Paul Fredrick is marking its 40th anniversary with a limited-edition collection made in America and a second brick-and-mortar store, set to open at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J., later this week. The company, now majority owned by ClearLight Partners, has expanded from a dress-shirt specialist into a broader menswear label.
Its history reaches back further than 1986. The business traces to Fleetwood Shirt Co., a Pennsylvania private-label dress-shirt maker founded by Lenny Abrams in 1951. Abrams' son-in-law Paul Sacher launched Paul Fredrick in 1986, using his first and middle names, to sell the company's shirts directly to consumers.
Today Paul Fredrick offers dress shirts, suits, sport coats, trousers, knitwear, outerwear, shoes and accessories. Erica Lee, formerly with FullBeauty, became CEO in June 2024. Her team includes chief marketing officer Jordan Hauser, who previously worked at FullBeauty and Macy's, and chief merchandising officer Stephan Detwiler, whose background includes Brooks Brothers, Michael Kors and Coach.
Dress shirts are available in more than 50 sizes across classic, tailored and slim fits, along with tailoring in a range of fabrics and sizes. Prices remain moderate: three shirts retail for $199, most suits for $698, a wool-blend bomber for $399 and a navy leather version for $799.
Most of the business remains online, but Paul Fredrick opened its first store last year at Town Center at Boca Raton in Florida. Lee said Florida was chosen because of a strong customer base and an available space that made economic sense. She said the store is performing well financially and providing valuable feedback on physical retail; the company is encouraged but wants to learn while expanding responsibly.
Hauser said the goal was to get the model right in a smaller market before entering a larger area such as Paramus, a New York City suburb. He described trying new formats before scaling into more expensive urban locations as a learning opportunity.
Lee said opening stores has been overdue, since growth requires more distribution and awareness. While customers love the brand, many people have yet to discover it, and the company is pursuing different ways to bring it to life, she said.
The 40th anniversary collection is a limited-run, elevated offering made entirely in America and inspired by the 1920s. Hauser described the inspiration as the working-class version rather than the Gilded Age. Paul Fredrick worked with three domestic factories: Rochester Tailored Clothing in New York for suits and sport coats, Gitman Bros. in Tennessee for shirts, and Brown & Church in North Carolina for neckwear.
The collection includes Donegal wools, awning stripes, statement plaids and houndstooths. Dress shirts use natural cotton and are assembled from 25 pieces through more than 50 individual steps, with hand-set collars and cuffs and seams at 18 stitches per inch. Ties are made from silk or silk blends, slip-stitched and hand-finished.
Prices are above the core line: a hopsack or Donegal blazer is $1,500, trousers are $500, Bengal stripe or houndstooth dress shirts are $350 and ties are $200. The collection is sold online and will also be available at the Garden State Plaza store.
Since its late-September launch, Lee said the company has been very happy with the response. It was uncertain how many shoppers would buy at the higher price point, but the company has been pleased to see a mix of new and longtime customers. Loyal customers have put a $350 shirt or $200 tie in the same basket as a $69 sale shirt, she said. The $2,000 Donegal suit has been among the bestsellers, followed by a plaid jacket and a blue striped shirt with a white club collar.
Lee said the team is proud of the product and believes it deserves to be seen in person, adding that it feels different when brought to life in a physical environment. Hauser said the stores are meant to create genuine human connection, which he considers important in today's digital media landscape; digital can build connections, but stores offer another touch point.
The stores will not be identical. Boca Raton has a more lifestyle-oriented approach, with a focus on products beyond dress shirts. At Garden State Plaza, dress shirts will be more prominent, including shoppable cubbies organized by size; tailored clothing will be at the back, and there will be four fitting rooms and a seating area. Lee said Boca sells a lot of tailored and other categories, while Garden State was designed to show more category merchandising.
Dress shirts account for about half of overall sales, with knitwear and tailored clothing performing slightly better in physical locations. Paul Fredrick also ran a Washington, D.C., pop-up for nine months last year.
Lee said physical retail is an important part of the company's future, though there are no concrete plans for additional units right now. The company is in learning mode and wants to be responsible, since stores can be costly if opened too quickly; it is proceeding one at a time.
Sources: WWD.