JoS. A. Bank - Quality/Contruction/Pricing Answers

[Piobaire]

I have purchased a sport coat there. After wearing my coat a couple of times, I started to feel like I was getting poked by something in my shoulder. I looked, and it seemed the shoulder was constructed with what amounts to fishing line. What's up with that?

 

[mcmillin]

Originally Posted by azlawstudent

I guess you've never heard of Real Silk...

I guess not. Care to enlighten me?

 

[bowtielover]

No questions just comments. I wish I knew what others probelms were with you guys I have no complaints and haev been a long time shopper of your stores. I just love your travler shirts, saves me several trips to the cleaners and I have a few shirts that are more than 2 years old and still look brand new. How anyone could find something nagative about that is beyond me.

 

[mcmillin]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

I have purchased a sport coat there. After wearing my coat a couple of times, I started to feel like I was getting poked by something in my shoulder. I looked, and it seemed the shoulder was constructed with what amounts to fishing line. What's up with that?

It may have been a "thread" from part of the chest piece. there is a piece that is made of a rough weave of coarse fibers...or, if you had any shoulder alterations performed, the tailor may have used monofilament to reconstruct the seam. My in-store tailor doesn't use it, but some do.

 

[Grenadier]

Originally Posted by mcmillin

I guess not. Care to enlighten me?

It was a non-silk fabric around 20-30 years ago that lost a big trademark fight over its name. It contained neither silk nor any other natural fiber.

 

[tripp]

mcmillin, it's quite a coincidence that i find your post tonight! I'm cleaning out my closet and debating the future of some JAB items in there. I'm a bit of a novice here and wonder indeed about JAB quality. I must say first, tho, I can't understand why everything's so big! I just measured my signature suit jacket point to point; it's bigger than a 1997 Nautica suit my parents bought me when I was in college. (Yes, I'm retiring the Nautica suit.) Now for the signature suit quality: its shoulders already have a waviness in them. This seems suspicious to me; could they be breaking down after just a few months of ownership? The fact that they're too wide for the stated chest size of the jacket might have something to do with it? An executive line jacket in my closet has a bold pattern resembling an Isaia jacket I've seen. You should tell your manufacturer that a bold pattern really needs to line up on the back seam! Shame on me for not checking that before buying, but I thought JAB had higher standards than that! My worst experience was a traveler linen shirt. It split at the elbow, off-seam, after maybe 5 washes. C'mon! It was also 50" wide at the chest - size medium. (I was quite a bit heavier when I bought it.) Needless to say, I feel "had" for paying full price for that shirt! I digress. Will the signature suit last 5+ years with monthly wear?

Thanks and props for taking on this challenge in this forum.

 

[mcmillin]

Originally Posted by azlawstudent

It was a non-silk fabric around 20-30 years ago that lost a big trademark fight over its name. It contained neither silk nor any other natural fiber.

Oh...haha. Well, it's not that...

Sorry I missed your reference.

 

[mcmillin]

Originally Posted by tripp

mcmillin, it's quite a coincidence that i find your post tonight! I'm cleaning out my closet and debating the future of some JAB items in there. I'm a bit of a novice here and wonder indeed about JAB quality. I must say first, tho, I can't understand why everything's so big! I just measured my signature suit jacket point to point; it's bigger than a 1997 Nautica suit my parents bought me when I was in college. (Yes, I'm retiring the Nautica suit.) Now for the signature suit quality: its shoulders already have a waviness in them. This seems suspicious to me; could they be breaking down after just a few months of ownership? The fact that they're too wide for the stated chest size of the jacket might have something to do with it? An executive line jacket in my closet has a bold pattern resembling an Isaia jacket I've seen. You should tell your manufacturer that a bold pattern really needs to line up on the back seam! Shame on me for not checking that before buying, but I thought JAB had higher standards than that! My worst experience was a traveler linen shirt. It split at the elbow, off-seam, after maybe 5 washes. C'mon! It was also 50" wide at the chest - size medium. (I was quite a bit heavier when I bought it.) Needless to say, I feel "had" for paying full price for that shirt! I digress. Will the signature suit last 5+ years with monthly wear?

Thanks and props for taking on this challenge in this forum.

You will notice that our suits have a larger than "normal" shoulder. In most of our customers that serves to help the arm of the suit to hang straighter to your upper arm. If you are noticing "waviness", take your suit back to a JoS. A. Bank store and have it steamed and pressed to see if that helps. (It's a free, lifetime service on all of our garments...usually a 1-day turnaround.) I really am sorry you have a poorly aligned seam on your Exec. Even though it is one of our lower end suits, I haven't noticed that on the few I own.

Regarding the Traveler Linen shirt - first I will say that our sportwear does run pretty large to size. I am 6'2" 280# 50L jacket 42" waist and I only wear an XL in our sportswear - XXL in any other brand. I am guessing small would be a better size for you (and an ego boost? haha). They might be hard to come by in the store, but ask any associate to order it from Direct Connect and it will be at the store in 2 business days (providing it is still available in stock from our distribution center.) With Direct Connect we can order anything that is still in stock...you will pay $5 shipping on orders under $175, but free shipping on anything above that - a savings from ordering it online from home. As for the fabric splitting...you can always take a product that you are unsatisfied with back to the store for a replacement. We really stand behind the quality of our products and will replace any defect within a reasonable time (i.e. if you wore it 5 times...absolutely.) The Wall Street Journal has rated our Traveler dress shirts as the best wrinkle free shirt in the US...and that same process is applied to all of our Traveler products: suit separates, sportshirts, trousers, twill pants, linens, sweaters, etc...if you see "Traveler" on the label, we really believe in it.

If you feel taken advantage of for paying full price for your items, ask your store manager about our Corporate Discount Program. If we enroll your company in the (free) program you will always save at least 20% off regular prices...and have chances to be invited to special National Company Days with even deeper discounts than the public gets. (There's one coming up on May 19th...)

Thanks for the kudos, haha...I am up for the challenge. I will not assert that we are the end all be all of menswear, but dollar for dollar, I haven't found much better.

 

[mcmillin]

Originally Posted by tripp

mcmillin, it's quite a coincidence that i find your post tonight! I'm cleaning out my closet and debating the future of some JAB items in there. I'm a bit of a novice here and wonder indeed about JAB quality. I must say first, tho, I can't understand why everything's so big! I just measured my signature suit jacket point to point; it's bigger than a 1997 Nautica suit my parents bought me when I was in college. (Yes, I'm retiring the Nautica suit.) Now for the signature suit quality: its shoulders already have a waviness in them. This seems suspicious to me; could they be breaking down after just a few months of ownership? The fact that they're too wide for the stated chest size of the jacket might have something to do with it? An executive line jacket in my closet has a bold pattern resembling an Isaia jacket I've seen. You should tell your manufacturer that a bold pattern really needs to line up on the back seam! Shame on me for not checking that before buying, but I thought JAB had higher standards than that! My worst experience was a traveler linen shirt. It split at the elbow, off-seam, after maybe 5 washes. C'mon! It was also 50" wide at the chest - size medium. (I was quite a bit heavier when I bought it.) Needless to say, I feel "had" for paying full price for that shirt! I digress. Will the signature suit last 5+ years with monthly wear?

Thanks and props for taking on this challenge in this forum.

I failed to answer your last question, and I apologize for a 2-post answer. The Sig suits that I have had for ~2 years are wearing fine for me and I tend to wear them at least 3 times a month. I steam/press them when needed, and have them dry-cleaned at the end of each season. I have seen posts on this forum that say a JAB suit needs to be cleaned after each wearing because of wrinkles. Wrinkles do not mean a suit needs to be cleaned. It may need to be pressed, or just need to hang out. The fashion fabric of a suit really never touches the skin, so unless you actually soil it with a spill or other accident, there is no need to dry-clean a suit very often. (Hardcore British clothiers actually recommend never having a suit dry-cleaned unless there is a stain.)

The wools we use (Super 100's-120's for Exec/Sig*) should not have a problem with wrinkling. Wool is naturally pretty wrinkle resistant. I have many of each and I just use a clothes brush to remove the dust/dirt from the day and hang them out of the closet for a day after each wearing and then they are fine - back in the closet for rotation.

*JoS. A. Bank has (for most purposes) stopped using the Super 100's numbers on our suits because there is no test/quality control for governing the use of them. Recently tests have shown that many designer (CK, Boss, etc) brands are vastly overstating their Super 100's numbers. We have moved to a star system.

We have 3 levels available in-store.
2-star=Super 100-110 (Executive)
4 star=Super 110-120 (Signature)
6 star=Super 120-130 (Signature Gold)

In addition to those, we also offer a Signature Platinum line that is a Super 130-150. It is not available in many stores, and not meant for daily wear. A fabric that fine is fairly fragile, requires a lot of care and is meant really for special occasions...something you might wear a few times a year.

 

[mcmillin]

I also thought it might be useful for me to post a progression of our lines...from low to high end...with (current - May '09) prices:

Summer Suits (Poplin/Seersucker) $350-$395

Trio (one jacket with one matching pant and one coordinating pant...wear as a suit or sportcoat and trousers) $595

Business Express* (Suit Separates) ~ Pant + Jacket $550

Executive* ~ $550

Traveler (Suit Separates) ~ Pant + Jacket $695

Signature (Suit Separates)* ~ Pant + Jacket $795

Signature* ~ $795

Signature Gold ~ $1095-$1295

Signature Platinum ~ $1495+

* Similar/Equal quality...different pattern selection

Keep in mind, though, that (as a Corporate Card holder) you will always save at least 20% off of regular prices. Also - right now (through May 25) all of our suits and sportcoats are BOGO (at regular price...no Corporate discount). [and until May 12, you save an extra $100 off of any purchase over $499]

 

[mcmillin]

Originally Posted by JohnGalt

PS: Kudos to the OP, hope you don't get beaten up too badly.

Thanks, HAHA...I'm taking it like a man - like a man that takes it, I guess. damn...

 

[wmmk]

Do you ever have shirts in weird sizes like 14.5/34? I'm gawky as ****.

 

[mcmillin]

Originally Posted by wmmk

Do you ever have shirts in weird sizes like 14.5/34? I'm gawky as ****.

GRR! Our 14.5 stops @ 33.

Come in to one of our stores, though, and try one on...It might work - I hope we can do something for you.

 

[onix]

First, I don't own anything from JAB, so I don't comment on the quality. But here are some reasons that deter me from buying anything from JAB, I hope that you can clear things up: - Pricing practice: Let me use an example to illustrate my point. A blazer costs $500 originally -> with current BOGO deal, I have 2 for $500 -> with $100 off $500, I now have 2 for $400 -> with 20% corporate discount, I now have 2 for $320. That means, the value of the blazer is $160 a piece. In a business POV, I'm pretty sure that you will not sell things at lower price than its value (note that this is not a clearance), so my conclusion is that a blazer at $500 originally is worth maximum $160 only. That's nearly 70% off. Seriously, why don't you set the price at something like $250 or something, unless you just want to set a high price so that when you have a discount, it looks much more impressive. - Your items a produced in many developing countries. There are huge difference of workers' skills here. I can go very long on this since I have lived in one of those countries, but probably no need to.

 

[mcmillin]

Originally Posted by onix

First, I don't own anything from JAB, so I don't comment on the quality. But here are some reasons that deter me from buying anything from JAB, I hope that you can clear things up:
- Pricing practice: Let me use an example to illustrate my point. A blazer costs $500 originally -> with current BOGO deal, I have 2 for $500 -> with $100 off $500, I now have 2 for $400 -> with 20% corporate discount, I now have 2 for $320. That means, the value of the blazer is $160 a piece. In a business POV, I'm pretty sure that you will not sell things at lower price than its value (note that this is not a clearance), so my conclusion is that a blazer at $500 originally is worth maximum $160 only. That's nearly 70% off. Seriously, why don't you set the price at something like $250 or something, unless you just want to set a high price so that when you have a discount, it looks much more impressive.
- Your items a produced in many developing countries. There are huge difference of workers' skills here. I can go very long on this since I have lived in one of those countries, but probably no need to.

First point - you don't get the Corporate Discount on sale prices...we are BOGO right now on Suits and Sportcoats, so you don't get an extra 20% from that. You would get Corporate Discount of 20% off the regular price...if you bought 1 item. If you buy 2 items, you don't get the corporate discount because the sale (BOGO) is a better deal. You do save $100 off any purchase over $499 until 5/12. It's called a "Loss Leader". We hope you come into the store for the great deals (at or under cost) that we advertise, and then buy shirts, ties, accessories that we are still making a profit on.

Luckily, we are the only men's retailer that posted better than expected earnings in 4th quarter of '08 (our best performance of any quarter in the history of the company - since 1905) and we outperformed that already in 1st quarter of '09...all during this recession. We have not radically changed the sales that we offer, but we have more than doubled our advertising budget during the economic downturn. We are not discounting much more than we usually do at this time of year - but we are making ourselves much more visible...advertising on MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXnews, ESPN, etc...

As for the countries that our products are manufactured in...those are many of the same countries that the best fabric mills are in - we use the best workrooms there to assemble our products to save money and keep our prices steady during times that most brands are lowering quality or raising prices...