Mitchells Merging With Long Island Menswear Store

Marsh's, the Huntington menswear store that has outfitted Long Islanders for 80 years, has agreed to merge with Mitchells/Richards, the owner of two luxury clothing stores in Westport and Greenwich, the Long Island newspaper Newsday reported today.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, including whether the Marsh family, now in its third generation of ownership, will retain a financial stake in the business.

The store will continue to be called Marsh's and Ron Marsh, who runs the store, will remain at the helm, but will be joined there by Chris Mitchell, the newspaper said.

The merger combines the $70 million in annual sales from Mitchells/Richards' two stores with Marsh's $9 million revenues.

Ron Marsh said the deal gives Marsh's access to more sophisticated marketing and technology, but emphasized that the core values of the store will remain unchanged: customer service and the respectful, generous treatment of employees.

"The employees will stay intact. The point is really to bring us to the next level," he said.

That means remodeling Marsh's outdated storefront on Main Street, developing a marketing campaign that will include a glossy catalog showcasing employees and customers, and possibly starting a custom clothing service.

Customers can also expect to see a few higher-priced labels. While Marsh's suits currently top out with Armani, at around $2,000, "now we'll take it to the level of Brioni, Kiton and Oxford," suits in the $3,000 range, Newsday quoted Marsh as saying.

Though Marsh's is the elder of the two companies -- Mitchells was founded in 1958 -- the Westport company has surpassed Marsh's in terms of sales and the sophistication of its marketing programs, the newspaper said.

The company is headed by Jack Mitchell and his brother Bill, sons of founders Ed and Norma Mitchell. Now six of Jack's and Bill's sons operate various parts of the business.

Chris Mitchell, Bill Mitchell's son and formerly the co-head of the menswear department at the Westport store, is moving to Long Island to work as Ron's partner, Newsday said.

Mitchells has some experience with integrating new stores under a single corporate roof. In 1995, the company bought Richards, another family business with a single store in Greenwich. The new combined company will be known as Mitchells/Richards/Marsh's.

Posted August 16, 2005 04:31 PM