FROM OUR FEBRUARY ISSUE: TIM SITZMANN, MR. B, IOWA—IN SEARCH OF WHAT’S NEW

The entire MR team is proud to present our February 2024 issue. If you don’t have a hard copy, please page through a digital version at  Issuu. We’ll continue to post individual stories here on  MR-mag.com. If you haven’t been getting MR in print, be sure that you are on our mailing list for future issues by completing  this form.

Over the next few days, we’ll share profiles from our Tailored Clothing Section about Top Clothing Merchants, “Still Selling Suits!” With hybrid workplaces the norm and corporate dress codes an anachronism, how are some merchants still selling so many suits and sport coats? Here, they share some secrets.

As a young man, I always enjoyed quality clothing, always dressed beyond my years, and always dreamed of owning a clothing store. I got my retail jumpstart in Cherokee, Iowa, a small market town. And that was the life-changing experience that led me to where I am today.

My current goal for tailored clothing is to continue to advance the quality of product in our stores. My vision is simple: better, better, better. We don’t wait for market weeks; we shop year-round, constantly searching for new opportunities to upgrade assortments. We keep pursuing better because our customers have indicated they want quality over price. We try to show product they can’t find everywhere else.

Mr. B is 10,000 square feet of men’s retail space, 40 percent of which is tailored clothing. (The remaining 60 percent is men’s furnishings, sportswear, and footwear.) Our retail prices on suits currently range from $1,000-$3,000. We don’t charge for alterations on clothing purchased at regular price. We’re blessed to have nine terrific full-time tailors. Ten percent of our business these days is made to measure. We use it as a tool to service customers no matter what their size, shape, or desired details.

Tailored clothing continues to drive our business: it performed very well this past fall/ holiday. Our goal at Mr. B is to discover fashion changes in the market and present these early on. We’ve recently seen the growing influence of double-breasteds, so we’re bringing them in for spring ’24. I always like to emphasize what’s new, be it a general loosening of fit or trousers with pleats. We’re not changing the market; the market is changing us.

We’re fortunate to have an amazing visual merchandiser, Jim Spizale. Jim is from a long line of visual merchandisers; his father and brother were famous for their trade in the Minneapolis area. Jim is constantly changing the look of the store to keep our clients engaged. On the selling floor, we merchandise by brand and, within each brand, by color. Our top brands include Canali, Samuelsohn, Byron, Stenströms, Peter Millar, Maurizio Baldassari, Santoni, and Magnanni.

We definitely have incentives for our selling team. Competition is everywhere, but we feel our biggest competition is with ourselves. We need to keep improving the service we give our customers. Our responsibility (and growth opportunity) is to explain to our customers the quality and value of what they’re purchasing and to provide information that distinguishes our upscale brands.

Among our corporate values is giving back to our community. We’ve had much success with our “$100 for $100” promotion which contributes funds to local charities. Trunk shows and vendor events continue to generate traffic; we thank our vendor reps for being so enthusiastically involved.

When it comes to how men will dress in the future, I must admit it’s hard enough to predict how men will dress for the coming season! But much of the beauty of the menswear industry is its intrinsic camaraderie. When we’re in the market, we’re a small fraternity. We learn a lot from our colleagues, and there’s always something to learn! I learn from my sales reps, my mentors, my sales staff, and most of all from our customers. They tell us what they need and want. It’s all about the customer.

So obviously, my favorite part of this business is the people: customers, staff, community. I also love and seek to present the constant change in men’s fashion. Regardless of whether we’re dealing with an election year, a world at war, or a precarious economy, our goal is to turn our inventory and make a profit each season. We’re never bored here at Mr. B.