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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

New men's store expected to bring profits

MetroWear caters to men with urban tastes in fashion

Bringing the city to Bloomington is no small feat, but someone has to do it. Branden and Naomi Johnson have found their niche with the new men's wear store, MetroWear. Located at 234 N. Morton Street, below the Mercury at Regester Apartments, it has been described as exactly what Bloomington has been missing. \n"There are lots of places for men to buy suits, but there was no place for a man who wanted a more urban look for going out to a club," said Naomi Johnson. \nThe store carries Anthony Logistics, a popular men's care line that people have to buy online or travel to Saks Fifth Avenue in Indianapolis to buy. \n"People come here and say that they are happy they don't have to buy it online anymore. Now it is cheaper because (they) don't have to pay for shipping," Branden Johnson said.\nThe store also carries shaving cream as well as old school style shaving kits with a brush and razor by e Shave. The kits cost anywhere from $55 to $70, depending on if they are nickel plated or plated with 14-karat gold. \nThe store carries Kenneth Cole, Paper Denim, French Connection United kingdom, Buffalo Jeans, 4You, Report Collection, NY BASED, BB London and A Kurtz. \nThe brands are usually found on the coasts or in bigger cities, but now they can be found in MetroWear at cheaper prices. Buffalo Jeans, which is the store's most popular brand of jeans, go for about $85 a pair in New York and sell for $75 at MetroWear. \n"You can find brands that are usually found in New York City or Miami," said senior Ryan Alovis. "I like Paper Denim and French Connection, and the prices are reasonable. It's something that this city hasn't seen and I think it will do a lot of people justice."\nNot only are the clothes urban, but the interior of the store is also very much in the same tone. A flat screen television greets customers at the entrance. Customers can sit on micro-fiber furniture or look through steel clothing racks. Huge windows in the front of the building add sunlight, while the red walls give a contemporary feeling. \n"I like the whole mood of the place. The ambiance is great," Alovis said. \nBranden Johnson said many people come in and say the store looks like something they would find in Soho or Chicago. When they were first thinking of opening the store, they wanted to have it closer to campus on Kirkwood Avenue, but the rent was very high, the Johnsons said. They chose a cheaper space on Morton Street, but said the location has worked out great because now they are in the middle of a developing area full of kids from New Jersey, New York and Chicago. \n"We get a lot of kids from the city because they live around here, but now we are trying to reach out to the kids in the Commons," Naomi Johnson said. \nMetroWear has been open for only five weeks and the store owners said they are experiencing what everyone goes through when they open a new store. \n"The first two weeks we relied on walk buys. Now we advertise in papers, and starting yesterday, we are on the sides of city buses," Naomi Johnson said. \nThe advertisements have helped, but the store is still in the beginning stages. Profit isn't steady as of yet, but Branden Johnson said that is typical during the first months. \nWhen opening up the store, the couple already had a list of brands they definitely wanted to carry, but since opening they have also added other lines. \n"We had lines that we knew we were carrying, but people kept coming in and requesting Paper Denim," Branden Johnson said. "We got in touch with them and started carrying Paper Denim in the first week." \nListening to their customers is a part of the way the couple does business. Now they are thinking about getting shoes by Kenneth Cole and Cole Haan because they have received so many requests for these designers.\nAlthough they do listen to customers' requests, there are certain brands they will not carry. \n"We don't carry Diesel because you can find it at Urban Outfitters, or Blu Marlin," Branden Johnson said. "We won't carry Lucky because they sell it at The Buckle."\nThe Johnsons want to make sure they don't compete with other stores and keep a reputation for being fresh. \n"We won't order more than six of anything," Naomi Johnson said. "If you buy something here, you know you are one of the only people in Bloomington that has it. Sometimes we only order one style of something like that black leather jacket with red stripes." \nThough opening the store has been fulfilling for the couple, they said they have learned a lot about the fashion industry and dealing with buyers.\n"It was an eye-opening experience," Branden Johnson said. "I couldn't believe how unreliable and incompetent some of the business people are. You really have to stay on top of them and make sure your order is right, they ship it to the right place and you are paying the correct price." \nRight now the couple is having trouble adding another line to their inventory. \n"We are trying to add Juicy (Couture) for men, but the rep won't even call us back," Branden Johnson said. "You can only get a hold of them by e-mail. They sell it at Pitaya, so I know it is not the town." \nDespite some setbacks, the duo has plans to go to the Magic Show In Las Vegas to look at more collections and buy more clothes. \n"We are keeping a wall blank, just in case we get shoes," Naomi Johnson said. "We definitely want to add more accessories like men's belts and men's jewelry." \nWhen asked if they will expand into women's wear, Naomi Johnson said it is possible, but first they have to see how well their current collections sell. \n-- Contact arts editor Patrice Worthy at pworthy@indiana.edu.

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