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Local spotlight merchant: Suspender market is holding up well as this Southfield company expects sales to hit $1.5 million in '04 By Neal Haldane / Special to The Detroit News SOUTHFIELD — Huey Lewis sang “It’s hip to be square.” Sal Herman’s has taken a square product, suspenders, and found a niche market of people who don’t have the hips to wear belts and made it into a real fashion statement. “I was a suspender wearer and suspenders have a tendency to slip because of metal
fatigue, especially when you bend over” he said. “I came up with a better
mousetrap.” Herman started tinkering with “Hardware stores carry the work suspenders, sporting goods stores carry the camouflage ones and tuxedo stores carry the dress ones,” Herman said. “These are not large department-type stores. These are, for the most part, owner-operator stores. The Kmarts and Wal-Marts won’t touch this. They tend to lean toward the lower-priced product.” Herman’s suspenders, available on the Internet, too, typically sell for between $20 and $40, much more than the discount-store varieties that sell for $10 or less. But even at those prices, Herman expects sales to reach $1.5 million this year. “I started carrying them since I saw the line,” said Stewart Shifman, owner of Stewart’s Menswear in Waterford Township. “They answered a problem in the market.” Customers appreciate the guarantee, knowing that if the snaps break, they will be repaired, he said. “I sell at least a dozen a month to all age groups,” he said. “People who have lost weight buy them. That’s a new market for suspenders. Also, guys who buy a sport coat or a suit want a little flair to go with them love the snap on new fashion look. We carry other brands, but we always push Holdups. They just work as advertised.” Herman has high expectations for a new line of jeans, called Sloops, designed to fit the typical suspender-wearer, someone with no hips and no rear end. “Companies that make pants never address these guys. When I buy pants, I end up with a big tent in the back,” he said. “These pants have no belt loops, relaxed front and a tighter seat. If you do have hips, these won’t fit you.” and you should order 1" inch wider in the waist size to get a perfect fit. At $50 a pair, the new pants will complement the suspender line, but Herman doesn’t expect teenagers and young adults with their penchant for baggy pants that hang low to buy Sloops or suspenders. “That’s their style,” he said. Herman started tinkering with suspender clips in the 1990s. He created a new design and patented his clip, which is guaranteed not to slip, slide or pop off your pants. ...Read the full article and post your votes and comments Neal Haldane is a Metro Detroit free-lance writer.
By LAURA ANGUS , Oakland County Michigan SOUTHFIELD - Sal Herman has been an entrepreneur since 1975 but had a problem with his wardrobe. His suspenders always slipped as the conventional pressure clasps just wouldn't stay put . So, more than 10 years ago, he invented and Patented the No-Slip Suspender Clip and in 1996 opened the HoldUp Suspender Co. He never intended to get into menswear but "just happened to wear suspenders that didn't work," he said. "I wasn't really in that industry (the clothing industry)," he said. "So I was new into all of it." In the early 1990s, he built several prototypes for the No-Slip Clip, which features a center pin that pierces the fabric and locks the waistband without damaging the pants. It carries a lifetime guarantee. It took him six years to develop the idea into a commercial product, after working to find USA manufacturers and top quality materials for his line of men's suspenders.Herman continued developing ideas for suspender wearers like himself. His next invention was the Double-Up, which provides for more stylish suspender-wear. He said it's a very hot product now, bringing in about 25 percent of the company's sales. "Suspenders don't have a good look when it comes to aesthetics," he said. According to Sal Herman the new Double-Up line looks like a button-on brace, but uses his dual no-slip suspender clips. He said it provides a much dressier and classier look than normal suspenders without the hassles of sewing on pant/suspender buttons. His third invention, Sloops, are jeans specially made for the typical suspender wearer. Herman said he and many other suspender wearers do not have hips that hold up their pants. Because of their lack of hips, they don't fill out standard jeans and tightly cinched belts are of no real help.
