Retailer of the Year: Casual Male Nails It!

With the launch of DXL, CMRG creates a winning formula.

By Karen Alberg Grossman and Elise M. Diamantini

If the stereotype of heavyset guys in sweatpants and promotional tees has any validity, it’s probably because the 15 percent of American males who wear big or tall sizes have had few other options.

Until now. Enter David Levin, CMRG CEO since 2000 and an astute student of retail. Determined to turn around a failing business purchased at auction, Levin and his team developed a formula clearly counter to trend. Whereas most retailers are downsizing and/or narrowing their focus, CMRG has moved to larger stores with wider assortments and a broad range of pricepoints, thereby winning over this very underserved demographic and transforming a struggling group of stores from debt ($150 million worth) to profit. They’re doing it with a mix of top designer brands and value-priced store brands and amazingly, without the high-low pricing and buy-one-get-one promotions so prevalent at retail today.

How to Grow A Business

In addition to bigger, better stores and a higher penetration of upscale goods, the CMRG team has grown the business by going after new categories. “Once customers are in our database, our goal is to get the most out of their wallets,” explains David Levin, widely respected for his entrepreneurial spirit. “So we’ve created our own opportunities beyond apparel. Take shoes, for example: we now carry 500 styles in all the great brands. Whereas in most other stores, you get to size 12 and the assortment is limited to a few basics, we carry fashion in all sizes. (Our average is 14 to 16!) We approached all the top makers (Uggs, Clarks, Cole Haan) and they quickly jumped on board; finally, we’re giving them enough business that it’s worth adapting the lasts, etc.
“So then we started thinking, what are the other things he needs? Can he find a bathroom scale that registers more than 290 pounds? A seatbelt extender for air travel? A life vest that fits? So we created Living XL, which has hundreds of items for men and women. (Interestingly, the number one item is chairs—office chairs, lounge chairs, all kinds of chairs that offer the right support…).”

As smart as these product extensions are proving to be, Levin confides that his number one challenge—his “holy grail”—is to capture the “end of rack” guys, those with 42 to 44 waist sizes who have numerous places to shop. “If we look at the big and tall market as a whole, this segment probably comprises two thirds of the business. But when this guy goes to a department store or regular specialty chain, rounders in his size are limited to basics. We can offer him a world of fashion in his size but unfortunately, he has a preconceived notion that he doesn’t want to be labeled big and tall. But finally, with DXL, this preconception is changing and we’re seeing two things: 1) growth in fashion brands, and 2) sizes moving decidedly to the left. Finally, this customer can get everything he wants in a huge, bright, upscale environment.”

Casual Male Retail Group Timeline

1970: Edward Tucker opens The Casual Male as a young men’s off-price chain
1973: Tucker launches Big & Tall men’s stores; by 1990, there are 190 Casual Male Big & Tall stores
1990: J. Baker buys Casual Male
2002: Designs, Inc., a chain of retail outlet stores that sells Levi’s/Dockers, buys and changes its name to Casual Male Retail Group; focus is now on growing big and tall business
2003: CMRG exits Levi’s/Dockers outlet
business
2004: CMRG acquires Rochester Big & Tall
2004: CMRG expands into Canadian market
2005: CMRG changes store names from Casual Male Big & Tall to Casual Male XL
2005: CMRG launches clothing on Sears.com
2007: CMRG launches the shoe catalog and website, Shoes XL
2008: CMRG acquires 15 Dahle’s Big & Tall men’s stores and closes the rest
2010: CMRG opens DestinationXL stores in Las Vegas, Nev.; Schaumburg, Ill.; Houston, Texas; and Memphis, Tenn.
2010: CMRG inks deal with Bon-Ton stores to sell big and tall clothing through its website and, from spring 2011, some Bon-Ton stores
2011: CMRG opens DestinationXL stores in Atlanta, Ga.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Fairless Hills, Pa.; Westport, Ct.; Murray, Utah; Warwick, R.I.
2011: CMRG launches DestinationXL.com