Wear What You Want
Destination XL Group’s commitment is to the Big + Tall men of the world and they offer them unparalleled styles, choices and a personalised shopping experience. In this interview, we sit down with company President, CEO and Director Harvey S. Kanter to discuss the growth of the business to this point and what he feels are the next steps for the brand.
The customers of Destination XL Group (DXL) are men that are often underserved and as a result, it is the reason they cannot shop the way everyone else does. Put in its simplest terms, they cannot find the clothes, styles or fit that they want.
Enter Destination XL Group, a company that continues to provide their guests with a diverse range of styles that fit perfectly no matter where they choose to shop, whether this be in-store, on the app or on their website. Central to their success are their pillars of fit, quality, assortment of brands, styles and a superior shopping experience.
“We are taking this to a broader swath of customers with the “Wear What You Want” mission, a philosophy that guides every aspect of our customer’s interaction,” highlights Harvey S. Kanter, President, CEO and Director of Destination XL Group. “This initiative stands as a dynamic platform, offering our consumers the freedom to choose their own style. This is bolstered by our unparalleled selection of well-known brands, from Vineyard Vines and Nautica to Polo Ralph Lauren and Psycho Bunny and a wide selection of our own proprietary brands like Harbor Bay and Oak Hill.”
Today the company operates 282 DXL and Casual Male XL retail and outlet stores throughout the US, plus an e-commerce website DXL.com and an app.
When discussing their store footprint, Kanter explains that they recently opened two new stores during the back half of 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio and Queens, New York. He continues by saying they are pursuing additional openings in 2024 including one that will shortly open in Pasadena, California.
“We will open 10 new stores in 2024 and over the next three to five years we believe we could potentially open 50 new DXL stores across the country and we are actively pursuing locations throughout the country based on availability and a need for a DXL.”
The design of their stores create a shopping experience that is truly enjoyable and hassle-free for their customers. A key feature that sets DXL stores apart is their Certified Fit Experts. Each of these experts is trained to properly measure every guest, ensuring they provide sizes and styles that offer the best fit possible. It is this attention to detail and personalised service is at the core of what makes shopping at DXL a unique and satisfying experience.
In order to maintain its position in the market and expand on it, all of the business’s product development, partnerships and technology investments are centred on enabling their customers to wear what they want.
Fit by DXL is not just a label or tagline it is the very reason why brands not in the Big & Tall space are partnering with them. Their core competencies are fit, curated assortment and creating an in-store experience so compelling consumers spread the word about DXL.
“In 2023 we launched our collaboration with UNTUCKit and added two more iconic brands to our assortment with Faherty and Hugo Boss. All three programs truly exceeded our initial expectations and we will look to expand them all going forward. Looking ahead, we are excited about the growth potential of Fit by DXL. We plan to expand it significantly in the next year, aiming to bring more brands into our fold,” Kanter highlights.
The company’s focus on creating an exceptional ‘brand experience’ is one of the key ways they foster customer loyalty and ensure repeat visits. Meanwhile their strategy revolves around their re-imagined loyalty program, which has been designed to solidify their position as the go-to one-stop shop for its niche market.
Their success in areas such as omni-channel ordering and pick-up, digital in-store product searches and effortless loyalty point redemption highlights the brand’s commitment to a seamless shopping experience that integrates both physical and digital platforms, this is another factor that has built guest loyalty.
As we move onto the topic of social media, Kanter explains that their approach is tailored to their customer base and that they mainly utilise these platforms to targeted and personalised messaging, aligning the brand with the interests of its consumers.
The ethos of DXL is ‘Wear What You Want’ and this captures the freedom and individuality of style the business offers to its guests. They sell an extensive assortment of unique and exclusive fashion choices that customers cannot get anywhere else.
Kanter explains that it is DXL’s belief that a great wardrobe is not a privilege but a right. It is the freedom to choose from the largest assortment of the best brands and the most exclusive styles and it is the way they have enabled the Big + Tall guy to have this freedom that is the cornerstone to the success they have had over the years.
“Our belief is that the opportunity to gain share of voice and ultimately share of market, is driven by our passion and desire to serve our customer, an underserved consumer who deserves better. Our positioning and core elements of what sets DXL apart is fit, product offer and one of the most compelling experiences to be found in a retail business.”
The President, CEO and Director feels that their path to growth and serving their clients is driven by an opportunity to better communicate who DXL is and generating a far greater share of voice in the market.
“That being said, the challenge today is the environment, the macro consumer elements and ultimately traversing from where we are today, to what is possible tomorrow. It is a very exciting time for DXL and the future that lies ahead of us is one I am looking forward to being a part of,” Kanter concludes.
