MAN OF THE WEEK
PLUS:
Tom Bomb
“Oblivion” star Tom Cruise seems oblivious
to some basic style tenets. Page MW2
Mark Maidment
lays out his plans
for rejuvenating
Ben Sherman.
Page MW2
April 25, 2013
THEY ARE WEARING
®
Streets of
New York
A mix of streetwear, sportswear
and athletic influences blend
together in what has become a
new urban fashion statement
for youth in the city. For more
on New York’s street style, see
pages MW4 and MW5.
PHOTOS BY LEXIE MORELAND
CONTEMPORARY OUTLOOK
Theory Renews Focus on Men’s
Andrew Rosen boosts $100 million business with fullcanvas suits, activewear line and European distribution.
by DAVID LIPKE
NEW YORK — The men’s contemporary
market is thriving at retail and Theory, a pioneer in the category, is aiming to capitalize
on the trend.
The company, a unit of Japan’s Fast
Retailing Co. Ltd., is undertaking a number
of key men’s initiatives this year, including:
Q The launch of a full-canvas tailored clothing program.
Q Introducing Theory men’s wear to the
European market.
Q Increasing its denim offerings.
Q Creating a new active-inspired sublabel
called Theory 38.
“We are [pleased] about what is going on
in men’s wear in total and believe that the
time for contemporary men’s wear is now.
We’ve seen such incredible excitement and
enthusiasm from retailers about the contemporary side of men’s wear in general and
what we’re doing in particular,” Theory cofounder and chief executive officer Andrew
Rosen said in an interview from his expansive corner office at 38 Gansevoort Street
here, five floors above the Theory flagship in
the Meatpacking District. “Our men’s business has really been growing and we’re adding more of our own retail stores, as well as
building out shops in department stores and
really making a stronger mark and taking a
more important foothold in men’s globally.”
Men’s sales at Theory now top $100 million a year, posting over 20 percent growth
last year. While men’s is only about 15 to 18
percent of total Theory sales at this point,
the business is growing at a slightly faster
pace than women’s, said Rosen.
The new full-canvas suit program is central to building and upgrading Theory’s tailored clothing business. The new models,
which are priced above the brand’s existing
half-canvas suits, were tested this spring
with a small assortment and will become the
brand’s primary driver of tailored clothing
beginning this fall.
“In terms of the value and the construction and the quality, this is really best-inclass. We elevated it to be this guy’s staple
suit at a price point that is the best value in
the market,” said Andrew Berg, Theory’s vice
president of men’s merchandising and sales.
{Continued on page MW6}
MW6
Men’s Week
WWD THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013
THEORY BROADENS MEN’S STRATEGY
for traveling but you don’t look like
a slob, you look hip.”
Windbreakers in the Theory
38 line retail for $265, track pants
for $195, sweatshirts for $135 and
T-shirts for $75. This fall and holiday the offering will expand to
sweaters for $295 and puffer jackets for $475.
Harter said Bloomingdale’s has
enjoyed “incredible” sell-throughs
so far with the Theory 38 launch.
“Theory is building a solid lifestyle
brand and building out everything
that a guy needs in his wardrobe,”
he said.
Rosen said fit has always been
a hallmark of Theory and central
to its growth. “The fit and the feel
of a garment are what I started the
business with 15 years ago and we
continue that,” said Rosen. “For
bottoms, everyone comes to us for
those, they love the fit. In our sweaters and polo shirts and T-shirts, we
have the perfect cut on the shoulders that’s very clean and sharp.”
Theory leases more than 30,000
square feet at 416 West 13th Street
— about a block away from its headquarters building — that houses
design studios and sample-making
facilities. “We make a pattern and
a 3-D garment here, so we have
much more control over the fit.
We can scrutinize things in a way
you can’t when a factory is doing
the pattern for you,” explained
Fall looks
from Theory.
toms and tailored sport coats are
the three biggest classifications for
Theory. Accessories, which comprise less than 5 percent of men’s
sales via cold-weather items like
gloves, represent an area of future
growth potential, said Rosen.
This fall, Theory will open its
first store in Europe that carries
men’s wear — a 2,700- square-foot,
dual-gender store in Paris. The
shop will combine two buildings
at 10 Rue de Grenelle. Rosen said
opening more men’s retail loca-
Andrew
Rosen
London, in addition to women’sonly concessions in European department stores.
In total, there are 240 Theorybranded retail locations worldwide, counting both freestanding
stores and shops-in-shop in department stores. Including wholesale,
there are 800 Theory points of sale
around the world.
The Theory men’s business is
particularly strong in Japan. Last
month, the company opened its
40th Japanese men’s shop-in-shop
global stores and wholesale distribution directly, apart from South
Korea, which is a license.)
In the U.S., Theory opened a
store with a dedicated men’s section earlier this month on North
Beverly Drive in Los Angeles. The
company also recently renovated
its existing Melrose Avenue store
and moved men’s to the front of
the space, providing a separate
entrance for it. Theory now operates 16 full-price stores in the U.S.,
eight of which carry men’s wear.
Denim is a category that
has always been incorporated into Theory’s assortments
and the brand is putting a
new emphasis on the category. “We created a destination
in our stores in a different
way this season,” said Berg
of the denim effort. “Coming
into fall, we’ve developed a
secondary fit in denim. We
have an opportunity to have
our own point of view. Our
denim has stretch. It feels
authentic but with a more
contemporary point of view.”