"Nobody ever made pants that are directed to this physique." He said Sloops are not for everyone, but they are selling very well. Sloops do not have belt loops and have a higher waistband, a relaxed front and a tighter seat. He recommends all customers order Sloops Jeans 1" more then their normal jean waste size to really enjoy the comfort of wearing these jeans with suspenders. In distributing these inventions, HoldUp Suspender Co. does not have its own storefront, but has products in more than 2,100 stores across the country and in their online shop since 1997. The company is housed in an office in Southfield, which is also the home of Herman's other business of Mobile hearing test labs for industrial manufacturing plants . The company's suspenders are stored in a warehouse in the back of the office complex. "It's grown tremendously ... and growing," he said. HoldUp Suspender Co. started as a mail-order company, marketing to only individual customers. Herman said that two years later, in 1998, he started working to get his products in stores. Now, products are also sold online at www.suspenders.com. The company doesn't sell through big chains, said Herman. HoldUp's prices are on the expensive side because it offers premium quality materials in all their suspender products. Herman said he would like his company to continue growing. Around Christmas, he intends to start selling silk Double-Up suspenders, as well as black Sloops jeans, along with our 180 styles and colors of suspenders. Holdup Suspenders in the News! click to enlarge articles |
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Yamamoto and Armani showed braces on their catwalks, while this season Sonia Rykiel,
Moschino, Neil Barrett and Alexander McQueen joined their number. The vogue for suspender
braces may seem strange: they are more fiddly to put on than the simple belt and are
regarded by some as rather flashy and, by others, old-fashioned. Besides, the product has
barely evolved since the Y-shape arrangement across the back was adopted during the 1850s
(it replaced the X-back, which itself replaced the H-back).
slipping off their pants.
Max Ortiz / The Detroit News.... Sal Herman, president of Holdup Suspender Co.,
says his firm offers 160 styles and colors of suspenders featuring the patented "no
slip" clip. More than 2,200 retailers carry his product line, Herman says. The
suspenders cost between $20 and $40.
 Detroit NEWs ARTICLE - Thursday, December 30, 2000  |
Ergonomic Benefits of Suspenders:
Posture’s Unsung Hero Posture is the body’s natural balancing act. Without good
posture, various health problems can occur. Self-image also can suffer, since good posture
makes a person stand taller and look more confident. Some people do not realize that
suspenders, which were the primary method of holding up pants until the early 1900s, have
the added benefit of improving posture. We use our muscles reflexively to balance ourselves when we sit, stand, sleep or work. Our bodies would fall forward without muscles pulling us back. When your body is balanced, it is self-supporting and requires very little help from your back muscles. Taking strain off of your back can help to avoid many injuries. This can become especially important in certain types of jobs or activities. With correct posture, your internal organs have room to function normally, and blood circulates freely to create the best total fitness. Wearing suspenders contributes to better posture by applying pressure on the shoulders, stimulating the brain and the body to straighten and balance itself front to back, in much the same way that balancing a book on your head stimulates the body to straighten and balance itself in all directions. |
Brace yourself - new jeans stay put
by RainBow Rowell ...WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST
Sal Herman's target customer is "the typical suspender wearer." That's just a nice way to say: Men with two-dimensional posteriors. No hips and nothing behind to hold their pants up. Michigan entrepreneur Sal Herman is selling jeans he says fit the way many people are built: with hips no bigger than their waste.
"From the shoulder to the bottom of their feet," he said, "nothing sticks out on the sides." Though Sal is a Michigan entrepreneur, his product seems plenty relevant around here. Face it, Nebraska. By and large, baby got no back. There's a reason Lil' Red wears overalls.
And that, Sal says, is nothing to be ashamed of. For too long, the clothing industry has made men feel like it's their fault that their pants won't stay up, even with a belt. Sal - who has a trim 34-inch waist and hips no wider - got sick of taking the blame. Don't blame the man, Sal says. Blame the pants. Blame the belt that doesn't do any good even when you cinch it so tight it cuts off your digestive system. Blame the suspenders that threaten to slip and smack you in the back of the head every time you lean over to shake someone's hand.
You don't have to take this, he says. (And you don't have to wear Carhartt bibs seven days a week.) Sal has been on a crusade to help the flat-backed man since 1996. That's when he started selling Hold-Ups, a pair of suspenders that actually pierce the fabric of your pants and refuse to let go. (Sal says this doesn't hurt the cloth.) He came up with extra wide Hold-Ups for the man who likes extra support and security - and more sophisticated Hold-Ups that look like
old-fashioned braces.
