Meet Our Stockist: M. Dumas & Sons

Walking down King Street in Charleston, South Carolina with the palm trees and historic buildings, it is an image of the quintessential southern charm that many see in postcards or movies.  While on this walk, you can also find M. Dumas & Sons which is another Charleston staple, as it has been transforming men into gentlemen for 102 years. M. Dumas & Sons has evolved over the years with fashion but one thing that has not changed is the dedication to a great experience while shopping.  Inside the store at the corner of King and Society Street, you will find a relaxed atmosphere where you can relax, have a beer, and speak with the knowledgeable staff while not feeling as though you must buy something. Sales associates will make sure you look your best while in the store but will also go the extra mile to make sure you are satisfied.  M. Dumas & Son is a store that is uniquely Charleston and we are so proud to have Fulton & Roark in the store.  Below is our conversation with the store's president, and all around retail genius, Gary Flynn. 

Everyone in the men’s fashion industry speaks about M.Dumas with almost reverential tones. Clearly, you have the respect of your peers and lots of love from customers.  What do you think it is about your store that makes it so well-loved? 

Well, being around 102 years is part of it.  Being in Charleston, being on King Street, and in a really great address and a great location--we see a lot of people walking through our doors as a result of that.  Charleston has got a lot of tourism and we benefit greatly from that so we get a lot of bodies through our store but our job is not only to get them in the door but what we do with them once they are here.

Our target customer guy is a busy guy and when he’s home, he just doesn’t carve out time for himself to go shopping.  So, when he’s on vacation and he’s down on King Street killing some time and he comes into our store he goes “Okay, maybe this is a good time to start doing some shopping for myself.”  So that is all a part of it. The last piece is just kind of the vibe we try to create in the store. It’s fun, it’s lighthearted, there is music pumping, there’s a bar cart, there is “Hey, do you want a beer or water?” We are trying to make people feel comfortable when they’re in the store.  It’s a multifaceted reason why I think people like our store. They like our team, and they like our approach.  

We’re not a hard sell store, and we are here to make sure the customer gets what’s right for them, not what we want to sell them.

Being on King Street, what are the ways in which you incorporate the distinct southern style and charm associated with Charleston? 

One of the first things is being friendly.  The South is known for being courteous, being friendly, for just being pleasant.  We want to make sure that comes across. The other part that you would expect from a southern store is a southern vibe in the way that our clothing mixes.  So we have got some bright colors and some conversational pieces. We’re listening to what the customer is looking for and trying to provide that southern appeal and yet I’d say equally though, in the last three years, we’ve worked really hard at trying to not just be a southern store.  

We have so many people that come to us from all over America and all over the world and because we are getting 45 people a day moving to the greater Charleston looking for what they’re used to and if we don’t provide you with something more updated, modern, or cool, you’re probably going to go somewhere else.  So, that’s the current evolution that we are going through--trying to pull ourselves away from the seersucker suit store or the preppy store to the cool, modern, not-too-forward...but paying attention and moving forward kind of store.  If you come into our store we want you to see the brands that are relevant and current now, not necessarily what was 10 years ago.

If you have, in what ways have you worked with locals in Charleston?

Charleston is a very event-driven town which helps drive our tourism.  The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) is a big event that we partner with and we always put puppies in our window that you can come in and adopt.  It’s a thing that we have done for the last 30 years and it creates a lot of buzz and excitement and we find homes for every puppy that we put in our window.  We work with the SEWE people that way. We also collaborate with women’s stores around Christmas or Mother’s Day and have them do a pop-up shop in our store. So when a guy is out shopping for himself, he gets a reminder to shop for his mom, or his wife, or whoever and you can do that here.  So then it is also when you’re taking care of her, don’t forget to take care of yourself and by the way, have a beer and let’s hang out for a while. So we’re constantly trying to work with the other stores that have been around 100 years or more. The century club kind of looks out for each other and we try to help each other and collaborate where we can.  King Street just can’t turn into a mall. We want to make sure that tourists and locals don’t feel they are just going to any other mall. We have to protect the charm and heritage that is on King Street with some of us locals who have been at it for a long time. We are constantly looking out for each other to make sure everyone survives and succeeds.

