Dive Brief:
- Men’s Wearhouse has expanded its “Made in USA” program with a new ready-to-wear collection dubbed “American Bespoke.”
- The collection was designed in partnership with Joseph Abboud and was produced in parent company Tailored Brands’ factory in New Bedford, Massachusetts, according to a company press release.
- Jackets in the collection feature a removable American flag-inspired ribbon. Full suits start at $599, while separates start at $170.
Dive Insight:
While Tailored Brands President John Tighe said the launch of the new collection has been in the pipeline since last year, it comes as consumers and retailers alike try to navigate uncertainties brought on by the Trump administration’s tariff policies.
“We’re making suits in America and have been well before this tariff discussion, and were preparing to do this relaunch well before this took place,” Tighe told Retail Dive in an interview. “We think it is important to have this ‘made in America’ position and we’re telling people about it.”
Tighe said that outside of the new collection being made domestically, the retailer still sources much of its product from “other places.”
Men’s Wearhouse has been selling American Bespoke in a number of its stores for a few months but wanted to maximize exposure of the announcement during the first quarter of 2025 when the majority of locations housed the new suit and separates, according to Tighe.
Men’s Wearhouse’s emphasis on American-made products comes as a global trade war intensifies. U.S. consumer sentiment plunged 11% this month as a result, and inflation expectations are at their highest level since 1981. In a blog post last week, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman encouraged shoppers to buy products domestically to avoid tariffs.
Last week’s U.S. retail sales report showed sales increased 3.6% year over year in March, indicating consumers pulled forward purchases in some categories in order to avoid tariff-related price increases.
Moody’s Chief Economist Mark Zandi last week put the odds of a downturn in the economy at 60%, telling investors that “if the trade war doesn’t de-escalate soon — and when I say soon I mean weeks not months — I think the odds are high, better than even, that the U.S. economy and much of the global economy is going to suffer an economic downturn.”