Two weeks ago, Sal unveiled his latest invention: Sloops Jeans. When the typical suspender wearer puts on a pair of jeans, Sal says, "he ends up with a tent in the back because he's got nothing back there." Saggy bottom syndrome... Big Belly -no Butt -no Problem! Sal's jeans, called Sloops, are made with less fabric in back and don't taper at the waist.
And there are no belt loops. What's the point? If you're smart, he said, you've already switched to suspenders. His suspenders. He recommends wearing Sloops one size larger than you normally buy. Give your intestines a break, and let your suspenders do the work and jeans hang just right. (He says this will eliminate that strangely pinched-in look men have when they're wearing their waist too tight to keep their pants up.)
Actually, you can't wear Sloops without suspenders. "They're cut like an 'A.' The biggest part is around the waist." Sal's suspenders are sold all over Nebraska, in 1900 clothing stores, hardware stores, even lumber yards nationwide.
You can find a store or buy online at www.suspenders.com or www.sloops.com
For now, you can order Sloops only at the Web site or by calling 1-800-700-4515. They're $49.95 a pair, plus shipping and handling. And they run from size 33 to 44 in three lengths. May this be an end to your hitching.
Click here to see this The Omaha World-Herald copywrited article
Pants are fit for suspenders
Add more suspenders, or Sloops Jeans & Sloops Slacks to your order to get to the FREE FREIGHT offer on orders over $75, shipped by UPS ground services to USA destinations.From Detroit News on March 22, 2004
Detroit News staff reports and wire services... http://www.detnews.com/2004/lifestyle/0403/22/c01-98565.htm
"Problems keeping your pants up? Try Sloops, a loopless five-pocket jean designed to fit the physique of the typical suspender wearer: no rear end or hips. The $39.95 jeans have no belt loops, a high waistband, relaxed front and tighter seat, and are worn with suspenders. To buy online or at a store, go to www.suspenders.com/sloops.htm or call (800) 700-4515. "
Suspenders carry lifetime
guarantee
Company launches new jumbo clip line of
heavy-duty suspenders
By Rasheda Williams
SOUTHFIELD -- Sal Herman doesn't worry about embarrassing moments that result from slipping suspenders. The 53-year-old Southfield resident is president and founder of the Holdup Suspender Co., which patented the "No Slip" suspenders a decade ago. Herman said the Jumbo Clip suspenders are ideal for individuals who work in construction or who hunt and fish. "We've designed the product for daily suspenders users," said Herman, who operates Holdup Suspender with his wife, Judee. "Our main priority is to hold the pants up." Herman said he patented the "No Slip" idea in 1990, but it took about six years to get the products made and perfected. The suspenders come in casual, formal and designer styles. They are sold at 380 independent retail shops across the country, including more than 30 stores in Michigan. The company recently launched a new 2X4 Jumbo Clip line that features a two-inch-wide heavy-duty elastic fabric and four jumbo clips. These suspenders come in the cross-back style and work great for the heavy or workingman.
"Other suspenders don't hold like these
do. Each clip is tested with 25-pound weights," Herman said. "Once they
(customers) put it on, their pants will never fall." All of the company's
products come with a lifetime clip guarantee. The suspenders are priced from $19.95 to
$29.95. "Fathers Day and Christmas, by far, are a major point for our
business," Herman said. "Many women buy the suspenders as gifts for their
husbands and fathers." Customers can order the suspenders by mail, over the
Internet at WWW.Suspenders.com and in stores.
Donna Larson of Circle, Mont., ordered a pair of heavy-duty suspenders when the company
first introduced the product. She bought them as a Christmas gift for her husband.
"He's very happy with them," Larson said. "I felt comfortable in ordering
them with the guarantee. That's very important that a company will stand completely behind
their product."
Rasheda Williams is a Detroit free-lance
writer. ..reprinted
article- Copyright 1999, The Detroit News
Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News ..Sal Herman shows off one of his designer series No-Slip suspender clips, available in casual, formal and designer styles. "Our main priority is to hold your pants up," he says.News Flash..
January 2003 ..Holdup Suspenders launches the new patented line of Double-Ups™ suspenders with the traditional "button-on" look. Styish and very practical.
The mens suspender that's so unique..it's patented. |
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