NEW YORK — A little more than a year after buying the Joseph Abboud brand and reuniting the label with its founder and designer, The Men’s Wearhouse will open a Joseph Abboud flagship at 424 Madison Avenue here in the spring.
Men’s Wearhouse bought the Joseph Abboud brand for $97.5 million in July 2013 and the collection has been rolling out to the retailer’s Men’s Wearhouse and Moores stores this fall. Already, the label represents 13 percent of sales and the company is projecting it will hit $200 million in sales by the end of the year. In addition, last month, the retailer unveiled Joseph Abboud Limited Edition Collection, a higher-priced lifestyle assortment of suits, sport coats, slacks, dress and casual shirts, knitwear, outerwear and accessories that is being sold exclusively on a new, separate Joseph Abboud Web site. The merchandise retails for around 30 percent to 40 percent more than the Joseph Abboud product currently sold in Men’s Wearhouse and Moores stores in the U.S. and Canada, with suits retailing for about $695 versus $495 at Men’s Wearhouse. The tailored clothing is manufactured in the company’s factory in Massachusetts, which also produces made-to-measure clothing under the Abboud label.
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“When we launched Josephabboud.com with an exclusive collection only available online, we knew it would only be a matter of time before we introduced that merchandise in store,” said Doug Ewert, chief executive officer of Men’s Wearhouse.
Ewert told WWD the choice of a flagship in the men’s wear mecca of Midtown Manhattan, just blocks from Brooks Brothers and Paul Stuart, will serve to “showcase the brand.”
The store will be designed by Jeffrey Hutchison & Associates and will “provide a modern American take on Savile Row,” according to the company.
At this point, no other stores are planned, but sources said if the Madison Avenue unit performs well, the retailer is prepared to open in other select spots around the country and possibly internationally as well.
“The store will be a great laboratory for new retail concepts, enhancing the visibility of the brand that I launched in 1987 and bringing compelling design and product to the consumer, especially with our custom-tailored clothing, made right here in America,” said Joseph Abboud, chief creative director of Men’s Wearhouse.
Under former owners, there had been Joseph Abboud retail stores, including one in Boston, the designer’s hometown. “For me, it’s like coming full circle,” he said. “I started my career in retail.” Abboud worked at Louis, Boston as a young man before taking up the designer mantle. “But then, we were a designer company trying to do retail. Now, we’re a retailer who knows how to do retail.”