Big & tall reaches new heights; healthy sales prompt more retailers to include category in merchandise mix - men's clothing

Discount Store News, Feb 12, 1990 by Pamela Meek

Big & Tall Reaches New Heights

Healthy Sales Prompt More Retailers To Include Category in Merchandise Mix

Nationwide DSN Report

Discounters are realizing continued healthy sales in big and tall men's apparel as they learn more about this specialty category and refine their mix.

Once found in just specialty shops and department stores, big and tall men's apparel is now an integral part of many discounters' men's wear departments. Although the space and emphasis on the category varies among chains, many agreed that the big and tall business has a definite place in their overall mix.

Initial entry into the large sizes produced significant sales volume for many discounters. Now, however, with the initial groundwork laid, most retailers said the popularity of the category is leveling off to a more normal growth rate. And within the department, it is big, rather than tall that has attained the greatest popularity.

Such is the case at Rocky Hill, Conn.-based Ames, where the chain has had a big men's shop for just over three years, according to vice president, general merchandise manager of men's and boy's Chuck Rilling.

Offering Price Value

"Our goal with the [initiation of the] big shops was to offer customers the price value that was difficult for them to get in the past," explained Rilling. Prior to discounters getting into the market, Rilling said big men had to pay a considerable premium for their clothes.

Ames' big shops include woven and knit tops, dress pants, jeans, outerwear, underwear, fleecewear and workwear, and the department receives some 8 percent to 10 percent of the space in men's.

"We have been very successful, and we feel it will continue to grow," he noted. The large-sized customer is "an excellent customer; one that comes back and is extremely loyal."

The chain is experimenting with tall sizes, too, but Rilling said this business takes longer to build. In both areas, Rilling said the company uses frequent circulars to help increase sales.

At Canton, Mass.-based Hills, the discounter first started making a major move into big sizes about a year and a half ago, according to vp, men's and children's Dick Gully. Although Hills carried some big apparel, Gully said the recent push really opened up the category.

Hills does not have a separate big and tall shop, prefering instead to merchandise the goods with its regular-sized men's wear. The chain does, however, use signs to notify customers of the selection and big and tall is occasionally featured in the company's advertising tabs.

Sales have "been reasonably decent" in big sizes at Hills, with the best items typically being knit tops and outerwear, Gully said. Because many men need large-sized tops, but not bottoms, he said the bottoms business has not been as strong. The tall business is still only minimal at the chain, with flannel shirts being the primary seller, Gully said.

For Green Bay, Wis.-based Prange Way, both the big and tall business is still growing, according to vp/gmm of soft lines David Potter.

Sales Have Not Peaked Yet

Included in its mix for two years now, Potter said big and tall apparel sales "have not peaked yet. We are still planning growth."

At Prange Way, the stores offer a separate big and tall shop, created from space carved out of the regular men's wear department. To help maintain the steadily increasing sales, Potter said the chain has to "continually adjust" its mix.

Primarily, the chain has done best with woven and knit tops and activewear looks, Potter said. He said some stores do better with big sizes, while others have more success with tall apparel.

Big sizes are key at Jamesway, which is based in Secaucus, N.J., and the category is aggressively featured with full-page ads two to three times a year. In the big business now for some three years, Jamesway has also created a separate shop for the category that, like Ames, covers a full range of items.

While Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer does not have an actual big and tall shop, buyer Vivian Dryer said it is "a growing category, but it has to be monitored carefully." She said the business takes continual refinement, and getting customer feedback through store managers is important in developing the proper mix.

Most discounters agreed that both brands and private label goods are important for the big and tall mix. Buyers said key brands include Lee, Manhattan, Fruit of the Loom and McGregor. Robert Bruce Big and Tall is also set to debut in the market, with the first full collection due out for early holiday.

Beyond labels, buyers said size, fit and quality are also particularly important in big and tall apparel. And contrary to a common misconception, discounters said the average big and tall customer is not just an older man, but often a young and athletic man who cannot fit into regular-sized apparel.

Realizing this demographic mix and varied taste level, both vendors and buyers agreed that stores have to carry not only basics but also fashion-forward merchandise.

The future of big and tall is considered to be strong by most discounters, many of which are now devoting either a separate buyer or a separate dollar allotment out of regular men's for the category.