Combatant Gentlemen to Open Bloomingdale's Store-Within-a-Store Concept
Combatant Gentlemen, a menswear retailer (and one of Total Retail's Game Changers), will be opening store-within-a-store shops at select Bloomingdale's locations starting next month. At the shops, customers can use a touch screen to personalize suits and work directly with tailors. Combatant Gentlemen, founded in 2012 by Vishaal Melwani, the company’s chief executive and a tailor, took off online and has grown quickly. The majority of its sales come from its website, but it does have a brick-and-mortar store in Santa Monica, Calif. Combatant Gentlemen's shops within Bloomingdale's will remain open until at least the end of January, and will be staffed with Combatant Gentlemen employees. Bloomingdale’s will take a percentage of sales.
Total Retail's Take: The move is a good one for Bloomingdale's and Combatant Gentleman. Bloomingdale's looks forward-thinking by partnering with a growing online brand that caters to millennials, and Combatant Gentlemen gains access to physical interactions with consumers that will help the online retailer get a better understanding of its customers and what they're looking for, ultimately enabling better experiences going forward.
