Men’s Wearhouse is giving two of its top stores a facelift.
The men’s wear seller is reopening the doors to its “Next-Gen” stores in Shenandoah, Texas, and Buford, Ga. with a reimagined focus on friction-free shopping and decision making, omnichannel fulfillment and AI-driven measurement and fitting.
“We know that men’s wear retail is changing rapidly, driven by customers who are digitally connected, in control and expecting zero friction as they engage in digital and physical environments—often simultaneously,” Carrie Ask, Tailored Brands chief customer officer, said in a statement.
The store is laid out in designated zones for different occasions, and has distinct sections for custom, rental and retail sales. Additionally, the store includes new fixture systems and co-creation tables for customers to work with expert stylists. The stores will feature buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), contactless measurement and curbside pickup, which was first launched across Tailored Brands stores when they first reopened nine months ago.
The Next-Gen store concept is the product of a collaboration between Tailored Brands and architecture and creative design firm Nelson Worldwide.
Clean sight lines and streamlined perimeter walls within the store are designed to elevate visual merchandising of key items and head-to-toe looks, ultimately making shopping decisions easier for customers. Glass panels build a sense of transparency and active engagement.
The color and material palettes within the store include warm oak tones, cool grays, blues, glass and steel finishes throughout the floorplan to complement the store merchandise.
The layout includes a visible back stock area called “The Vault,” which is designed to reduce visible inventory on the sales floor while making it easier for expert stylists to help shoppers find their personal fit, style and size. The stores also feature newly designed fitting rooms adjacent to a lounge area.
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Contactless measurement technology from mobile scanning technology 3DLook is included in the two stores. The technology uses AI to analyze two photos of a customer to determine clothing size. Men’s Wearhouse says that it is the first men’s wear retailer to pilot the program in the U.S.
The retailer also has incorporated a touchscreen “Digital Shirt Wall” into its “Shirt Shop” that enables users to select their desired style, fit and color from both in-store and online inventory. As part of the experience, customers can add shirts to their “virtual fitting room” and associates can bring the selections for them to try on.
The associates can use iPads to co-create custom garments by casting images of the items to a large-screen display during the design process. With the 3D renderings on display, customers can browse and view hundreds of fabrics and multiple style combinations in high definition, all while maintaining a safe social distance.
A revamp of the Men’s Wearhouse store experience is necessary for Tailored Brands. After entering and exiting bankruptcy in the waning months of 2020, the men’s clothing company is looking to revitalize its brand portfolio, which includes not just Men’s Wearhouse but also other formalwear banners including Jos. A. Bank, Moores Clothing for Men and K&G Fashion Superstore.
Tailored Brands announced in July prior to the bankruptcy that it was closing 500 of its then-1,400 stores across brands, but has not indicated how many of these locations it has closed in the interim.
In an October SEC filing, Tailored Brands indicated that comparable store sales were drastically impacted by the pandemic, with Men’s Wearhouse seeing a 57 percent decline in physical sales in 2020 and Jos. A. Bank seeing a 58 percent drop. The company expected a less steep drop in 2021 in its top brands at 21 percent and 22 percent, respectively, but the loss indicates that Tailored Brands still has a way to go in bringing people back into stores.
As the Next-Gen store experiment unfolds in the Texas and Georgia locations, Men’s Wearhouse says it intends to “carefully observe and leverage learnings” including customer and employee feedback to further enhance the consumer experience across its store fleet.