by Evan Wise
Levy’s Menswear of Nashville, TN recently celebrated its 155th anniversary in the menswear business. The owner, David Levy, has been a client of Management One® and Tom Licking (Tucson, AZ) for twelve years. Evan Wise interviewed David and learned about Levy’s over the years.
Levy’s in Nashville has been taking chances and making them work since Zadoc Levy bought some fabric and opened a dry goods and tailor shop in 1855. To put that in perspective, Franklin Pierce was president and Abraham Lincoln was still a lawyer in Illinois! Imagine running a tailor shop on a dirt road that turned to mud in the rain and at a time when an outhouse was a luxury that many did not have. Zadoc overcame the obstacles of the day and kept the shop going through the Civil War and the Reconstruction afterwards.
Taking chances and making them work is the continued story of Levy’s. The Levy family went on to survive two world wars and the Great Depression. Zadoc’s sons, grandsons, great grandsons and finally David Levy, his great great grandson, took over the store in 1998. During that time span, the Levy’s overcame generational challenges, family difficulties, several large floods and great cultural change. In 1962, a water main burst and flooded the basement of the store. Fortunately it only ruined a storeroom full of old goods for the sidewalk sale. The insurance company bought out the sale goods that year!
Changing styles created challenges as well. “When lapels suddenly got smaller in the 70s, we ended up selling off a million dollars of inventory at half cost. People still come in and brag on the great deals that weekend,” David recalls. He remembers when leisure suits made retailing difficult as the look became more casual. “How do we sell suits now?” David posits and explains the preppy days kept people from replacing their wardrobe – but then along came the Italians to reinvent the luxury clothing market. “We took an early risk with Ermenegildo Zegna, however it paid off.”
Levy’s grew to several branch stores but as people were able to travel more easily, the decision was made to consolidate to one store in Green Hills. “We were transferring goods daily from the downtown store, where the merchandise was not selling, to our current location, where it was flying off the shelves! Focusing on one store made sense, but the challenge of getting out of leases and dealing with our bank to make it work made surviving this current recession look like a cakewalk. We really had to balance our cash then!
David took a risk and bought out his cousin, placing full responsibility on his own shoulders. ”As far as I know, I am the only family member since Zadoc to purchase stock from the corporation and family,” he explains.
Evan Wise is an owner of Management One, a retail and business consulting service.
