Britches of Georgetowne Founder Plans to Revive Brand
By • October 15, 2015 0 3897
For decades, it was the smart mark of the well-dressed man, a stylish retailer with a well-heeled attitude that could get both father and son wearing its clothing, Britches of Georgetowne—which added “Since 1967” on its labels from the very start. It is about to be revived almost 50 years later.
Britches of Georgetowne co-founder Rick Hindin, a businessman and entrepreneur, is known around Washington, D.C., for the iconic Georgetown clothing store as well as for Adworks, Chicken Out Rotisserie and Hinsilblon Laboratories—and the causal version of the men’s clothing store, Britches Great Outdoors.
“We can do this again,” said Hindin of the Britches revival. “It is a heritage brand, a legacy brand,” he said. “Manufacturers are seeking licenses for such brands. We have been working on this for a little over a year. The clothing will be targeted to millennials and baby boomers. There will be separate models for each segment with the same fabrication—ages 25 to 65 with the same taste level.”
Hindin bought the trademarks for Britches and with Stephen Wayne will revive the label and its apparel with sales expected to begin before the end of 2016.
Britches was sold by its founders Hindin and David Pensky in 1983 to the retail specialist, CML Group, although the two ran the business until the late 1980s. When they left, Britches, including Britches Great Outdoors, numbered 100 stores. The company formally declared bankrupty in 2002.
The first Britches was at 1245 Wisconsin Ave. NW—today, appropriately, the space occupied by Ralph Lauren. Its second store was at 1219 Connecticut Ave. NW, not far from Raleigh’s, Burberry’s and other men’s clothing stores, some still in business, others not, but all classic for their times.
Now a business consultant with his Asterisk Group, Hindin lives in Chevy Chase, Md., but he added that he was most proud of another thing he helped to found in Georgetown. In the early 1970s, Hinden along with John Laytham (Clyde’s), Richard McCooey (1789, the Tombs), Jim Weaver (Weaver’s Hardware) and Paul Cohn (J. Paul’s, Old Glory, Paulo’s) started the Georgetown Business Association.
While Hinden knows the power of ageless style and of nostalgia, he is also betting that baby boomer and millennial can agree on the branding power of Georgetown, D.C.
