Over the past week devoted readers have left comments suggesting that something was going on at Southwick. I can now confirm the disheartening news.
In November, shortly before leaving New York, I met with a Southwick representative. Oddly enough, it was in the new cafe Brooks Brothers opened on the first floor of its Madison Avenue flagship. The source was excited about the company’s plans to rebuild Southwick as a stand-alone trad brand. But yesterday the source confirmed that things have done an about-face. Brooks Brothers has not only nixed the Southwick brand expansion, it has halted all third-party production for Southwick as a domestic manufacturer — and one of the last — of tailored menswear. To the best of my knowledge, the factory will now be used only for the small amount of Brooks Brothers clothing not made overseas.
Mention the name Southwick and traditionalists nod in recognition: authentic American style, natural shoulder, comfort, quality and fine fabrics. Since 1929 Southwick has been dressing discerning customers who appreciate Southwick’s trademark of understated elegance and quality workmanship. Nicholas and Vito Grieco immigrated to this country from a remote Italian village in the early 1900s. Hardworking and ambitious, they ran a suit-pressing business in Brooklyn, then a successful tailor shop in New York until the outbreak of World War I forced them to close. Undaunted, they opened a suit business in Massachusetts where they honed their skills as master tailors and experimented with mass production techniques. When that business folded, they worked for another manufacturer until their entrepreneurial zeal propelled them to found Grieco Bros. in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1929. Their custom made suits embodied a fundamentally British attitude toward clothing; the natural shoulder philosophy. This was somewhat iconoclastic for the times, as fashion dictated a more exaggerated look; heavy padding at the shoulder, more severe tapering at the waist, deep pleats. While this ’20s look becomes trendy from time to time, the natural shoulder style; with its simpler, cleaner lines has become a time-honored classic. Customers turn to Southwick not just because the look is right, but also because the craftsmanship provides enduring value, an important consideration when investing in a suit. The roots of the company’s business philosophy are firmly grounded in the singular American vision of its founders: a love of quality and craftsmanship. Our clothing reflects the natural shoulder philosophy that your clothing should look like you, not us.TIM JEAN/Staff photo.Southwick Factory Store is now officially open after a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony for the new store in Haverhill. The store is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 6p.m.
Vintage Southwick Varsity Jacket
TIM JEAN/Staff photo.Southwick's Factory Store officially opened Friday after a ribbon cutting and ceremony for the new store in Haverhill. The store is open Tuesday thru Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
TIM JEAN/Staff photo. James Jajuga, Methuen Councilor-at-Large, flashes the Southwick label inside his suit coat after a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony for Southwick Apparel's new factory store in Haverhill.
TIM JEAN/Staff photo.The Southwick Factory Store officially opened on Friday after a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony for the new store in Haverhill. The store is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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TIM JEAN/Staff photo.The Southwick Factory Store is officially opened Friday after a ribbon cutting and ceremony for the new store in Haverhill. The store is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
TIM JEAN/Staff photo.Local and state officials, along with officials from Southwick Apparel, cut a ceremonially ribbon during a grand opening for a new factory store in Haverhill on Friday.
HAVERHILL — Eight years after moving to Haverhill, Southwick Apparel has officially opened its own retail store, marking the first men's specialty clothing store to open in the city in decades.
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Southwick, the manufacturer of popular Brooks Brothers suits, is the second largest employer in Haverhill, with about 500 workers in its factory. The store has added three or four new jobs.
Mayor James Fiorentini said he was thrilled to have a retail men's clothing store back in the city of Haverhill. He told a small group who came to the store's grand opening Friday that securing a deal with Southwick to move into the city in 2008 was his proudest moment as mayor.
Fiorentini gathered with several local and state officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday afternoon, including City Councilor and Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce President Joseph J. Bevilacqua, City Councilor Andy Vargas and Massachusetts Assistant Secretary of Business Development & International Trade Nam Pham, who came on behalf of Gov. Charlie Baker.
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We want to send out a strong message to everybody that the old adage that you can't manufacture (in the United States) anymore is gone and that today's manufacturing facilities are modern, clean environments that allow people to make the best products in the world, Bevilacqua said.
The manufacturer is a source of pride for Haverhill's economy. Formerly of Lawrence, the company considered taking its operations out of the country years ago, but Fiorentini worked with the state to offer Southwick tax breaks that would keep them in town. As part of the deal, 30 percent of Southwick's employees now hail from the city.
Our unemployment is at 3.5 percent, Fiorentini said, noting it's the first time since he became mayor 13 years ago that the city's average was lower than both the state and national averages.
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Immigrants from all over the world who come here — and I like to say the American Dream lives on in Haverhill through Southwick, he said.
The new store is a small offset of the factory that produces its wares, nestled in the corner of the building closest to Target on Computer Drive, just off Route 97. It sells jackets, suits, trousers, shirts and ties at lower prices than their normal retailers would.
It's a great value, said Jeff Spellman, Southwick's director of finance, who explained that the store stocks excess inventory, allowing the manufacturer to retail them at a better price.
Suits And Sports Coats
Ties were on sale for $10, while some shirts were selling for about $40 and jackets ranged in price from around $200 to $500.
Bevilacqua was reeling at the prices in the store Friday, recalling the much higher amounts he paid for the same company's suits in a retail store a few years ago. The clothing brand is popular despite the high costs because they are known as quality items.
That's the key to manufacturing, Bevilacqua said. It has to be quality. That's what separates American manufacturing from the rest of the world, the fact that it's the best in the world.
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Home delivery and Digital Access customers of The Eagle-Tribune get deals for restaurants, hotels, attractions and other businesses, locally and across the country.It embodies a fundamental British attitude toward clothing.......the natural shoulder. This natural shoulder style...with its simpler, cleaner lines, has become a time-honored classic.
Since 1929, Southwick's business philosophy has been firmly grounded in the singular vision of its founders a love of quality and craftsmanship.
Worn by presidents, ambassadors, corporate leaders and other men of distinction who chose Southwick to enhance their own style, not replace it. Southwick Represents understated elegance and quality workmanship
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Mention the name “Southwick” and traditionalists nod in recognition: “authentic American style”, “natural shoulder comfort”, quality and fine fabrics”. Since 1929 Southwick has been dressing discerning customers who appreciate Southwick’s trademark of understated elegance and quality workmanship.
Nicholas and Vito Grieco immigrated to this country from a remote Italian village in the early 1900’s. Hard working and ambitious, they ran a suit-pressing business in Brooklyn, then a successful tailor shop in New York until the outbreak of World War I forced them to close.
Undaunted, they opened a suit business in Massachusetts where they honed their skills as master tailors and experimented with mass production techniques. When that business folded, they worked for another manufacturer until their entrepreneurial zeal propelled them to found Grieco Bros. in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1929.
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Their custom made suits embodied a fundamentally British attitude toward clothing; the natural shoulder philosophy. This was somewhat iconoclastic for the times, as fashion dictated a more exaggerated look; heavy padding at the shoulder, more severe tapering at the waist, deep pleats. While this '20's look becomes trendy from time to time, the natural shoulder style; with its simpler, cleaner lines has become a time-honored classic.
Customers turn to Southwick not just because the look is right, but also because the craftsmanship provides enduring value – an important consideration when investing in a suit.
The roots of the company’s business philosophy are firmly grounded in the singular American vision of its founders – a love of quality and craftsmanship.
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