A men’s clothing store in Rock Island is getting a new start with a new storefront location, new inventory and, it hopes, new customers.
Big T Wear Big & Tall Clothing hosted a grand re-opening on Saturday, May 6, at its Shoppes on Second storefront in downtown Rock Island at 1700 Second St. (The store is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.)
“It’s been fun this past year. You meet people from all walks of life. … It’s definitely been a learning experience, finding out what people need,” said Anthony Jones, who, along with his partner DeAnna Freeman-Foster, owns Big T.
The celebration came on the first anniversary of the business opening. However, the grand re-opening was much more than a first-year-in-business festival. Big T also was celebrating these developments:
- A new location: Saturday was the first day the clothing store was open in its new storefront at Shoppes on Second. The business opened last year in a storefront near the back of the building. The new site in the same building is larger, more prominent and at the front of the building so customers have easier access to the business.
- Many new accessories: In addition to clothing, the store now offers a wide variety of accessory items such as watches, jewelry, bay rum soap, aftershave, key chains, baseball-style hats with many different designs and much more.
- New clothing sizes: When Big T opened last year, it was a store that focused on clothing sizes and styles for larger men. But in the past few months, customers have been coming into the store and looking for clothing in smaller sizes. Gradually, Big T has been bringing in and stocking some of those smaller sizes.
But it’s still the larger sizes of clothing that appears to bring in the most customers. Mr. Jones said the shop attracts customers from as far as Burlington and Iowa City in eastern Iowa as well as Peoria, Illinois, and many other cities. Not too long ago, a man from Georgia went to Big T’s website and ordered several 7XL T-shirts. (The Big T website advertises clothing sizes from medium to 7XL.)
“It’s been going good. … The word has been getting out on social media that we are here,” Mr. Jones added. (Big T’s Facebook page often has updates on the business.)
In addition to social media messages, Big T used some in-store marketing Saturday through a new mascot to help reach customers. Ms. Freeman-Foster put on a bear costume and became “Teddy,” the new mascot for Big T. “Teddy” even became a sales associate as she pointed out a flashing blue light in the store to highlight some merchandise.
“We brought back the blue light. Everything on these shelves is ‘on special,’” Ms. Freeman-Foster told a customer.
In addition to having fun with a bear costume and making sales, there was a serious side to Saturday’s celebration. Ms. Freeman-Foster and Mr. Jones used the day to help the Soles For Children drive to collect shoes, coats, hats, socks and mittens for children. Those donated items will be given away from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Rock Island. During the opening hour of the grand re-opening, several donations were made to the Soles For Children drive.
Mr. Jones looked over some of the new accessories display of aftershaves and soaps and said he was happy with the first year in business, but was hoping for more success in the coming years.
“Our goal is to turn this into a one-stop shop, and you’ll smell pretty good with our accessories,” he added.
