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Casual Male Retail Group

Casual Male Retail Group

Overview
Casual Male Retail Group, Inc. is a chain of specialty clothing retail stores based in Canton, Massachusetts
Canton, Massachusetts
Canton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,775 at the 2000 census. Canton is part of Greater Boston, about 15 miles southwest of downtown Boston.- History :...

 that operates under the trade names Casual Male XL, Rochester Big & Tall Clothing, and Sears Canada-Casual Male. It is the largest retailer of such clothing, with about 500 locations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

National brands carried by the chain include Caribbean Joe, Nautica Jeans, Geoffrey Beene
Geoffrey Beene
Geoffrey Beene was an American fashion designer.Beene was born in Haynesville, Louisiana. He studied medicine at Tulane University, but dropped out in 1946, after three years. He moved to New York in 1947 to attend the Traphagen School of Fashion...

, Izod
Izod
Izod is a premium clothing company that produces dressy-casual clothing similar to brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Eddie Bauer and LL Bean. It is part of the Phillips-Van Heusen Company.- Overview :...

, and Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of German sportswear giant Adidas, is a producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...

.
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Encyclopedia
Casual Male Retail Group, Inc. is a chain of specialty clothing retail stores based in Canton, Massachusetts
Canton, Massachusetts
Canton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,775 at the 2000 census. Canton is part of Greater Boston, about 15 miles southwest of downtown Boston.- History :...

 that operates under the trade names Casual Male XL, Rochester Big & Tall Clothing, and Sears Canada-Casual Male. It is the largest retailer of such clothing, with about 500 locations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

National brands carried by the chain include Caribbean Joe, Nautica Jeans, Geoffrey Beene
Geoffrey Beene
Geoffrey Beene was an American fashion designer.Beene was born in Haynesville, Louisiana. He studied medicine at Tulane University, but dropped out in 1946, after three years. He moved to New York in 1947 to attend the Traphagen School of Fashion...

, Izod
Izod
Izod is a premium clothing company that produces dressy-casual clothing similar to brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Eddie Bauer and LL Bean. It is part of the Phillips-Van Heusen Company.- Overview :...

, and Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of German sportswear giant Adidas, is a producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...

. Its in-house brands include Harbor Bay, Comfort Zone, Synrgy, 626 Blue, and CM Gold/Platinum Series, respectively. In addition, the Rochester stores carry such brands as Burberry
Burberry
Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. The company has branded stores and franchises around the world, and also sells through concessions in...

, Ermenegildio Zegna, Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren is American fashion designer Ralph Lauren's luxury lifestyle company. Polo Ralph Lauren specializes in high-end casual/semi-formal wear for men and women , as well as accessories, fragrance, home and housewares....

, Tommy Bahama
Tommy Bahama
Tommy Bahama is a Seattle-based manufacturer and licenser of high-end tropical-themed wear and other clothing and household goods. The company is owned by Georgia-based Oxford Industries. The company sells apparel through its own chain of retail outlets in Canada and the United States, and through...

, and their in-house brands Rochester 1906 and Castagne.

History


Casual Male Retail Group was founded in 1976 by Calvin Margolis and Stanley Berger as Designs, Inc., a chain of retail stores that sold Levi's Dockers.

In May 2002, Designs bought Casual Male, a bankrupt specialty retailer of men's apparel. Focusing on the big and tall business, Designs sold off its other business lines and changed its name to Casual Male.

In 2004, Casual Male hired former champion boxer George Foreman
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, and successful entrepreneur....

 to promote the chain and become the spokesman
Spokesman
A spokesman or spokesperson is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and public affairs in...

for new lines of clothing bearing his name. Also in 2004, Casual Male began a program to remodel its stores.

In 2005, Casual Male changed the name of its stores from Casual Male Big & Tall to Casual Male XL.

In 2006, the Casual Male purchased Jared M., a custom clothing business that catered to professional athletes and other high profile clients. Casual Male decided in 2007 to discontinue the Jared M. operation due to concerns about its long-term performance.

External links