Males tend to have very different shopping patterns than females. The typical woman, generally, is more than happy to linger in a store and try on various styles and sizes to her heart’s delight, as well as partake in various in-store experiential displays. Examples of retailers that offer these in-store amusements include ULTA Beauty and Lush, which encourage female shoppers to sample, smell, feel and touch the products.
The typical male shopper is less inclined to spend excess time in a store browsing around unnecessarily. To attract more men to physical stores and to steer them away from relying on Amazon ordering options, some male-oriented retailers are offering unique and fun activities that cater to men. Two retailers that are currently expanding, and that have mastered the art of providing an in-store man cave-esque oasis to the male shopper, include TravisMathew Apparel and Scissors & Scotch.
TravisMathew Apparel, a men’s apparel store (although the brand did introduce women’s apparel last year), will be focused on increasing the size of its average store, which had historically been between 2,000 and 2,500 s.f., to a larger layout that will be 5,000 to 7,000 s.f. This is partially in order to provide more male- focused interactive features. Its flagship store premiered this format last July at the Fashion Island outdoor mall in Newport Beach, Calif., increasing from a 2,000-s.f. unit to a 5,545-s.f. unit. The new store layout features a cornucopia of fun elements that delight male shoppers, such as a ping pong table, a shuffleboard section, freestanding arcade games, televisions playing live sports, a PuttView golf aid simulator to improve golf swinging abilities, multiple lounge areas and even a physical golf cart that a customer can sit in.
The menswear brand anticipates opening between 10 and 15 new units per year over the next three years, in all U.S. markets, with future stores incorporating this larger square footage size. Look for higher end Southern and Midwestern markets to be eyed for new store growth, especially in Georgia, Missouri, Louisiana and potentially Alabama. Class A mall spaces are preferred, with high-end male accessories brands such as Stance as popular co-tenants. There had already been store relocations taking place in late 2022 to factor in the need for larger square footage spaces, such as the unit in The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and in the Park Meadows mall in Lone Tree, Colo.
Scissors & Scotch expects to continue expanding on its masculine version of a hair salon, with its barber shops including a cocktail lounge area space, complete with a full bar for maximum male camaraderie. The lounge has bar counter seating or sofa seating, television sets that play sports games, and the area frequently includes a pool table. A complimentary drink is offered to each customer, and services include haircuts, trims, shaves, waxing, spa treatments such as facials, as well as shoeshining. The various Scissors & Scotch locations also host special occasion events, such as scotch tastings.
The upscale masculine barber shop concept has a goal of opening at least 20 new units per year in the foreseeable future. Immediate growth plans will take place into Houston and San Antonio, and Scissors & Scotch expects to open more units in St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo, in addition to Seattle. With long-term plans to expand nationwide, the concept is especially keen to find franchisees in California, as well as in the Northeast/Midwest, including Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The brand seeks inline spaces in the 1,700- to 2,800-s.f. range, in Class A luxury mixed-use buildings, lifestyle centers and power centers within high-density metro neighborhoods experiencing population growth. Co-tenants can include other health and wellness brands that appeal to affluent college educated males in the 25- to 40-year-old range, such as Clean Juice and Equinox.
