Q Clothier and Rye 51, a favorite Men’s store of ours from West Ave. celebrated it’s newest location at Heights Mercantile recently. It was an Introduction of it’s newest shop concept which it is rolling out, to other cities, Rye and Q are brought together in ONE space
Q Clothier and Rye 51, curator of Fine Menswear and one of the landmark stores from Upper Kirby’s West Ave opening days has branched out with an outpost in the new, hip and up and coming Heights Mercantile Development by Steve Radom. Their newest location is a “prototype”, says General Manager, Brian Kreps, for their expansion plans going forward. Once developed as two connected but separate shopping spaces, the founder/owner, Raja Ratan, has made the new concept to encourage ease of shopping by showcasing in the front of the store, it’s Rye 51 mix of his own designed brand, as well as other well-known high end names such as J. Brand, Gimos’s and Billy Jealousy. The anchor of the store’s new concept is the Q Clothier custom wall where endless options for fine customization are provided.
When asked the secret of what has Q Clothier and Rye 51 continuing to grow its brick-and-mortar business in this age of digital ascension in retail, Second Generation Fine Clothier, Raja Ratan, responded, “Approximately 98% of sales are still done in person and I’m not regretful. Our focus is service and making our clients have a really unique experience. It’s tough to do that online. We are the kind of company that prefers to drive to a customer and help them at their home or office if they don’t have time to come in. We do this on a daily basis.”
Rye 51
Q Clothier
Welcoming Crowd at Grand Opening Party
Founder/Owner of Q Clothing and Rye 51, Raja Ratan and wife, Irena Ratan
General Manager of Q Clothing/Rye 51 at Heights Mercantile and West Ave. locations….Brian Kreps and wife, Adrian Kreps
Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl and Matt Johns
Todd Fiscus, Marnie Greenwood and Ceron
Yuri Curtis
The future looks bright for Q Clothier and Rye 51. Despite the winds of change, more stores are in the works. This menswear retailer continues to double down on its modern brand of classic style with locations in Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia. However, Ratan, as private owner, does not feel pressure to expand too rapidly. When asked where would be the logical next step for him, he quickly responded that California feels the most logical….makes sense to me!
The Heights Mercantile location in Houston is 642 Yale Street, Suite B. For more information, please visit their sites at www.qclothier.com and www.rye51.com
Event photos by Daniel Ortiz Photography