The retailer wants big-and-tall consumers, which tend to be ignored by the apparel industry, to have more shopping options.
The company is out to highlight its fit expertise, product assortment and quality through its new “Wear What You Want” brand positioning.
“The Big + Tall man has been largely ignored by the apparel industry,” CEO Harvey Kanter said in a statement. “Fewer brands, fewer styles, and fewer available sizes leave him unable to shop the way other guys do. Finding something he wants to wear, something that showcases his sense of style is almost impossible.”
Women’s apparel sizing has seen some advancement in recent years, but men’s fashion with extended sizing is limited — and mostly found online.
In 2022, the plus-size men’s clothing store industry in the U.S. was valued at $856 million, with Walmart as the most frequented retailer among plus-size shoppers as of 2019, according to Statista.
In the coming weeks DXL will incorporate its Wear What You Want messaging into all of its marketing channels including email, direct mail, video, social media, in stores and online.
The retailer, which just three years ago appeared to be bound for bankruptcy, engaged in a turnaround that saw a dramatic increase in sales as it pursued a deeper understanding of fit and marketing.
“The reality is that there’s a lot of people that are in this space, and it’s kind of a night job for them. It’s like a part-time side job,” Kanter said in an interview with Retail Dive last year. “All we do is what we do.”
