauer said his company had been undergoing financial struggles in recent years due to disruption caused by the pandemic. The company was also impacted by milder winters in key regions.
“We just don’t get the winters of the severity, and early enough, to make the category robust,” said Sedlbauer. “So, the retailers are divesting from it, because it’s difficult to make money in that category.”
He further noted that owners were nearing retirement age.
Pajar Canada president Michel Golbert told Globe & Mail that Pajar is growing, benefiting from expanding to more than 25 countries and reaching more than $100-million in annual sales He sees potential to expand Cougar in international markets and into outerwear.
“The Cougar brand is also a very beautiful heritage brand, and we always viewed them as a good competitor,” Golbert said. “We figured that if it wasn’t us purchasing it, it would be somebody else. We wanted to corner the market a little bit, at least in Canada and North America, and we thought it would be a great idea to expand.”