For fall, Theory is offering the Haydin straight leg
and Raffi skinny leg in fivepocket styles, in fabrics like
true indigo denim, black
denim and colored twill.
Retail prices in denim range
from $225 to $295.
Also new this year is the
performance-driven Theory
38 label, which encompasses both workoutwear and
active-inspired streetwear.
The collection launched exclusively at Theory stores,
theory.com and Bloomingdale’s
stores this spring.
“It’s shorts that you can run in,
as well as shorts you can just wear
on the street. It’s a sports design,
but made for the urban environment,” said Rosen. “There are a
lot of performance fabrics and we
have sweatpants that are a cool
shape and not your traditional
baggy sweatpants. It’s great stuff
“The men’s wear
industry for a
long time was
set in its ways.
We are trying
to address the
modern way
of dressing the
modern guy.”
— ANDREW ROSEN,
THEORY
tions in Europe is part of Theory’s
strategic growth plans, but no further leases have been signed.
Similarly, Theory intends to
enter men’s wholesale distribution in Europe for spring 2014,
but those plans are still being
fleshed out. Theory currently
operates women’s stores on
Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris and
on Marylebone High Street in
in the Fukuya department store
in Hiroshima.
In China, Theory sells men’s
wear in two of its own dual-gender
shops in Shanghai and Beijing,
with 10 other stores in that market
selling only women’s. The company
has partnered with Lane Crawford
to introduce men’s wear in several
of the luxury retailer’s stores in
China. (Theory operates all of its
Ben Stubbington
and Andrew Berg
Stubbington. “It’s been that way
from the beginning of the company.
We have an extremely tight tolerance for any variance in the fit of a
finished product.” (The actual line
production of clothes is outsourced
to third-party factories in Asia, the
U.S. and South America.)
In fiscal 2012, which ended in
August, Theory generated record
profits, according to Fast Retailing.
More recently, for the six months
ended in February, the Theory
business performed to plan but
profits decreased marginally due
to higher marketing and personnel
expenses in the U.S.
While Theory is putting a concerted emphasis on its men’s business, Rosen declined to make any
projections on sales increases or
target goals in the business. “My
philosophy is a very simple one: I
believe that the better your clothing and the better you execute your
clothing, the more business you’re
going to do. I don’t look at things
specifically as trying to push the
volume,” he explained. “The size
of our business is dependent on
our ability to execute, both from a
design perspective and sales and
marketing perspective. I’m always
trying to work with our guys to
push the integrity and the authenticity of the Theory experience
vis-à-vis what we are trying to do,
rather than the volume.”
PORTRAITS BY KYLE ERICKSEN; OTHERS BY PETER ARNELL/COURTESY OF THEORY
{Continued from page MW1}
The suits are sold as separates,
with jackets at $645 to $675 and
pants at $245 to $265, meaning a
customer can buy a full-canvas suit
for just less than $900. In tuxedo
styles, jackets are $695 and pants
are $285. In comparison, the halfcanvas suit jackets Theory currently offers are $545, with the matching pants at $225.
“Most suits at our price point
are a fused construction. This is
full canvas and it’s loosely basted
by hand, so that the suit molds to
the shape of your body. The more
you wear it, the better it looks,”
said Ben Stubbington, director of
men’s design at Theory.
The full-canvas suits feature all
Italian fabrics, more hand stitching
on the interiors and a slightly higher button stance and a raised notch
lapel, for a more modern look. The
suit jacket comes in the Wellar fit,
which is available in notch lapel,
peak lapel and double-breasted
styles. The notch lapel model has
both flap and patch pocket options.
The pants for each jacket are in
the Marlo fit, which is a core, slim
straight leg silhouette.
The full-canvas assortments
are available in 14 suit fabrics —
ranging from wool blends to 100
percent cashmeres — and two tuxedo fabrics.
“We are really excited about
the addition of this full-canvas collection,” said Kevin Harter, vice
president of men’s fashion direction at Bloomingdale’s, which carries Theory in 27 of its 31 total men’s
doors. “We’ve had a lot of success
with Theory suits in general and the
full-canvas is a big plus that I think
will really resonate with contemporary suit buyers. The contemporary
tailored market is a hot business
and Theory is a terrific suit for the
body-conscious, fashion customer.”
Retailing its suits as separates
has been a competitive selling
point for Theory, said
Rosen. “When we
are picking fabrics
and patterns we are
choosing for versatility. A guy can wear
the jacket with jeans,
if they want. And they
can buy just the jacket or just the pants.
The men’s wear industry for a long time
was set in its ways.
We are trying to address the modern
way of dressing the
modern guy. I think
that’s important.”
To support the
launch of the new
suit program, Theory
will unveil this fall
a tailored clothingfocused marketing
campaign
under
the theme “What
Suits You.” Shot by
Peter Arnell, who
has worked with the
brand since fall 2012,
the imagery shows
men wearing Theory tailored
clothing in a variety of environments. “We didn’t really have a
men’s campaign before,” said Berg.
“The men’s business has grown up
a lot here and we’re putting a lot of
energy behind it.”
About 25 percent of Theory’s
men’s sales is in tailored clothing
and 75 percent in sportswear and
other categories. Woven shirts, bot-