Quebec City-based custom menswear retailer Surmesur will soon open its sixth Canadian location in Mississauga, and a seventh location this spring in the United States. According to the company, more American stores are planned as Surmesur expands its operations internationally.

Founded by brothers Vincent and Frank Thériault in 2010, Surmesur manufactures and retails men's made-to-measure clothing which includes custom suits, shirts, blazers, trousers and other garments. It combines body-scanning and manufacturing technologies with traditional methods, boasting a catalog of over 8000 fabrics with a wide assortment of collars, buttons, and sleeves. Surmesur endeavours to keep its costs down to keep prices reasonable and as a result, custom shirts are priced from $65 and suits start at $450. After measurements and fabric/button/design choices are made, suits are ready in four-to-six weeks. To keep costs down, the company chooses to operate free-standing locations as 'destinations' rather than locating in malls, partly due to the often high rents within Canadian shopping centres. Cost savings are passed on to customers and as a result, Surmesur's prices are usually lower than competing made-to-measure menswear retailers.

*Click map for interactive Google version*

Surmesur will open a location in Mississauga in mid-April of this year. It will be the second GTA location for the company, following the opening of its downtown Toronto store on Queen Street East, which opened last year. The Mississauga store will be about 2,000 square feet and will be located at 255 Lakeshore Road East.

Surmesur will then kick-off its American expansion with a unit in Chicago. The store will be located in the city's central business district (The Loop) and will measure about 2,000 square feet. The location keeps with the company’s strategy to open boutiques close to where its clients work.

“We opened five boutiques in our first five years of operations,” said co-founder Vincent Thériault. “Our vision has always been to globalize the brand over time, so our entry into the U.S. market is the logical next step in our growth. Today, we are proud to introduce our brand to the United States. We’ll follow the same formula in several other cities in the months to come, both in Canada and the U.S.,” said Mr. Thériault. “We want to make it easy for our clients to visit us. Men, especially businessmen with limited free time, appreciate that kind of accessibility.”

Surmesur has planned its foray into the U.S. for more than a year, according to the company, taking the time to acquire the necessary capital, work out logistics, train staff, and implement procedures to ensure a smooth rollout and long-term success.

Surmesur currently operates stores in Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Laval and Toronto. Last year, its 1,200 square foot Quebec City unit, the company's first, expanded to 2,700 square feet in order to accommodate new business. Its Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto locations are all centrally located near central business districts, capturing business from men who typically wear dressier attire. Surmesur stores are ideally in the 2,200 square foot to 3,000 square foot range, according to Mr. Thériault, featuring clean white facades and interiors.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: March 15, 2016