Transforming the Garment’s Arena

M4U By Trands is the North American private label custom apparel division of one of the most successful clothing companies in the world, The Dayang Company.

Only three years ago M4U was fifth largest competitor in the highly competitive American market, and today they are the industry leader. What led to the results that outpaced all competitors coming out of a global pandemic? They adjusted their business model, and redefined how success was achieved. That led to a result that more than doubled the company sales volume in two years.

The company set forth a new vision, directed by Mark Thiele, President of M4U By Trands. The new target of what qualified as success would be placing focus on the seller of the product, rather than the end user. Since nearly all better private label custom requires a qualified seller to fit and complete the sale to the end user, Thiele made it his point to improve the process for that seller. Customer service was enhanced, training was expanded, and presentation pieces crafted to better equip the seller. The order entry platform was simplified and well respected experts were hired and placed in the field regionally to assist in person as needed. One additional thing Thiele stressed to their sellers was that M4U was always going to do the right thing, even when it was not profitable on an individual sale for M4U. “Our customers needed to be assured that they could always count on us to have their back if expectations were not initially met”. That new focus took an already good product, competitively priced the same as before, and delivered a winning formula. Always delivering with industry leading speed.

Thiele most likely has the most well rounded resume of experience in the North American Custom clothing market. Over his 3+ decade career he has led sales forces for the largest custom clothing manufacturers, largest custom trouser company and the largest custom shirt makers in North America.

He has trained many of the leading direct custom sellers of clothing for decades, and has developed cherished relationships throughout better mens retailers in virtually every major city in the USA. Thiele credits his success to the people he works with. “I’ve been blessed to work with fine people. The key to any successful sales organization are the people inside, and we have the best”. That includes Thiele’s current reverse-mentor, 28 years his junior. “Ryan Beyer, our VP, was the best hire I’ve ever made. I learn daily from his fresh approach to our market and our sellers. My commitment to our customer base is that we will never be the same company a year from now, than we are today. Fabrics, styling, market demands and technology are changing constantly. Ryan helps us fulfill that always evolving commitment”.

M4U By Trands’ mission is to become the top custom resource globally, a goal Thiele believes is within reach. “I believe we need to constantly evolve, and continue to focus on the seller. While the product must always be right and what the customer needs, I believe the luxury custom business is a service first business. The custom made clothing market is very similar to that of a fine steak house, where the end customer comes to us already expecting a fine quality garment and a well tailored fit. In a fine steak house the waiter is the one who takes the experience from merely next level food to a memorable dining experience through recommendations and expertise. Our mission is to continue to better train our clothing fitters, better educate him / her on cloth as it evolves, and consistently deliver a product that exceeds expectations”.

Thiele goes on, “While it’s important to be moving forward and evolving, we also want to never lose focus on our core business, the tailored suit. In the past year we have successfully evolved there as well, now offering a hand stitched bespoke suit to our line of products. Handmade apparel has lifted our overall company perception, and brought us many new customers. Most tell us after fitting their first delivery of bespoke suiting that they know of no better value in the custom luxury apparel market."

One of the significant changes currently in the apparel market is the furtherance of casual wear based clothing as opposed to the traditional suit. Thiele has addressed this in many ways, first by introducing more stretch fabrics in tailored clothing, and softer shoulder models.

Then, custom casual was redefined. New this season are machine washable, garment dyed custom casual pants, and even custom jeans. Also new are custom sweater and knit blazer programs, a first for the industry. Even shirts have evolved from being a white and blue dress shirt market to a new sport-shirt driven selection, focused on stretch prints, florals and fancy solids. “Our goal is to clothe our customer 7 days a week” says Thiele.

What’s next for M4U By Trands? Thiele says “North America mens custom apparel is estimated at $1B in retail sales annually. Women buy more clothing than men, but the women’s custom clothing market is largely undefined. That makes no sense to me, as I cannot think of another large consumer driven market that is predominantly gender specific. I want to define and help develop that market. I’m fortunate to be working for and with a global leader like Dayang that has the expertise and facilities to produce that product. I have some ideas, stay tuned”.