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Macy’s execs on the brand’s renewed menswear strategy

The retailer is introducing a brand-new streetwear brand in the hopes of capturing the modern menswear consumer.
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Macy's/Mode of One

4 min read

It’s no secret that menswear has been having a moment or two over the past few years. The menswear industry was valued at $575.1 billion in 2023, according to Market Research Future and is projected to continue to grow.

Naturally, many retailers, including Macy's, want a bigger piece of that action. The mega retailer that already has multiple mens’ private brands in its portfolio, such as Sun + Stone and Club Room, is now introducing Mode of One, a modern streetwear brand for men.

With a variety of styles, the products launched this week are priced between $24.50 and $159.5 and available for purchase starting in October. The goal of the brand is but one: to “modernize” its assortment and meet the consumer’s desire for “stylish, affordable” clothing.

“We have a very strong position in our men’s fragrance business, and when you start to look into our apparel business, we weren’t really servicing our customer the way he wanted to be serviced,” Macy’s general business manager of apparel, Sam Archibald, told Retail Brew.

But Mode of One, although central to Macy’s strategy to strengthen its menswear business, is certainly not the only part. The retailer has also brought back brands like Nike to its assortment and expanded its existing partnership with Fanatics, focusing particularly on accessories, and built up its Karl Lagerfeld offering. But Archibald calls Mode of One the “centerpiece” of this diverse assortment of brands.

“Mode of One was specifically designed to address several challenges that we’re currently seeing out there in the menswear market,” Emily Erusha-Hilleque, SVP of private brand strategy, told Retail Brew. “There’s a shift toward more casual and active wear in men’s fashion, the desire for a kind of more stylish, affordable clothing that allows for more self expression and individuality.”

Manning up: To address this challenge, Macy’s has been holding panels and feedback sessions with its target Mode of One customer, which the retailer describes as men between 25 and 40 from various backgrounds across the country. Ultimately, the goal was to create a brand that meets all of their various needs in terms of quality, fit, and style.

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“We’re responding to evolving business happening kind of in the casual space within menswear, and we have a disproportionately diverse consumer that we’re also trying to not only leverage the strength behind that we already have within our four walls of Macy’s buying other products, but leverage their spending power and their style credibility,” Erusha-Hilleque said.

But while Macy's has done its research on its customers, it also needs to have a way to communicate its brand. Luckily, the company has a marketing plan in place.

Drop it like it’s hot: The products will launch in “monthly drops” in order to bring newness to the brand. “Some of the drops will be anchored into a new guest artist that we're bringing on board; some of those drops may be anchored into a new color,” Erusha-Hilleque said. “So the rightness of storytelling that this brand has and will have as we progress through ’24 and into ’25 is very noteworthy and very different from what we’ve done in the past.”

The retailer has also brought in external voices such as designers and textile artists “to build the brand” and bring “authenticity” to it. It has additionally enlisted chefs like Kwame Onwuachi, graphic designers like Tyrell Waiters, and New York Knicks players like Jalen Brunson to be its brand ambassadors as it kicks off its marketing campaign.

“We’re playing the long game,” Erusha-Hilleque said. “It’s a multiyear approach, but we very strategically started…We’re still evolving as we move forward, and excited about the progress that the team has made.”

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

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