Few Independent Men’s Stores Survive

Bob Levey beamed with pride one recent Saturday, watching attentively as his young son was fitted for a suit by the able staff at Mel Fox Clothiers in Encino.

Levey remembers, quite clearly, when he brought his other son, Brian, in to buy a suit for his bar mitzvah. Now that son is 31 and could probably, pick out his own clothing sans chaperon.

But that’s not the point.

For the two Leveys and scads of other nattily dressed men throughout the San Fernando Valley, going to Mel Fox’s shop on busy Ventura Boulevard is like visiting a friend. Customers drop by to chat about golf, give updates on family members, maybe pick up some slacks, and listen to Fox tell stories. He’s got a million of ‘em.

A cross between Fred Segal and Henny Youngman, Fox has been a fixture on the Valley retailing scene for the past five decades. Some time this year, he can’t remember if it’s March or April, Fox will mark half a century of selling suits, slacks and shirts while dispensing pearls of wisdom.

And just as time has changed the face of this former newspaperman, so has it changed the face of retailing in the Valley.

Discounters and big-box retailers have moved in and found the Valley a comfortable fit, changing buying patterns among the cash-strapped and bourgeoisie alike. At the same time, the “casual Friday” ideology has spread to the rest of the work week in many offices, offering freedom from the constraints of a jacket and tie and at the same time cutting sales for merchants like Fox--retailers offering higher-end merchandise and the service to back up the sales.

When Fox got into the men’s clothing business after World War II, “men wore clothes,” and clothiers spent time making sure the fit was right.

Today, the ancient pas de deux of merchant and customer is more like a minute waltz--a cash-and-carry operation with scant attention paid to things like customers’ personal lives. Efficient perhaps in its husbandry of time and capital, but hardly the basis for a long-term friendship.

As recently as 20 years ago, there were at least 10 similar shops, said Fox, a New York native who turns 73 next week. Now, he says, there aren’t too many left.

He holds out two fingers to count out the ones that come immediately to mind--Hal’s Men’s Fashions up the street in Encino and Sy Devore in Sherman Oaks. Then he stares at the remaining fingers for a moment, assuming he’ll be able to name more. He can’t.

“I think the Valley is a tough place to do business,” said Fox, alluding to the casual atmosphere on this side of the hill. “I’ve seen many shops come and go.

“These three shops, they’re just about the end of the independents,” he added. “I don’t think there will be many more.”

Of course there are others. But some of the biggest names are gone.

Ron Ross, clothier to the stars and a name synonymous with high-end merchandising in the Valley, has folded--the victim, some said, of a pricing strategy that was out-of-sync with the changing Valley demographics.

Gregory Mills, a vice president with the Marcus & Millichap real estate brokerage, who has an extensive background in retailing, sees changing Valley demographics as a factor in the demise of a number of higher-end stores.

“There’s been a trend, a transition in the last 10 to 15 years from white-collar to more blue-collar” shoppers in the Valley, said Mills, who represented the seller in the $9.8-million sale of the Studio City retail center that once housed Ron Ross.

In response, he said, he’s seen a change in the retailing mix from high-end merchandisers to discounters.

Fox seems almost pleasantly surprised at his longevity, especially since he thinks he was “not cut out to be a men’s clothing guy.”

“I just never thought I’d be that,” said the gregarious host, who professes shyness. “So what am I doing here?”

*

Back in the late 1940s, after he was discharged from the Navy, Fox tried his hand at newspapering, working briefly for The Times and the forerunner of the Daily News. He didn’t like it.

After several other brief vocations, he spotted a store for rent in Sherman Oaks and inquired.

“I didn’t have 10 cents,” Fox recalled. “Thanks to a few manufacturers, philanthropic manufacturers, they helped me to get into the business,” by essentially lending him clothing and accepting payment later.

He had special praise for the late Lou Kass, a benefactor who trusted Fox with enough merchandise to get started.

“It’s been all uphill from there,” said Fox. “Or downhill, I’m not sure which.”

Fox spent about 20 years at the Sherman Oaks store before moving to Encino.

Though his prices are hardly cheap--suits run anywhere from $500 to $1,300--Fox thinks he’s managed to stay ahead of the pack by catering to the needs of a “select few” customers, some of whom, like Levey, have been with him since Day One.

Leonard Freedman, co-owner of Sy Devore’s, thinks the secret is creating a store with personality and offerings that can’t be found among the discounters.

“A lot of stores didn’t keep up with the progressiveness in fashion,” said Freedman, who owns the store with Sy Devore’s niece, Marti. “So they just fell by the wayside.”

Freedman also noted that stores like his and Fox’s get a good deal of business--up to 40% in Freedman’s case--from the entertainment industry.

One day’s receipts at Fox’s shop showed sales to shows including “Melrose Place,” “Diagnosis Murder” and “Beverly Hills 90210.”

If Fox is star-struck, he doesn’t show it, preferring instead to boast of his wife of 50 years, his children, including son Andy who helps run the store, and his grandkids.

Fox won’t say when he’s going to retire, though he has cut down on his work schedule. His wife feels he won’t leave because, secretly, down deep in his heart, he’s really a yenta, “the kind of person who likes to delve into everybody’s life, into everybody’s problem,” he says.

He doesn’t agree with the characterization, but admits that one of the lingering thrills of the business is the face-to-face interaction with his customers.

“Waiting on a man who’s receptive to your ideas, that would be the happiest part of the job,” said Fox.

“I’ve always enjoyed doing business on a one-to-one basis.”

*

As any of my friends can tell you, I’m a discount shopper down to my toes. I’m much more likely to be spotted at Target than at Ann Taylor and delight in showing off my $5 finds.

That approach has its benefits. With the money we’ve saved on clothing, we’ve been able to eat--a quaint custom that we’ve grown to like over the years.

But it has a downside too. I have no 20-year relationship with any merchant of any stripe. There’s no one who will remember when I bought the dress for my daughter’s blessing ceremony or who’ll make note of the fact that my husband hates button-down collars.

Most observers seemed to think that, even with changing demographics, the Valley is still diverse enough to support Mel Fox and Suits-R-Us. I hope so. It would be a shame to see the small independents big-boxed out.

Since I’ve never experienced that level of familial service, I can’t really say that I’d miss it. But I’m just sentimental enough to think that it might be nice.

Valley @ Work runs each Tuesday. Karen Robinson-Jacobs can be reached at Karen.Robinson@latimes.com.