Tori Richard still expanding, evolving with concept shops

Tori Richard Ltd. is 58 years old and expanding, but not in the same way as the paunches some of its aloha shirts cover.

The company opened its ninth retail store in 10 years June 1 at the Kahala Hotel & Resort.

The 450-square-foot space is, um, petite, but in addition to the traditional racks and hangers, the space is maximized with a "Shirt Bar."

The glass-topped cabinet has rolling shelves full of clothing choices that customers can peruse.

Employees can use the glass top to "lay the shirt out in a more premium environment" so the customer can examine and feel it and compare it with additional choices, as opposed to the usual "how’s that working out for you" spoken through a fitting-room door, said Jason Zambuto, Tori Richard retail general manager.

One benefit of the "Shirt Bar" is that it tends to generate multi-item purchases.

The concept first started with Tori Richard’s Outrigger store.

While older stores won’t be retrofitted with the fixture, "I think this has become the standard," so future stores will include them in their design.

The company, long known for upscale aloha shirts for men and Hawaiian wear for women, has evolved and updated itself over the years.

Designer Jessica Burgess has maximized the use of new fabrics for the companies’ garments, one-third of which are still made in Hawaii, Zambuto said. "Very few brands can make the same claim."

Men’s shirts range from $38 for a T-shirt to $150 for a shirt with an embroidered-waves-and-waa design entitled Wayfarer.

Men’s shorts and pants range from $62 to $125.

Women’s tops range from $64 to $208, while shorts and pants run from $78 for shorts to $138 for a jumpsuit, and skirts range from $79 to $298.

Dresses start at $118 and go up to $325 for the Coastal Dot Bettie Dress, which has "high attention to detail," Zambuto said.

"The stitch work and all the individual dots are individually sewn in … at the factory level."

Tori Richard clothing is available in some 2,500 department stores and specialty shops worldwide, and it recently has expanded into what it calls "concept stores."

"It is essentially a Tori Richard concept that a wholesaler will open up," he said. The wholesaler secures the lease and buys merchandise from Tori Richard, "and we send them our bags, hangers, interior design, colors and layout," making it similar to a franchise sort of arrangement.

There are concept stores in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Mashpee Cape Cod, Mass.; and Richmond, Va.

Beyond further expansion of the brand and its availability, what’s next for the company is "elevating the level of retailing," Zambuto said.

He questions why personal shopping services should be reserved for celebrities, because "every customer is special," he said.

"What I really want us to cultivate is … serving our customers at a higher level — not so transactional-focused, but more relationship-focused," he said.

Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.