Suited for Success

With food served hot off an outdoor grill and sports shown on plasma TVs, Greg and Robby Miller’s Atlanta menswear boutique is REDEFINING THE WAY MEN SHOP.

BY LUKE BOGGS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS RANK

Robby and Greg Miller in
their Atlanta storeASK GREG MILLER how he and his older brother Robby got into the men’s clothing business, and the co-owner of Atlanta’s Miller Brothers smiles. “We were too stupid to do anything else,” he says, refusing to take his store’s success too seriously.

Located in the city’s well-heeled Buckhead neighborhood, Miller Brothers, which was founded in 1996, is anything but your typical men’s store—and it has the results to prove it. “Our sales grew 63% between 2006 and 2007,” Robby says. “Some of that came from moving to our current location in late 2006, but we’ve continued to see our business expand this year.”

How has the men’s clothier kept growing over the last 12 years in the face of a long-term trend away from traditional business attire and near-term challenges like a soft ening economy?

Robby offers three reasons: “We provide people with a unique experience. We have a broad and distinct product mix that sets us apart. And guys like the results, since they wind up having fun and looking great.”

MEN LIKE SHOPPING at Miller Brothers precisely because it doesn’t seem like shopping. As veteran menswear wholesaler and sales representative Woody Appleby says, “It’s a fun atmosphere. Even though I’m working, I always have a good time—and usually wind up buying something.”

With a working fireplace, large leather couch, plasma television, wood floors, antique oriental rugs and built-in shelves throughout, the shop feels more like a relaxed country club than a clothing store—which was precisely the Millers’ intent when they finished the new space two years ago.

“We wanted our customers to feel very comfortable here,” Greg says. “We now have guys who come by to watch a little sports and unwind on the way home from work.” And with good reason: Miller Brothers also has a fully stocked—and complimentary—bar.

On Saturdays, the Millers, who have both worked in menswear retail since their teens, often serve customers lunch hot off the back patio grill. “We had some folks from St. Louis in here recently, and they couldn’t believe it when we handed them chicken kabobs and Bloody Marys,” Robby says.

AS FOR THE STORE’S WARES, Greg says that the brothers “make sure we offer the highest quality, whether you’re talking about custom suits and jackets or khakis and sport shirts.”

In addition to carrying custom and off -the-rack suits and sport coats, Miller Brothers has a private label made in Canada along with top names from overseas. “We recently added Castangia, an exceptional Italian suit-maker that isn’t very well known here,” Greg says. “We’re not really interested in carrying the names you can get all over town.”

This philosophy is seen throughout the store. “We stock things that guys don’t find everywhere else,” Robby says. “Along with traditional styles, we carry dress shirts in unique fabrics and sportswear in some pretty wild prints.”

Appleby believes customers appreciate the diversity. “The Millers are always finding lines and looks that I’m not familiar with, even as someone in the business,” he says.

Pair Miller Brothers’ unique in-store experience with its eclectic merchandise mix, and you have a winning result: Customers have fun—and feel good about their clothes.

“Robby and Greg have a lot of experience for their age,” Appleby says (Greg is 41, and Robby is 45). “But they never come across as stuffy. Instead, it’s more like, ‘Hey, come on in and put your feet up.’

“The Millers have great taste,” he continues. “And the things they recommend are just so right. They want to make sure a guy feels comfortable when he leaves—and looks great when he’s wearing the clothes.”

WHAT ADVICE would the Millers give to would-be entrepreneurs? “People are sometimes afraid to take a chance,” Greg says, “At some point, you just have to get started.”

For the Millers, it helped to start in their hometown of Atlanta. “We grew up here, went to high school here, went to college over in [nearby] Athens,” Robby says. “Our friends have been with us from day one.”

The brothers agree geography is critical in retailing. As Greg says, “We moved four blocks in 2006, and it has made a big difference. Our regular customers find us more convenient, and we’re picking up a lot of new guys with a higher profile location.”

A final bit of advice from Robby: “Have fun, and don’t take yourself too seriously.”

GREG ROBBY MILLER’S & 5 WARDROBE ESSENTIALS

A PERFECT BLUE BLAZER. “Try a two-button, side-vented model with functional buttonholes,” Robby says. “It can take you from business to dinner and beyond, and it always looks good.”

A FINE PAIR OF LOAFERS. “Loafers are at home with everything from a coat and tie to shorts and a linen shirt,” Greg says. “And I see far too many guys wearing suit shoes with khakis.”

A SOLID CHARCOAL-GRAY SUIT. “You’re going to look sharp, and it is very versatile,” Robby says. “You can wear it with all kinds of shirts: solids, stripes, checks—whatever you like.”

A KILLER PAIR OF CUFF LINKS. “Clunky cuff links are all wrong,” Greg says. “Try something in sterling and enamel—and avoid anything that’s approaching the size of a half-dollar.”

A CLASSIC TUXEDO. “You may not think you have places to wear a tuxedo, but lots of guys go to weddings,” Greg says. “For the right event, nothing comes close to your own tuxedo.”