Menswear is typically simple and straightforward. While styles and statement pieces may evolve, certain classic trends don’t change all that much from season to season, or even year to year. Take the button-down shirt, for example, a staple for preppy casual dressers and white-collar professionals and dinner party attendees. But, given the garment’s enduring presence in fashion, most retailers never thought to address one widely held complaint: these shirts are too damn long.
In 2011, Aaron Sanandres and Chris Riccobono founded Untuckit ($PRIVATE:UNTUCKIT), a men’s apparel brand featuring shirts that are designed to be worn untucked. They opened the first Untuckit store four years later in New York City. The company now has over 80 brick-and-mortar locations. But as Coronavirus continues to spread and reshape our lives and values, Untuckit will have to re-strategize to retain its customers.
The company’s Facebook mentions have been low over the past several months as people work from home and opt for loungewear. Tucking in an oversized Rangers tee has been the last thing on their minds. Mentions are down 14% from January. But they seem to be crawling back up, perhaps as more people start to think about returning to the office.
Untuckit’s Twitter following had grown a little from last summer to March. But the follower count dropped by 1.5% over the past three months.
The company is reportedly in talks with a real estate restructuring firm to help evaluate its stores and renegotiate deals as retail locations remain closed.
Untuckit’s job postings echo the sentiment of restructuring— They’ve plummeted 97% since March, from 58 to just two.
Many of Untuckit’s customers could continue to work from home, in their sweatpants, for the foreseeable future. It’s possible that we as a culture have outgrown the need for untucked torso-length button-downs.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
