Men's Wearhouse pulls on new thread: women's formal wear

DSN Retailing Today, Jan 10, 2005 by Emily Scardino

SAN FRANCISCO -- For years, Men's Wearhouse founder, chairman and ceo George Zimmer has been praising the exceptional performance of its men's formal wear and tuxedo rental businesses, so an expansion into the female equivalent--bridal attire--makes perfect sense. In fact, the company has such high hopes for the idea that it is launching a new retail concept, Bride & Joy, devoted to this category.

"For years, our female customers have been asking us to open a 'Women's Wearhouse,' and the extension of this area of our business, considering our focus on formal wear, seemed like an ideal fit for us," said Doug Ewert, evp of merchandising for Men's Wearhouse in an interview with DSN Retailing Today. He added that the stores are "one-stop shopping for bridal parties that take the guesswork out of issues such as coordinating bridal gowns to vests." Each approximately 3,000-square-foot store will open up adjacent and connected to Men's Wearhouse stores across the United States. The first two stores opened in the San Francisco market during the week of Thanksgiving.

These initial locations, housed in the company's home state of California, include San Leandro in Marina Square and San Mateo on El Camino Promenade. According to Ewert, these are test stores, the performance of which will influence the rate of expansion and the number of additional openings.

Already anticipating positive performance from the chain, however, Zimmer announced publicly that he believed Bride & Joy could grow to approximately 100 units, in about a 1-to-5 ratio with Men's Warehouse stores.

Bride & Joy's comprehensive assortment of 100 percent branded bridal merchandise includes gowns appropriate for the mother of the bride, bridesmaids and flower girls, as well as an extensive range of coordinating accessories. Though ideally, women are "going to like the way they look," to paraphrase Zimmer's famous Men's Warehouse tagline, bridesmaid gowns traditionally end up relegated to the backs of closets after the big day. That is why Bride & Joy plans to test out a gown rental service in the near future, though this option is not currently available in the two test units, according to Ewert. Most of the leading specialty bridal chains, including David's Bridal, whose AfterHours tuxedo rental chain is a major competitor of Men's Wearhouse, do not offer the option of renting dresses, which typically cost between $100 and $200 at opening price points, so this option will likely attract notice.

Aside from its recent expansion into women's apparel through formal wear, Men's Wearhouse has come up with some rather innovative ways to expand recently, including its acquisition of a number of dry cleaning businesses. As the No. 1 moderate-priced suit purveyor in the country, the company produces a majority of woven, dry-clean-only apparel, including its rental tuxedos. So entering this business was a natural, if offbeat move.

With an 8.3 percent comp sales increase in its U.S. stores during the first three quarters of 2004, out of an overall 12.2 percent revenue increase to $1.088 billion during the same time frame, Men's Warehouse was well positioned even before launching Bride & Joy. Founding father Zimmer has long forged his own trail, appearing in the company's national television commercials and maintaining an entrepreneurial approach to business. His seemingly outre suggestion that self-help guru Deepak Chopra be appointed to the Men's Wearhouse board of directors was implemented by the company this past June, a sign that Zimmer's creative ideas are well-respected by his colleagues. While Bride & Joy takes Men's Wearhouse down an entirely new avenue, there is sound business logic behind taking the plunge.