Longshot Apparel, a new online clothing retailer targeting the tall men's market, has launched its online store against a backdrop of booming holiday ecommerce results. The company, which focuses on "taking the big out of big and tall" by creating well-styled, ready-to-wear casual shirts designed specifically for the tall man, notes that online retail spending for the entire November-December 2010 holiday season reached $32.6 billion, a 12% increase versus last year and an all-time record for the season (comScore). One of the brightest spots within the retail industry was specifically in the men's clothing business, up 10.5% over last year (SpendingPulse).
"Over the past year we have spoken with hundreds of tall men about shopping for clothing. What we have found is that tall guys can't find clothing that fits and they don't want to go into stores to look for it" says co-founder and "chief tall guy" Mark Tindall. "The data shows that increasingly men prefer to shop online rather than brave a store." A comScore report from March 2010 showed that 68% of purchases from men were on pure-play websites, compared with 53% for women. "We know that once men find something that they like, they buy" says Tindall. According to Unity Marketing affluent men (top 20% HH income) spend more online averaging $3,970 during the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with $1,958 for women.
The company created its unique "Tailored Taller" fit from the ground up. "We had to start from scratch to re women's coats define our fit for the tall, lean guy," says Susan Clare, one of the partners and an ex-marketing executive from Adidas. "We developed our own fit formula. Other brands simply make the shirt bigger all over rather than addressing the specific needs of someone who is tall and fit." Longshot Apparel's first product, The Lawson Shirt, is designed and manufactured in the United States from Thomas Mason Italian fabric and compares in style and quality to brands such as Thomas Pink, Paul Smith and Faconnable.
Based in Seattle, Longshot was started by three former Microsoft, Adidas and Nike marketing executives personally impacted by the lack of well-fitting shirts for tall, fit men. The company offers its products exclusively via their online store. Free shipping and returns is part of the superior customer service the brand offers. "Isn't it about time we start treating the tall, fit man with the respect he's due?" says Tindall, who stands 6'3" tall.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment