Well Suited

The back story: The Kuhlmans have both worked as manufacturer’s reps, Scott beginning with Joseph Abboud, though he’s been in the garment biz since he could ring a register. Two years ago, Scott had a brilliant idea: translate to the States the shirt-and-tie boutiques that dot European street corners, the way Starbucks dots American city-scapes. He had connections with fabric mills, manufacturers, and a vision of exquisitely tailored shirts and ties in bold colors, fine textures, and fabrics. He took his idea to a regional department store shirt-and-tie buyer.

“All the guy cared about was if they were ‘wrinkle free,’ ” Kuhlman remembers. “It was July 17. I picked up the phone and ordered the shirts myself.” Within that week, Scott and Susan created a logo, overnighted garment labels to Europe, found a storefront within Gaviidae, gave it a quick paint job, borrowed rolling garment racks, and set up shop. And priced their merchandise at blow-’em-out-the-door prices: shirts, $55; ties, $39. “We sold thirty-two shirts our first day,” says Scott.

These “off-the-cuff decisions,” as Susan semijokes, are as much a part of the brand as the actual merchandise. Within months, they added five more stores—all on the West Coast—and had added pants and jackets to their line. By February, a customer offering capital approached the Kuhlmans, so they created a plan for 100 stores. By spring, retail analysts were calling. “We had no idea these people existed,” Scott says of the execs. “They told us we had to think bigger.” Four hundred stores bigger.

The beauty is multilayered. Entrepreneurial spirit, good taste, and manufacturing connections married with guts, a little flash, and a solid pricing strategy equals Kuhlman. Scott and Susan personally design the collections that now include women’s clothing and has expanded to offer trousers, skirts, suits, sweaters, and accessories. While the apparel is upscale, the pricing is moderate, ranging from $45 for Italian silk ties to $55 to $75 for tailored shirts. Suits start at $395.

“We know what we like,” says Susan. “And we know what we wear.” The two ooze the Kuhlman look—think Ralph and Ricky Lauren, with a hip European twist. They constantly travel abroad to hand-select fabrics and make on-the-spot alterations to design patterns. Scott also buys small quantities of fine fabrics from remote mills—a move that helps keep prices on target and also creates limited editions (as few as fifty shirts), which aren’t made available at all stores. “Every store is treated like a boutique,” says Susan.

They are on pace to achieve sixty stores in seventeen states and DC by January—and an additional thirty-eight stores in 2006. Plus, they recently created a street-smart sibling store, SK2 (within Calhoun Square, locally), offering a more casual, fashion-forward selection. “Think Dolce & Gabbana,” says Scott.

Besides the new flagship store in Galleria, the Kuhlmans have plans for a European–style lifestyle store on Hennepin Avenue next to the Pantages, which will open later this year. “We will always be changing,” Susan says of the evolving inventory. “We’re consistently inconsistent. We want our customers to be pleasantly surprised each time they come in.”