don't forget men$wear
January 3, 2011 | By Shannon Kelly
Once an afterthought in retailing, male customers now make up a $51 billion shopping industry. According to market research firm NPD Group, 75% of men shop for their own clothing compared with just 52% in 1995.
The new male consumer responds to many of the same emotional triggers, such as heritage and authenticity, as their female counterparts. And retail shops with rotating miscellanea, art and differentiated offerings provide a place for discovery.
{image via thedapperdude.com}
{Image via selectism.com}
{Image of Tres Bien Shop via The Malcolm.com}
The influx of blogs and magazines delivering styling expertise expand brand awareness and aesthetic detail. Taking a note from the Sartorialist, J.Crew’s Jack Knows Best offers advice on dry cleaning, three piece suits, and how to wear pants properly. Net-A-Porter’s Menswear site Mr. Porter, set to launch in 2011, will carry over 60 brands with editorial content, advice and same-day deliveries in London and New York City.
The new male consumer responds to many of the same emotional triggers, such as heritage and authenticity, as their female counterparts. And retail shops with rotating miscellanea, art and differentiated offerings provide a place for discovery.
Successful retailers are building constructed masculine experiences in multi-purpose environments. Examples include:
- In NYC, French luxury brand Hermes opened its first men’s-only store on Madison Avenue.
- Classic fashion stalwart, Ralph Lauren, transformed its Rhinelander Mansion location into a men's store.
{image via thedapperdude.com}- J.Crew's first ever men’s store took over an old neighborhood watering hole in 2009, and the brand as since opened three additional dedicated men shops in New York and Boston.
{image via makebirkinsnotwar.wordpress.com}
- Jack Spade offers an interior that mimics a gentleman’s study with copies of vintage books next to finely woven shirts and an old library card catalog containing always changing bric-a-brac.
{Image via selectism.com}- Niche menswear boutiques like Tres Bien Shop in Sweden, Scotch & Soda in Amsterdam, BlackBlue in Minneapolis, Jackstraw in Seattle, and Duncan Quinn (with locations in NYC, LA and Miami) provide not only for clothes, but for objects to connect to such as rugged collectibles, antique shaving kits and sturdy furniture.
{Image of Tres Bien Shop via The Malcolm.com}
Men connect on a narrative level and want to know how a garment came to be and where it came from. In an ever more unsettling world, men respond to clothes that articulate meaning and stand for something.
Bottom line, male consumers want items that tell a story.
