FROM OUR NOVEMBER ISSUE: MILESTONES – 60 YEARS! GUFFEY’S, ATLANTA EXPERIENCES MATTER.
Guffey’s of Atlanta has been demonstrating the true meaning of the experience economy since 1965. While founder Don Guffey has taken a back seat, allowing his co-owners Neil Guffey (Don’s nephew) and Tim Richey to take the helm, he was one of the first retailers in the region to pursue the custom and made-to-measure market aggressively. In 2022, Guffey and Richey bought Kirby’s Menswear in Tampa, Florida (initially established in 1959), and the duo is bringing their distinct brand of Southern charm and sophisticated taste level to the Sunshine State.
“The cultures are different at each store, as is the product mix, but our goal is to elevate the store and the product without alienating the existing customer,” says Guffey. “Our mission statement? That’s always been a little tricky for me. We’re trying to have a good time while caring for the people who enter the store. We’re constantly trying to raise the bar without being elitist. We want to welcome everybody and develop relationships with our clients and vendors.”
Richey shares one story illustrating the store’s focus: “We had a client who wore Cesare Attolini. A few years ago, he was planning a European vacation and asked if Neil and I could meet him in Naples and arrange a tour of the Attolini factory. He said he’d like to meet the family and buy the next collection there. We made the arrangements with the Attolini family, then flew over and spent the afternoon with them and the client, shopping and having dinner, then headed home. We spent more time traveling than visiting, but we gave this client the experience of a lifetime. That factory is without peer, and usually, the only other people who visit are the CEOs of big fashion brands who want to see how they make those beautiful clothes. We value being able to give our customers an experience.”
“We have a formal rental studio in our shop,” says Guffey when asked about attracting the next generation of customers. “Doing rentals is a different culture than selling the high-end brands we carry in our shop, but we started doing it because we believed it was a great way to be part of the bridal business. It’s become the best marketing tool we’ve ever had. A young man, 18 to 25 years old, might otherwise be intimidated by the store’s luxury image, but he comes into our store, we greet him, call him ‘mister,’ and then our staff gives him a thorough, expert fitting experience. We shake his hand, and he walks out with his head held high, realizing he’s never been treated that well. It’s not unusual for us to do weddings with eight or ten guys who normally don’t have a reason to dress up. When they do finally need to dress up for work or an occasion, they’ll return to us.”
Brands vary between the two stores, but custom drives much of what they do in both locations. “If a brand has a custom component, we’ll move towards it,” says Guffy. “We’ve carried Scabal for thirty years, Ravazzolo, Attolini, of course, is legendary, and Oxxford. We do well with Mel Gambert shirts. In sportswear, Italy is always big for us. In Tampa, we do well with Jacob Cohen and Braxx. Both stores sell Meier pants well—also Calder of Carmel and Corgi knitwear. Corgi is potentially heavy cashmere for our market, but we do well with it and sell both men’s and women’s.”
One of the store’s more creative special events is targeted towards a completely different customer: “We’ll do a full-blown English tea party and invite all the wives and women to a trunk show when designer Lisa Wood is in town!”