By The Hitch’n Post will gain some national recognition from the Western English Sales Association later this month.
Locally owned since it opened in 1970, the business’s current owners are Terry and Kathryn “Pete” Larson. They will receive the association’s Top Hand Award on Jan. 21 during the industry’s largest market event in Texas. The honor recognizes an individual or company that has made significant contributions to the Western lifestyle industry.
Nominated by their sales representative, the award is akin to a retailer of the year award for the roughly 3,700 Western apparel retailers across the nation.
“It’s awful humbling that’s for sure,” Pete said.
She describes the Hitch’n Post as a small fish in a big pond of Western retailers. She and Terry credit their employees and the customer service they provide as a reason for the nomination.
“They’re probably the reason we’re getting this award,” Terry said.
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Pete said it’s the patrons who have supported Hitch’n Post year after year that keep the business going. She believes customer service is key, especially spending time with them to make sure they find what they’re looking for.
Customers have also become their friends, she said.
“It’s amazing the number of people we’ve served and call by name. We’re here because they support us,” Pete said.
A second generation of long-time customers has also come to visit the store, recalling stops they had as children.
In recent years, the Larsons’ younger daughter Alissa Battest has joined them at the store. She and her parents said they’re constantly looking for new items to sell. Some of those products, like Dark Canyon Coffee, come from customer recommendations. Others, like flavored pretzels, have been discovered by the owners while traveling.
“We’re always on the lookout for the new and unique,” Battest said.
Pete said she and Terry make a point to get to know the story behind the new items they offer. If they have a good sense of the company, it helps them sell those products.
Alissa Battest, Pete Larson and Terry Larson are familiar faces at the Hitch’n Post in Aberdeen. The business will be receiving the Top Hand Award from the Western and English Sales Association on Jan. 21 in Texas. Aberdeen Insider photo by Elisa Sand.
Store established to give more parking options
The Hitch’n Post’s beginning started with John Pagones, who was owner of B&H Bootery, a high-end women’s shoe store, and Western Corral. Both retail stores were on South Main Street in Aberdeen, but downtown wasn’t ideal for customers who had long trailers.
In his quest for a better store location, Terry said, Pagones purchased a former auto body shop that, at the time, was so far outside the city limits some thought Pagones was crazy.
But, Terry said, the L-shaped building was ideal for customers looking for Western apparel and products. As time marched on, the store expanded its footprint twice as the city expanded east to the Hitch ‘N Post and well beyond.
That development included a mall, hotels and restaurants, all of which resulted in more potential customers passing the Hitch’n Post.
Retail business opened in 1970
The Hitch’n Post opened in April 1970, and Terry started working there that August. The Western wear industry boomed in the wake of the movie “Urban Cowboy” in 1980, and sales were strong when Terry and another employee purchased the store in 1983. But the boom didn’t last.
Terry said as the “Urban Cowboy” craze faded, interest rates rose, and the farm economy hit hard times. Three tough years followed. Not just for them, but for many Western wear companies that had expanded too quickly to meet the short-lived demand.
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Terry became sole owner in 1986. Pete said that’s when she started working full time at the store. Looking back, Pete said, she wonders what she was thinking by giving up a regular paycheck from the South Dakota Department of Labor to work at the store, but it was a gamble that paid off.
Those tough years inspired the owners to try something new with the addition of an antique section in the back of the store. That resulted in income from the rent paid by 25 to 30 vendors and new customers who had never before visited Hitch’n Post because they thought it was just a Western shop.
After owning the store for 42 years, Terry said he’s often asked if he’s ready to retire, but neither he nor Pete show signs of stopping because they enjoy the job.
“If you enjoy what you do, it’s not work,” Terry said.
