An online clothing business is opening its first brick-and-mortar shop in Eastern Market this month, replacing Mootown Ice Cream Shop, which closed in early spring.
Gettees Inc. is scheduled to host a grand opening at 2461 Russell St. from 7-10 p.m. Nov. 19. Its first full day of operation will be the following day.
Around eight employees will work at the 1,300-square-foot store, including a couple of salespeople and six marketing and administrative staff members, said Mathew Hunt, founder of Gettees. The space will also function as the company's headquarters as it looks to eventually move its manufacturing and 12 sewers from Sterling Heights to Detroit.
Hunt started the online business in 2014 after graduating from Michigan State University and pitching the idea to his father, who founded Sterling Heights-based Engineered Materials Technology Inc., a defense contractor that does industrial sewing. He took some of the company's storage space and repurposed some of its equipment.
He said demand has since picked up and drove him to open a physical storefront.
"We were doing a lot of pop-ups in Southeast Michigan, and we were doing really good at them," he said. "Once people had the chance to feel the materials and learn that we are manufacturing in Michigan, people were sold."
Gettees' adopted motto is Abe Lincoln's famous phrase, "By the people, for the people," made during the Gettysburg Address, hence the company name.
It started out selling long- and short-sleeve T-shirts for men before branching out into other articles of apparel and women's clothing. A T-shirt starts at $19, and a $79 hoodie is its highest-priced item. The Eastern Market store will also sell select accessories and clothing from other local brands, said Kelsey George, who does marketing for the company.
Gettees is the latest tenant for Firm Real Estate, owned by Sanford Nelson, who gobbled up 142,500 square feet of property in the market last year and became the source of controversy when his dispute with Russell Streel Deli's owner went public.
Hunt said he was turned on to the Eastern Market space by his cousin Megan Lewis, who owned Mootown and owns DeVries & Co. in the market. Hunt declined to disclose the terms of his lease and said that he is working with Firm to eventually take a larger space in the market. Hunt said build-out will cost $10,000-$15,000.
Gettees can produce 300 shirts at full capacity. Hunt said online sales are up 300 percent compared to last year but declined to provide revenue figures. He said he expects to open a new manufacturing facility in the next couple of years.
"Once we max out and need to grow, the next factory would be in Detroit," he said.
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November 07, 2019 at 03:11AM
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Clothing maker to take over former ice cream shop in Eastern Market - Crain's Detroit Business
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