Over the next few issues we want to shine a spotlight on up-and-coming retailers that are still in their infancy with expansion yet are showing signs that they are on the path toward becoming major players in the national realm. Each of these buzzed-about brands may currently only have between one and 10 locations, but they are definitely tenants to keep an eye on in the future.
For this installment, we feature menswear apparel brands that are hoping to rise to the ranks of other popular retailers in the same category, such as Bonobos, TravisMathew, Indochino and Psycho Bunny. All of these new-to-retail men’s apparel companies have found their own niche of providing a comfortable and flattering alternative to traditional men’s attire.
True Classic
True Classic — the California-based, digitally native T-shirt brand for men — is on a mission to open between 15 and 25 new stores per year over the next three to four years. Although the brand tiptoed into the brick-and-mortar realm late last year by opening five pop-ups in Torrance, Calif., Santa Clara, Calif., Tysons Corner, Va., and two stores in Chicago, by year’s end True Classic will have opened new permanent locations in Boca Raton, Fla., Houston and Frisco, Texas. Future markets will be based on True Classic’s strong online customer counts. Anticipate areas such as Las Vegas, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz., Atlanta, New York City, Short Hills, N.J., Boston, Austin, San Diego, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Mo., Nashville, Tenn., Cleveland, Charlotte, N.C., and Philadelphia to all be seriously eyed for growth.
True Classic generally has been opening inline space units in the 1,500- to 1,600-s.f. range inside suburban and urban regional malls within major metros. Square footage is expected to increase slightly — up to 2,500 or 3,000 s.f. — as True Classic begins rolling out more merchandise, especially its much-anticipated apparel for women, by late 2024/early 2025. Mall spaces should have a good mix of apparel co-tenants that appeal to the mid-range to more affluent female and male shoppers, such as Banana Republic or Lululemon. Mall anchors such as Nordstrom and Dick’s Sporting Goods also appeal to True Classic. The brand, founded on its reasonably priced T-shirts that work for any body type, has since expanded its merchandise to include jeans, undergarments, socks and accessories, as well as office-appropriate clothing such as pants, dress shirts, polo shirts and blazers.
Mizzen+Main
Mizzen+Main, the Texas-based digitally native brand that has been in operation since 2012, opened four new stores in the U.S. this year for a total of 10 locations sprinkled throughout Texas, Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma. The retailer is expected to continue its growth trajectory by opening between five and 10 new stores per year over the next two years. The South will be prioritized for new store growth, especially the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. Mizzen+Main will also eye markets in New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Ohio and Colorado.
Preferred sites for Mizzen+Main are end caps or inline spaces in the 1,200- to 2,000-s.f. range within open-air regional centers and lifestyle centers, including those that mimic a retail street-front style setup.
Co-tenants can include other menswear brands such as TravisMathew, as well as retailers that female shoppers gravitate toward, such as Cos Bar, Kendra Scott and LOFT. Mizzen+Main is known for its dress shirts, polo shirts and pants made with breathable moisture wick fabrics that look presentable but have the comfort and ease of athletic wear.
Collars & Co.
Collars & Co., the two-year-old digitally native menswear apparel company based in Maryland, began opening brick-and-mortar stores this year. The brand now has a store in Chicago that opened in June and a store in Boca Raton, Fla., that opened in October. By 2024, a new unit will open in the King of Prussia Mall regional mall in King of Prussia, Pa. Its founder indicated interest in also seeking spaces in the Georgetown, Washington D.C., area, as well as potentially in the surrounding communities of McLean, Va., and Bethesda, Md. Other rumored sites for new stores include Scottsdale, Los Angeles, Orange County, Calif., and Dallas. Growth is anticipated to be between three and five new stores per year for the foreseeable future.
Judging by its early store openings, Collars & Co. seeks inline spaces in the 1,000- to 1,500-s.f. range within Class A regional malls in major metropolitan areas that attract affluent shoppers. The ideal site should be close to a Nordstrom, as the department store’s male customers are similar to what Collars & Co.’s audience consists of: men between the ages of 35 and 65 who work in an urban office setting. Collars & Co., which rose to fame after the brand was on “Shark Tank” in late 2022, is known for its breathable polo shirts that feature a patented droop-less collar, but the retailer has since expanded its merchandise to include long-sleeve dress shirts, sweaters, chino pants and a limited women’s polo shirt line.
Mugsy
The men’s jeans brand, based in Illinois, has been in operation since 2016 and opened retail stores in Chicago and Austin in 2020 and 2022, respectively. Fast forward to 2023 and Mugsy was on a mission to beef up its brick-and-mortar presence. This year saw three stores open: in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C.,
Boston and Chicago, the latter being Mugsy’s second location there. Future growth is anticipated to be between three and five new stores per year over the next two years. Buzzed about new locations include California, with the Bay Area and Los Angeles on Mugsy’s radar, in addition to Houston, Minneapolis, New York’s Long Island, New York City, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Mo., Oklahoma City and Columbus, Ohio, all being eyed as well.
The stores that opened in 2023 were in retail street-front sites or regional malls in major metros, in the 850- to 2,000-s.f. range. Sites should be in a thriving retail area within an urban neighborhood near offices, multifamily residences and even perhaps a college. Co-tenants can include other menswear and denim-related brands such as Vuori and Frame. Mugsy is famous for its stretchy, comfortable-yet-presentable jeans and its merchandise has branched out to include shirts, chinos, jackets, hoodies, shorts and swimwear.
