Menswear shop prepares for return of customers
Before he was forced to close the doors March 25, Andy Mahbubani's clothing store was doing some of its best business.
When GQ Fashions Fine Menswear reopens for limited hours Saturday, he hopes customers return. But the pessimism is hard to avoid.
“Our business model was working out in a way where we were seeing double-digit growth from 2019 to 2020,” Mahbubani said. “So now going forward, it's going to make it really difficult for us to maintain what we have.”
GQ Fashions spent the entire month of April temporarily closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Gov. Kevin Stitt's Safer at Home policy that shuttered nonessential business. Mahbubani broke the news to his employees shortly before Stitt gave the order.
“I was facing a lot of pressure from my family and some of my friends for shutting down, and we were having some backlash from our customers. But as things progressed, they slowly understood the gravity of the situation,” he said.
Unfortunately for the family-run business at 3525 NW 23 Street, April is also its strongest month for sales.
School proms were canceled alongside classes. Large weddings and funerals were shut down. The Easter Sunday crowd had nowhere to go, and no need for a new suit or tuxedo.
“The combination of missing out on all those things, we just missed 25% of our business between March and April,” Mahbubani said.
Stitt's executive order expires Friday, allowing retail stores like GQ Fashions to begin accepting customers again. Mahbubani spent Thursday preparing for the reopening by cleaning every surface of the store, replacing air filters and nailing down policies to ensure his customers and staff stay healthy.
Like many shops throwing open their doors again, he will
limit the number of customers allowed inside at one time. Customers and employees will have their temperature checked as they enter, and they must wear their own mask or one provided by the store.
Mahbubani's ninemember staff, which includes his mother and father, will disinfect the checkout area after every transaction. He's also temporarily halting returns and exchanges, and will put every piece of clothing that's tried on through a steamer.
“We're probably going to end up sending it to the back and letting it settle for 24 hours,” he said.
It's all part of an effort to alleviate his main concern, making sure his customers are happy and the staff is taken care of. During the five- week temporary closure, Mahbubani said the hardest part was being separated from his employees.
“We have a very good relationship with our staff. We treat them like family, and they consider us family as well,” he said.
But will the customers return? Personal care services like hair and nail salons will probably see a rush of business, Mahbubani said, but retail could still suffer the effects of a public wary to venture into the marketplace again.
“There's a lot of fear,” he said. “I think we have a serious economic problem on our hands.”