Macy's adds tuxedos, partnering with Men's Wearhouse

One can rent a car, a Shore house, and even a cop.

So why not a tuxedo from a major department store staffed with experts for a perfect fit, kind of a store-within-a-store?

Last month, Macy's Inc. announced it had entered a partnership with Men's Wearhouse Inc. to develop licensed tuxedo shops in its stores. The effort is part of a growing trend, experts say, for retailers to leverage each other's strengths, increase revenue, and draw new customers.

The first 15 Macy's tuxedo shops are scheduled to open in the fall, including in North Jersey, San Francisco, and Houston. The shops will hire expert tailors and staff from Men's Wearhouse to do fittings and alterations.

By fall of 2016, 300 Macy's locations, about a third of the company's stores, will have tuxedo shops. The two partners also plan to collaborate on developing a digital tuxedo rental shop on macys.com.

"This partnership will empower customers . . . to choose from the latest tuxedo rental styles with the support of world-class customer service," said Pamela Resser, vice president of formal wear marketing for Men's Wearhouse.

One has the foot traffic and footprint (885 Macy's stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico); the other is one of the country's largest retailers of men's apparel and biggest renter of tuxedos (1,758 stores).

"A deal with Men's Wearhouse is a good one for Macy's," said Howard Davidowitz, a New York-based retail consultant. "The tuxedo business is a niche business, much too complex for Macy's to get into, but it draws in customers.

"A guy goes in for a tuxedo and buys a whole bunch of other merchandise," he said.

That merchandise can include Macy's engagement and wedding rings, wedding party suits and dresses, shoes, and fashion jewelry, among other categories, said Macy's chief merchandising officer, Tim Baxter.

"Tuxedo rental is the next element in building Macy's special-occasion capability," he said.

Macy's formed a similar partnership last year with Finish Line Inc., a retail chain that sells athletic shoes and related apparel and accessories. It leases sneaker space to Finish Line at 400 Macy's stores, including those in Center City and King of Prussia. In return, Finish Line has the suppliers for brands, such as Nike, Adidas, and Reebok.

"These partnerships are common, and they have been successful," said Barbara E. Kahn, director of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

With Macy's partnership with Finish Line, "that 'store-within-a-store' attracted customers who wanted shoes, and then they purchased athletic clothing from Macy's," Kahn said. "While JC Penney made a lot of mistakes in recent years, one of their successes was partnering with Sephora," - which sells cosmetics, beauty products, and fragrances - "as a 'store-within-a-store,' and that was successful at bringing customers in."

To Nick Dobin, 25, of Center City, who recently went for his final tuxedo fitting at the Men's Wearhouse on 16th and Chestnut Streets, the partnership with Macy's made sense.

Dobin, a cable/telephone business consultant, said he needs a tuxedo at most once a year and likes the flexibility of multiple locations. "If I can try it on at more than one place, I'm all for it," he said of the Macy's/Men's Wearhouse union.

A tuxedo at Men's Warehouse can rent from $59.99 to $219.99, depending on the package, said Liv Rand, the store's senior custom service associate, who was helping out Dobin.

For his cousin's July 12 wedding, Dobin rented a lapel jacket, black pants, a white collared shirt, a black satin cummerbund, a black satin bow tie, white and silver cuff links with button studs, and black suspenders for $76, tax included. He bought Calvin Klein black patent leather shoes for $99.99.

Shane Kelly, 26, of Huntington Valley, was also getting measured for a tuxedo then. It was for his third wedding this year, this one for a friend from his St. Joseph's University days. "The bride and groom picked out [my] tux," Kelly said. "If you're a groomsman, you have to go with what they pick."

Kelly, who owns one tuxedo already, explained why he was renting. "I can't afford to buy a $1,500 one" of the gray Vera Wang suit he had on. He put down $20 as a deposit on the $192.22 rental.

He plans to pick it up fully altered, and pay the $172.22 balance, Thursday, for the wedding on Saturday.

To avoid any late charges, such as $20 for each day the tuxedo is late, Kelly must return it by July 20.