Too Busy to Shop? There’s a Man for That.

If you're too busy to shop, or don't have a clue how to pick out a matching tie, shirt and shoes, there may not be an app, but there is a man for that.

Currently housed in a small office, tucked away in Whitefish Bay, the high-end clothier, Robert Brett Apparel, will relocate to the Fox Point Shops on Santa Monica Boulevard now that the Village Board approved their relocation Tuesday.

While exclusive men’s clothing is nothing new to the North Shore, the store’s business model is something usually only seen in movies.

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I consider myself one of the better kept secrets in Milwaukee,” said owner and sole operator Robert Richards. “Being a secret isn’t necessarily the best business plan, so that’s about to change.”

Richards’ style of shopping is something most of us might find hard to picture.  Imagine going shopping for a new outfit, but rather than perusing endless racks of clothing, you sit in a comfy chair in an office.  You tell him what you want, the measurements are taken, and your new suit is delivered to your door.

While appointments are taken at his office, Richards says there are times when the client’s only free time is between meetings at work.  He estimates that nine out of 10 of his clients are in a profession where their time is literally money, so he goes to them. 

“People really prefer to see me when I come to them,” Richards said. “Nordstrom’s may say they have excellent service, but I know I go 30 steps past them. Building a reputation for customer service is key, and my clients remember when I drive to their house at 10 o’clock at night with the suit they need for the next morning.”

With plans to open Aug. 1, making the move to Fox Point was obvious for Richards.  Along with locating his business just footsteps from his favorite tailor, and acquiring a physical storefront to better accommodate clients, the businessman is quick to remember his personal life.

“My clients might call or email me at late hours, but I have to realize I have my own life,” Richards said.  “My family and I live in Fox Point, and my kids go to school in Fox Point. Although moving from Whitefish Bay to here isn’t a big location change, it lets me be a better parent.”

Coupled with being a better parent, this new storefront will also let him be a better salesman.  The new 1,200 square-foot location, formerly rented by Nuwerx Studio LLC, is what Richards considers a hybrid store. While it won’t be a full, brick-and-mortar retail store with racks of clothes for sale, it will have items hanging so buyers can see what the final product may look like.

Richards says the new showroom at the front of the store will be somewhat of a man-cave.  There will be a pool table and big leather chairs, accompanied by a few garment racks and mannequins to show clients custom clothing.  He said he prefers to keep the showroom small because it keeps his expensive niche-market afloat.

“There’s a lot more flexibility because I don’t really have to stock a store,” Richards said.  “I have the ability to survive and thrive in this consumer recession because I mostly work with custom clothing.  I’m not wasting money stocking a store with things that don’t sell, whether it’s the style or the size.”

With his main clients anywhere between 30 and 60 years old, and employed in the corporate and professional workforce, Richards says you get what you pay for.  He says a basic suit may start around $350 for someone just starting a new job, something Richards considers competitively priced.  However, when the product is custom made, he says the client gets additional features, more options and better quality.