Declining sales of suits and formal office wear have helped prompt the owner of Wellington menswear retailer Farrys to close its doors for good, after 30 years – and ending a legacy dating back 129 years.
When the business stops trading in November, it will mark more than the end of an era for the capital city retailer: Owner Gerard Farry is the grandson of Gabriel Farry who sold clothing door to door after moving from Lebanon to Dunedin in 1892.
“My father once told me that if I ever stopped selling suits that it was time to get out, so I’m doing as I’m told,” Gerard Farry told Stuff.
At one point the Farry family owned stores in Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Gore and Invercargill which meant Gerard grew up in the rag trade.
But there was also a more personal reason behind the decision to close: his brother Seba died earlier this year and Farry said it felt like the right time to close the store and pursue other business interests after a well-earned break.
While it might seem trendy to blame Covid for retail industry closures, Farry says the pandemic merely accelerated a trend towards office workers shunning suits and ties for more casual workwear which was already evident beforehand.
A few years back, Farry was selling three or four suits each day – but in recent times, his trade became skewed more to casual pants, jeans and shirts.
“It’s the casualisation of work and we’re in the business to sell suits,” Farry told Stuff.
- Images: Farrys Facebook site.
