Unless you’ve taken quarantine measures a bit too far, and are unaware of anything happening in the world, you probably know by now that Brooks Brothers has filed for bankruptcy as they look for potential buyers. While this is obviously a step backwards for the brand, I think this could also be quite an opportunity to firmly leap into the 21st century and catch up to where retail is today.
I love Brooks Brothers. I think it is one of the great American brands and the single greatest American menswear brand. In the past two decades, Brooks Brothers has grown bigger than ever. But is it better than ever? Today there are so many smaller brands utilizing the power of the internet, supply chain management, niche marketing, and so on. Michael Williams from A Continuous Lean made the case for downsizing so well.
I offer this criticism not to disparage, but to help. Like I said, I love Brooks Brothers. I want the company to be here for another two hundred years. I am not going to stop shopping there. I am not going to stop recommending their clothes. But I am going to offer a few suggestions, based on my experiences. I think, with the opportunity to pivot right now, Brooks Brothers can make a few changes to improve their customers’ experience.
Suits
I would love to see Brooks Brothers offer more proportional lapels. From what I have seen, their lapels stay the same width regardless of chest size. That means, as you get into the larger chest sizes (I’m a 46R), the lapels appear smaller. This works against the larger guys who could use the help of a wider lapels to balance out their proportions. In this case, Brooks Brothers is actually providing a disservice to their customers. I would also suggest offering some suits with pleat options for the trousers, both forward and reverse. Pleats aren’t bad, like we were all taught, they just need to be done neatly. And if Brooks Brothers really wanted to blow me away, they could offer some full canvas options that aren’t in the Golden Fleece line.
Shirts
The one feature I think their shirts are truly lacking is pattern matching. Unlike my dress shirts from other brands, Brooks Brothers shirts do not match up at the shoulder seams or around the cuffs. I understand pattern matching uses more fabric, but if I can get shirts that have it for roughly the same price and with roughly the same fabric somewhere else, I’m going to buy them instead. I would additionally like Brooks Brothers to invest more in their collar and cuff interlining. It’s abysmally thin, and doesn’t nearly stand up to the likes of other shirt makers (especially the ones on Jermyn Street). Finally, it’s time to include mother of pearl buttons on all their shirts, not just the Golden Fleece ones. If Lacoste can have MoP buttons on their polos, so can Brooks Brothers. A Brooks Brothers shirt used to be something special, now (with the exception of the soon-to-be-gone American-made OCBDs) it’s just another mass market dress shirt.
Brooks Brothers Retail Staff
Customers typically shop in-store because they need help. Otherwise, they would just order online. Brooks Brothers should train their retail staff to be stylists, not sales people. Give customers the guidance they need. Teach the staff to be experts in all things menswear. Brooks Brothers carries Alan Flusser’s classic book “Dressing the Man”. I wonder how many employees have actually read it. One story from my personal experience that comes to mind is the time a salesperson tried to tell me their stretch denim jeans were made from selvedge denim. One quick look at the seam told me they were not. The denim may have been high quality, but I was already turned off and didn’t make the purchase.
Website
The updates to the website over the past few years have been fantastic. Shopping and sorting are super easy. The app is great too. I do wish the app and site would sync so that things I add to my cart on the app show up on the website, and vice versa. I love the rewards program too. The goals are reasonable and attainable, and have saved me actual money. The item descriptions could offer more information. I want to know what mills made the fabric, what the weight of the fabric is, etc. This is information that will help me make better purchases, and probably reduce my returns.
What Is Brooks Brothers Doing Well?
Brooks Brothers has some products I am obsessed with. Their 3.25 inch ties are an excellent width, and the fabrics are fantastic. I think their outerwear is exceptional. I can search for very traditional pieces or look for something a little more unique. I wear their boxers as pajamas in hot weather and their full pajamas in cold. Finally, I love their sweaters. My sweater collection is somewhere in the neighborhood of seventy-five percent Brooks Brothers at this point. They are an incredible value even at full price.
I understand the need to run a profitable business, and some cost cutting can help that, but not at the expense of the brand. I also understand the one-stop-shop concept, but maybe that’s too big for what I think Brooks Brothers should be: the best American menswear brand. Menswear quality is improving globally. Brooks Brothers needs to evolve to maintain their position and heritage in that world.