It seems that many of your clients may be tourists but many also may be locals who have been in Charleston for years.  How do you balance the different wants and needs of local customers versus visitors?

That’s always a challenge as you try to stay relevant and current is you don’t want to leave anybody behind.  What I would consider the more traditional, long-term customer at Dumas, we hear quite a bit that they come in and say “This isn’t the same old Dumas anymore” and part of me takes pride in that and part of me says “Well, we still have a lot of things that you like so let me sure that you see those things.”  It’s a constant reminder to not go too far too fast. Ideally, we’re just gaining more customers, we’re not losing some along the way. We put a $2 million renovation into the store three years ago to make it look fresh, new, and inviting and to get it out of the 1990’s and some guys kind of relish what it used to look like.  

There is that danger of losing people along the way and we try to educate people that we are the same store and you can still shop here just as much as you used to but just realize though that the fashions have changed and we need to educate you on what’s happening today versus what we used to sell a lot of.

We have heard time and time again about the exceptional customer service people experience while shopping at M. Dumas & Sons.  How would you say your sales associates separate yourselves from other stores?

It starts with the idea that we care about the customer and we care about how they look.  It’s a challenging thing to execute in a commission-based environment so when you’re people are paid more by how much more they sell, the natural inclination is to sell as much as I can to every person that comes in the door.  You gain a customer’s trust when you tell them if something is not the piece for them or it’s not the right look, fit, and you’d rather them not buy that from us today and not buy anything than sell something to them that’s not right for them.  

We also work really hard at trying to stay connected to those customers when they’re not here as 50% of our business is tourism.  With this, we have to find ways to stay connected with them when they’re not here. The staff works really hard at trying to reach out by phone and send text messages, send pictures, and stay connected so people still feel like they’re a part of what we are doing here and that goes a long way.   At the end of the day, nobody needs to come here to shop or any store when you could go online so if we have to give them a connection, reason, or experience that is more valuable than their time. If we don’t give the customer a reason to want to be in the store, they won’t come.

Additionally, there are a handful of customers that are really into fashion that we have taken with us to New York and gone into the showrooms with the brands and shown them what is coming six months from now and have them help pick out what they want from us six months from now.  Now, that’s a cool experience you’re not going to get at other stores so it’s trying to think of ways to bring Dumas to customers or make them realize that we value them and we are willing to do some unusual things.

Over the years, in what ways have you seen southern fashion evolve?  Has the view of southern fashion changed in your eyes?

To me, it’s moved away from having to be preppy and having to be southern.  It is still hot and humid here so there is that element in the south you need to have relevant products: cool, lightweight, light colors, or brighter colors, lots of shorts, lots of short-sleeved shirts.  Today’s current version of that has a lot of technical fabrics so we are trying to capitalize on things that try to keep you cool, or things that are easy to take care of, or things that are wash and wear.  There’s got to be some sort of added value to a portion of our clothing so that has been a cool trend we have been trying to take advantage of. The other part is going in a more luxurious way. Trying to get some premium or luxury brands into the store.  Especially on the more dressier side of the store so we’ve brought in more of an Italian influence and mix of brands that we’ve had in the past.

How does Fulton & Roark fit your store and clientele? 

Again, nobody needs anything but if you give them a reason to want it then that’s when you get their attention.  Nobody comes to my store looking for a solid fragrance but if we can give them a reason or show them something cool and something they can tell their friends about then they’ll say “Sure, throw a couple of those in my bag, that’s a great idea.”  That’s true for a sports shirt or a new fabric you have to have some reason that somebody wants something because they don’t need it and I think Fulton & Roark does a great job of creating something that’s just a little bit different.

For men who want to add a bit of Charleston charm to their style, how would you recommend they get started? 

Charleston is a slightly dressier town than you might think.  The Charleston uniform today is a beautiful conversational sport coat with a fun sports shirt, probably open collar, a five pocket semi-casual bottom, and a great loafer with maybe a fun sock or just a naked ankle.  That’s the current uniform and look so if you want to adopt yourself to being in the southern Charleston style, I’d start there. After that, it would just be color.