Glens Falls Business Journal
By Rod Bacon
A haberdashery that has kept men looking their best for over 60 years has a new location.
J. Reid Menswear is now at 174 Glen Street in Glens Falls, just two doors away from where they’ve been serving customers for the past five years.
“It’s important that I stay on Glen Street,” said owner Jeffrey Ives. “This store is a small business that specializes in serving the community.”
Ives purchased the multi-story building, which previously housed the local office of Albany-based Aeon Nexus Corporation, for $750,000. He worked with Leslie D’Angelico and Zane Smith at Arrow Financial Corporation on the small business loan. His real estate agent was Christine McKee of Hunt Real Estate ERA.
Improvements were done by Argyle-based StraightUp Concrete & Renovations, owned by Jack Ash.
The menswear company was founded in 1965 by Seymour Segan as Jonathan Reid, named after his son, Jonathan Reid Segan. The store was located in Queensbury’s Northway Plaza. In 1975, he opened a store in Saratoga Springs’ Pyramid Mall and soon after relocated his original store to the Aviation Mall. Throughout the 1980s and ‘90s he expanded his business to include 12 stores in New York state, Vermont, and Massachusetts. The elder Segan retired in 1994 and turned the business over to his son, who downsized it to focus on the Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs markets.
“Within six months of starting work I knew I was going to buy it,” said Ives, who joined the company in 2000. “I didn’t know when and I didn’t know how, but I knew I was going to. So I started keeping a log of everything that worked and everything that didn’t. I did that for fifteen years so the day I bought it I was ready. I knew exactly what I wanted to do.”
In August 2015, he purchased the business for $160,000.
The first thing he did was close the Saratoga Springs store. He explained that since he had worked for years in more than the flagship store he had built up a strong following among men who wanted his expertise when it came to dressing for success.
“I was essentially competing against myself,” he said. “People in Saratoga were coming to Glens Falls looking for me.”
While he has five employees to handle the day-to-day tasks, Ives does all the buying for the store. He carries men’s suits and accessories with labels like Maxman, Manzini Uomo, Mantoni, London Fog, and Florsheim, and stays abreast of changing fashion trends. Over the years he has added chinos, jeans and sweaters to accommodate those who want a more casual look. Suits cost between $295 and $795. Shirts and ties run around $50 and shoes around $140.
Ives takes pride in the fact that customers get personal attention. He has trained his staff to emulate the approach to customer service he has developed over the years.
“Some of my customers don’t know exactly what they’re looking for so we collaborate and I make suggestions based on what he needs the clothing for, the price, and quality of the garments,” he said.
While he and his staff custom fit the purchases, master tailor Karen Hamel, who has been with the company for 40 years, does all alterations on-site.
The store also offers tuxedo rentals through Tuxedo By Sarno, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. From April through Halloween they deliver tuxedos five days a week.
“I probably rent 2,500 tuxes a year,” Ives said.”
He also has them for sale, which are supplied by one of the companies from which he gets his suits.
For years, J. Reid Menswear was the official clothier of the men’s basketball coaching staff at Siena University. When head coach Jamion Christian took a similar job at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, he continued to patronize the shop.
“I drive to Rhode Island and suit up his staff,” Ives said. “The relationship is the same, he just moved to a different team.”
Ives believes in giving back to the community that has supported him through the years. He donates to the Adirondack Thunder, the Charles R. Wood Theater, the Adirondack Theater Festival and The Open Door Mission.
He is very positive about the future of Glens Falls.
“I think the city has experienced a great revitalization over the past several years,” he said. “There is a commitment to bringing businesses back to downtown.”
As for the future, he has no immediate plans to grow beyond his store on Glen Street but he hasn’t ruled anything out.
“I think there are opportunities south of Glens Falls, and I might explore them later,” he said.
Ives, who grew up in Fort Edward, earned a degree in psychology from Siena University and later a graduate degree from The College of St. Joseph in Rutland, Vermont.
In addition to operating the menswear shop he collaborates with the New York State Department of Corrections doing psychological evaluations of inmates.
For further information about how J. Reid Menswear can help you dress for success, log on to jreidmenswear.com.