By Mario Toneguzzi

INDOCHINO, a global leader in made-to-measure men’s apparel, is broadening its product range beyond formalwear to include casual clothing.

The push beginning September 5 will include made-to-measure chinos plus a refreshed selection of custom overcoats.

And Drew Green, the company’s president and CEO, said the continuing evolution of INDOCHINO will likely move to the adoption of women’s wear in the future.

He said expanding into new product categories is something the retailer’s customers have been waiting for.

*Stafford Micro Check Dark Brown Suit and Whitehall Olive Suit*

“It’s a lot of the continuation of what we have been doing. We’ve set out to change the way a generation of men build their wardrobe and it really started with a set of garments that we felt historic in some way. A suit for a man is something that we all partake in points in our life or even perhaps every day and of course you need a nice dress shirt to go with that suit,” said Green.

“About two and a half, three years ago, we started focusing on blazers and suit separates. Pants. Blazers. Really what we wanted to do before we went any further was really to perfect made-to-measure suiting and shirting and I think we have. We deliver our product in under three weeks now and that used to be six weeks. Twenty four per cent of our product this year was shipped in one week or less. Eighty per cent in two weeks or less and then 99.6 per cent in three weeks or less which is our consumer promise. We really honed in and executed on suiting and shirting. I really felt like it was our opportunity to expand and really provide customers with casual wear which we’re doing this fall.

*Salford Check Blazer and Hayward Flannel Charcoal Pants*

“The khaki pant has been a staple of a man’s wardrobe for decades . . . We wanted to bring that back to life in a made-to-measure, customized and personalized way. So we really zoned in on that this past year, perfecting the first iteration of our khaki pant and we also announced that outerwear is now going to be a staple within our collections.”

Green said INDOCHINO will also be announcing casual shirting within the fall - both shirts you don’t tuck in as well as other options.

“We’re growing. 2018 we’ll have averaged almost 50 per cent year-over-year growth since 2015. So four years. Compound annual growth. So the company’s growing . . . We just see an opportunity. The demand for our suits is relentless frankly,” he said.

“We’ve opened 31 showrooms now across North America. We’re opening another five before the end of the year. Another 20 next year. Just in North America. We constantly, and I constantly, speak with customers and they just love the fact that they can get a garment that fits them perfectly and that they can create their own. They’ve been asking for other products. And I think it’s always a wise idea to listen to your customer. We wanted INDOCHINO to be a bigger part of a man’s wardrobe.”

So does Green see women’s wear in the company’s future?

“It’s a great question and it’s probably the number one question I get both through the media as well as from our customers,” said Green. “And I think for us we really have stayed focused on men’s apparel. I think women’s is part of our future. Women’s custom clothing is part of our future. We don’t have official plans for this year or next year for women’s wear but definitely as we evolve the brand globally we see that as an opportunity.

INDOCHINO has opened 12 stores so far in 2018 and plans to end the year opening five more for a total of 36 showrooms. These include Newport Beach, CA, Atlanta, GA, and Madison Avenue, NY, all launching in September.

Mario Toneguzzi, based in Calgary has 37 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald covering sports, crime, politics, health, city and breaking news, and business. For 12 years as a business writer, his main beats were commercial and residential real estate, retail, small business and general economic news. He nows works on his own as a freelance writer and consultant in communications and media relations/training. Email: mdtoneguzzi@gmail.com

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