UNTUCKit – Bucking the Trend

UNTUCKit started because of a gap in the market for shirts that looked good untucked and their products fit all shapes and sizes and helps people look sharp – even at their most casual. Here, we spend some time with company CEO Aaron Sanandres to learn about the brand’s beginnings, how it has taken the industry by storm and what the future holds.

Company founder Chris Riccobono first created the Original Untucked Shirt in 2010 and when he teamed up with his old classmate from Columbia University a year later, they set about developing the idea of the perfect untucked shirt into a stand-alone business.

The first UNTUCKit store opened back in 2015 and today they have more than 80 stores across the US, Canada and the UK with their headquarters situated in New York City. Further international expansion is high on the agenda for this year to assist in taking the business global.

Some of the brand’s latest store launches took place in Syracuse, New York and Sarasota in Florida and they seem to be finding substantial success in mid-size cities that many major DTC retailers overlook.

What has helped the company achieve success is the fact that they can play in any market, however since the pandemic they have been very selective about where they open stores. They zone in on locations with men between 25 and 55 where they do not already have a site.

“We remain very excited about international expansion and are excited to say we have come out of the pandemic stronger than ever and plan to lean back into our international growth,” explains Aaron Sanandres, CEO of UNTUCKit. “We are exploring everything from additional company-owned stores, as well as a franchise model. Nothing is off limits as we explore how to bring our offering to the world. Aside from Europe, we are also looking at Central America – Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica as well as Dubai.”

When discussing new product lines and what the company does to maintain its market momentum, Sanandres explains that they are developing a line of Fair Trade products that create a more sustainable and responsible supply chain and that they are moving into the pants and short sectors as well to grow their product assortment. These developments, like many new ones they embark on, stem from listening to their customers and understanding trends.

“Everything we do starts and stops with the customer. We create a continuous dialogue with them through focus groups, anecdotal feedback and reviews,” Sanandres says.

Ever since the pandemic, the brand experience has taken on more importance and can be the difference between customers choosing one label over another. The CEO sees UNTUCKit at the forefront of the experience-driven model. They have a very popular Fit Finder on the site, which is 95 per cent accurate. They also have a best-in-class store experience where associates use Try-On Shirts to pinpoint a customer’s fit. They can also guide the shopping experience while the customer sips whiskey, which is available in many stores.

The business can also replicate the same guided experience via the chat function on their website too. All the technology is focused around store associates, who are incredibly helpful and create a fantastic experience that customers feel comfortable responding to.

While UNTUCKit are active on all of their platforms, they have only recently launched TikTok and that feeds into all of their other platforms.
“It is an ever-changing landscape, so I’m very glad to have a dedicated team for all things social. They test and measure and use that data to tweak our efforts. We do put paid ads out in the world and we’ve been able to grow our social budgets because of our ability to test and adapt,” Sanandres highlights.

With their focus spread across both brick-and-mortar stores and their online offering, does Sanandres feel the brand have any plans to offer an immersive experience that combines the two?

“For all intents and purposes, we do that already. One of the challenges is that you can’t always carry all of the products in all your stores. If something we offer isn’t carried in stores, we offer fast, free shipping through Endless Aisle. Bridging the link between e-commerce and retail is super important. We have such a consistent fit across our stores and we also have an online chat function that connects customers to their nearest store associate and people can shop with them as well.”

The business has always been one that stood out because they were the first, they made the original shirt design to be worn untucked and everything else about the company has stemmed from that. It offers the brand a lot of credibility and earns them a lot of trust from their consumers early on. Since its inception their products have been copied by huge players in the industry and this allowed the UNTUCKit consumer to see that it is a trend and essentially gave the business proof of concept.

Speaking about the ethos of the group, Sanandres feels that guys shouldn’t have to sacrifice comfort in order to look sharp and that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. “If there isn’t a good solution out there, go make your own,” he comments. He goes onto say that their idea was – and still is – regularly mocked. However, he says there are men all over the world wearing the UNTUCKit brand and they have far eclipsed many of their competitors in terms of revenue. Sanandres feels that there is a certain rebelliousness inherent in their shirts because they are not as trendy in the traditional sense.

As our time with the CEO draws to a close, we ask the questions, what lies ahead and what is the biggest upcoming challenge for UNTUCKit?

“I think the biggest challenge is really understanding, when the dust settles, what impact the pandemic had on consumer behaviour. Understanding how the business has and will change year-over-year and how that affects budgeting. Last year, many found the beginning of November to be really rough, but if you look back at that time, the world was being told to buy earlier because of shipping and availability. This year, we far surpassed our own expectations in terms of holiday revenue. But the business composition of retail versus e-commerce was very different. So, understanding the long-term effects and changes will be difficult, but crucial, Sanandres concludes.