Article published June 20, 2010

Men's shops alter course to stay competitive
Local stores pare, adapt as big chains pick up sales

By JOHN CHAVEZ
Blade Business Writer

PAUL STARK remembers the good old days as if they were yesterday - customers walking into his Diamonds Men's Shop in the now-demolished Southwyck Shopping Center and buying two, three, sometimes four men's suits at a time. "We used to be a major suit retailer.  We'd sell 25,000 suits a year," Mr. Stark said. "It was huge, but now we're doing a lot of sportswear."  Customers nowadays come in to buy suits mainly for funerals, weddings, and other special occasions, Mr. Stark said.  "I've been in business 38 years, and we must've lost 40 men's stores over that time," he said wistfully. As families around the Toledo area celebrate Father's Day today with some dads receiving a traditional gift of a necktie, it is a fact that the classic men's clothing stores where such ties could be bought are slowly disappearing.  Economic downturns, the growth of big-box retailers, and the monumental shift by men away from business suits to casual clothes have combined to downsize the men's clothing store niche nationwide over the last 30 years, experts say. "Many didn't know how to adjust, or want to adjust, or fight the battle," said Frank Kahle, owner of Neil's Men's Shop in Toledo.  "You've either got to change or you're going to go away."

Under the watchful eye of owner Frank Kahle, Richard Gallegos experiments with ties for a new suit at Neil's Men's Shop in Toledo. (THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT)

Louis Threet shops for slacks at Diamond's Men's Shop, which sells hats, shoes, and brightly-colored clothing along with traditional offerings such as white shirts and dark suits. (THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPATOSKY)

Nearly two decades ago 15,566 men's clothing stores were in business nationwide according to U.S. Census figures.  That dwindled to 8,470 in 2007, the most recent figures available.  Ohio, the Census figures show, had 364 men's clothing stores in 2002 but just 266 in 2007.  Local figures are not available, but according to the 1990 Toledo area business telephone listings, 30 retailers were classified strictly as men's clothing stores.  In 2010 listings, the number was 13. Spending on men's apparel, however, has held its own nationally.  Including purchases at any store, men's clothing spending was $53 billion in 2005, $57 billion in 2007, and $51 billion in 2009, according to market research firm NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y. Dan Butler, a vice president for the National Retail Federation, said men's wear is still a strong sales category, but it has changed.  "The people who were young and in their careers in the '60s or '70s are now retiring and they're not at a stage of their life where they have to dress up as often," he said.  They're keeping what they bought previously, and purchases now are more casual clothes, obtainable at any clothing store. Two big men's clothing chains, with local stores, JoS. A Bank Clothiers and Men's Wearhouse - which also operates K&G Superstores and MW Tux stores - are bucking that trend.

Men's Warehouse went from $1.3 billion in sales and 614 stores in 2000 to $1.9 billion in sales and 1,294 stores in 2009.  JoS. A. Bank went from $206 million in sales and 117 stores in 2000 to $770 million in sales and 473 stores in 2009. It has set records for sales and profits every year since 2000. Jerry DeBoer, vice president of marketing for JoS. A. Bank, said that while the men's store industry was contracting the Hamstead, Md., chain decided to gamble on an upscale format and not compete with larger retailers of men's apparel.  "We decided you don't need another discounter in men's apparel," he said.  The recessions in 2001 and 2009 helped JoS. A. Bank, he said, because the company was perceived as providing value for reasonable prices. At the same time, it embarked on an aggressive expansion, opening 380 stores in the last 10 years.  "We knew a man doesn't like to shop for clothes. He wants to get in, buy, and get out," Mr. DeBoer said.  So the chain decided on stores with their own entrances, not inside malls, and it invested heavily in online retailing, knowing that a growing number of younger men prefer to shop that way. Mr. Neil's Men's Shop said the wave of change began in the late 1970s and mid-1980s with the introduction of Casual Fridays.