Catching Up with: Don Wechsler, Mine Apparel

Few people have more experience in men’s sportswear than Donnie Wechsler; here we talk with him about a changing market.

So how’s your business?

Donnie Wechsler: It’s actually good. We’re in 250 doors including 25 Nordstroms. We’ve opened many new accounts in recent seasons.

That’s unusual to hear these days. Why do you think that is?

First of all, we offer tremendous value: we’ve kept our shirt prices at $45 cost so they can retail for under $100. At first this hurt us since the average specialty store wanted more expensive product. But now they’re more realistic and many of the stores that were dominated by Scott Barber and Robert Talbott have come to us. We offer traditional looks with more detail at better prices.

Don’t many other makers offer that equation?

Not at our prices: our shirts are famous for quality make and details. We were one of the first to do contrast fabrics inside collars and cuffs and ours are known to be less gimmicky, so perhaps more wearable than some of our competition. I believe we are unique in the clean simplicity of our designs and the fresh colors. They are unique yet wearable and timeless.

Have you made any changes in your product in recent seasons?

We’re always updating but the main thing we’ve added is a modern fit model, which is one full size down from our regular fit. It’s only a small percentage of our business but some stores like Nordstrom are buying only the modern fit.

How long have you been in this business?

Less than five years with Mine and before that with Devon Harris. But I actually started my career in 1970 working for a textile converter. Then in ’75 I started a company that imported fabric for better men’s shirtmakers. As the market changed I began to provide a full garment package first to those same shirtmakers, then later to retailers for private label. So I learned everything from piece goods to finished product, and I’ve worked with very talented people like Ralph Lauren, Robert Stock, Ike Behar, Sal Cesarani, Bert Pulitzer, Max Rabb, Matt Totillo the list goes on. I learned from them all. They each have a different style in how they create, but they all have a similar passion for the traditions and history that their designs and concepts develop from. They all taught me how to love and appreciate the subtleties that can make a product special.

What did you learn from working with department stores?

Many things, but I was particularly amazed the first time I saw a budget and plan to sell 0 at regular price…

What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career?

“If you think what you’re doing now will last, your wrong. Our business keeps changing and you have to find ways to change with it.”

Well if that’s true and what you’re doing now won’t last, what’s next?

I’m working on a new collection with Vince Gonzales; it’s a whole new concept geared to a much younger more contemporary audience.

How is it different?

All the shirts we make for the Mine collection are completely matched balanced and built on old world details. In this new market, the customer doesn’t care about these subtle details. Rather they want something fun & different. For this collection it is more about fit, and details you can see in the garment, rather than what you can’t see.

Are you saying that shirts made for young customers should be inferior in quality?

Not necessarily, but the traditional benchmarks of quality don’t necessarily count with young customers: how the garment lies on the body, how the garment wears, whether it’s distressed to the point of irregular, all of the old standards are irrelevant. The challenge is to figure out what is relevant.

Any advice to retailers?

Stores need to reinvent themselves as much as vendors do. While it’s wonderful to have a long heritage of 20 or 50 years in a town, young people don’t necessarily view this as a positive.