Big and tall man fashion

The big and tall buffet is getting tastier by the minute as the apparel industry addresses the demand for a more comprehensive spread of men's special-size clothing and accessories. On the retail table, mass merchants are helping themselves to a chunk of the pie.

As merchandise offerings grow, retail power is shifting. Independent specialty store dominance is waning, and mass merchants are consummate candidates to take over the reins. "The industry is changing so rapidly it's scary," says Jeff Yunis, director of B.A.T.M.A.N. (Big and Tall Men's Apparel Needs), a twice-yearly trade show. "When big and tall customers don't have their usual stomping grounds to buy apparel, they head to the discounters."

"Big and tall men have been taken adantage of by specialty store chains, and they're looking for alternative shopping options," sales Gabe Ensenat, merchandise manager of menswear at Kmart. "Those customers are known to be very loyal, and if you can carry the sizes, consistency and value they're looking for, you can create new loyal customers."

But there are obstacles standing in mass merchants' ways. Specialty chains such as J. Baker's Casual Male Big & Tall and Edison Bros.' Repp Ltd. Big & Tall dominate many markets. But there are also opportunities. Aside from occasional promotions, specialty chains sell at full retail. Off-price stores offer brands at less-than-typical retail, but the selection is hit or miss.

Mass merchants have the makings to command the business. But are they poised to get their just desserts in this highly specialized market?

Their sordid history with the category says no. In the past, the majority of mass retailers treated big and tall as a revolving door business. Tempted by sales opportunities, they offered extended sizes like XL and XXL, which differ from true big and tall sizes, and mixed them with regular menswear. Needless to say, their strategy to build a special-sizes business in a regular-sizes mold confused the customer and produced less-than-desirable results. So many retailers eliminated the mix or reduced it to inconsequential levels.

"Mass retailers would carry extended sizes and say they were in the big and tall business," says Mel Harris, senior vice president of Wilmington, N.C.-based Block Sportswear, big and tall manufacturers since 1948. "That would work fine for the man who has outgrown a size XL, but not for the true large-size customer who is a 1X and above."

A lack of targeted buying personnel further soured the mass brew. "Retailers would say to their men's shirt buyer, `By the way, go and buy some 2X and 3X shirts,'" says Yunis. "They'd merchandise largesize shirts on the same rack as regular shirts. Then they'd wonder why customers were puzzled when the sign said `$9.99' and the large-size shirts cost 15 to 20 percent more."

Putting these problems behind them, mass merchants vow that this time they're in big and tall for real. And while the business is still in its infancy--the selection is almost exclusively sportswear, big sizes usually don't exceed 4X, and tall is often ignored altogether--retailers have big plans. They're increasing their selections, creating expanded shops and advertising big and tall much they same way they're advancing women's plus and petites.

Big and tall is viewed with promise by national and regional discounters. Wal-Mart's shecial-sizes business is said to account for 15 percent of its total menswear sales.

In 1986, Kmart decided to allot big sizes its own department. Now the chain is tinkering with the assortment. "The large-size customer is growing, so we're adjusting our selection," says Darla Hunter, co-buyer, men's big and tall, noting that Kmart expanded its size range to 4X and decreased the presence of sizes below 3X in 1994.

Target, whose parent Dayton Hudson is in big and tall on the department store level, is rumored to be weighing entree into the market.

Regional chains like Bradlees see big and tall as a way to distinguish themselves. Now in the process of regaining financial footing, Bradlees is trying to avoid special-sizes pitfalls by relying on the aptitude of Hyde Park, Mass.-based specialty retailer J. Baker. This month in its Burlington, Mass., outlet, Bradlees begins a test run of a leased big and tall shop operated by J. Baker's Casual Male Big & Tall division. Bradlees made room for the shop by taking space from an unproductive hardware department.

If the experiment is successful, J. Baker-operated shops will be rolled out chainwide, says Jim Sparks, Bradlees' sr. vp, gmm of menswear. In that event, the mix that is now limited to sportswear would be expanded to include accessories and possibly high-ticket items like dresswear. "It will be interesting to see how this plays out; J. Baker is an expert at this," says Sparks.

In its quest for market share in men's large sizes only, Ames is depending on a focused internal merchandising and marketing strategy. Until about a year ago, the chain didn't consider big sizes a priority, but since it constructed "Big Guys" shops in between men's sportswear and basics, and filled them with casualwear, undergarments and accessories, category sales have risen 26 percent. "We decided to make Ames a destination store for big men's apparel, and we'll keep growing the floor space as sales per square foot continue to rise," says Bob Smekal, Ames' gmm of menswear.

The Big Guys departments are marked by signage. Special hang tags highlight a mix of branded and private label sportswear and accessories and Fruit of the Loom undergarments.

Venture Stores considers big and tall a key part of its plan to remake itself as a lifestyle retailer. The chain will open big and tall shops in all of its stores in February. says a company spokesperson.

Off-price retailers such as Richman-Gordman 1/2 Price Stores are finding success by selling brand-name big and tall goods at discounted prices. "We started out three years ago with a small offering of big and tall in about six of our stores. It grew so fast that we now feature it in all 30 stores," says Dave Potter, vice president and general merchandise manager.

The mix at 1/2 Price is composed mostly of sportswear, outerwear, denim and fleece. "We tried underwear and various accessories, but we weren't able to turn it," says Potter, who attributes 1/2 Price's big and tall success to a solid showing of labels and styles at everyday low prices.

Burlington Coat Factory offers customers branded sportswear, as well as accessories and furnishings. at discounted prices. Labels sold there include Botany 500, Arrow, Levi's, H.I.S., Jerzees, Knights of Round Table, Members Only and Zeppelin.

While mass retailers acknowledge the need to treat big and tall as a separate business from regular menswear, they say a sense of continuity throughout their apparel departments is necessary nonetheless. "We call our department Big Guys' instead of `Big Men's,' because it sounds more contemporary and makes the customer feel less alienated," says Smekal at Ames. "We find that the `big guy' wants the same things as regular customers." To achieve coherence, Ames works with many of the same resources in big as it does in regular sizes.

Kmart does the same, utilizing such vendors as Supreme, Block, D. Stone, Santana, Wrangler and Brittania. "It's a good way for us to establish trends in our big and tall areas," says Hunter, adding that customers prefer commodities, but Kmart is looking to work more fashion into its assortment. The chain has also developed a big men's house label, Private Club, and plans to introduce another called Basic Editions for spring.

For now, Bradlees is using many of the same vendors--handling big and tall independently. However, the test run with J. Baker opens up the door for Bradlees to introduce more upscale labels in big and tall.

A growing number of menswear vendors are supplying the market with collections of contemporary big and tall apparel and accessories. Block's big and tall offerings, which total about 330 styles per season, account for some 50 percent of the company's sales. Harris notes that tall is the fastest growing segment, especially in urban areas where concentrations of younger consumers are greater. "Stores like Venture are doing all they can to capture a piece of the untapped tall business," he says, noting that large sizes sell better in areas in which greater numbers of older consumers live. Hunter at Kmart says a successful test run will result in the inclusion of tall apparel in all Kmarts and Super Ks in the near future.