Product development cycles are pretty standard. Do all you can to develop something – like a pair of chinos, release them into the wild, assess market acceptance, evaluate customer feedback, and adjust. The new team at Duck Head has done just that – especially as it relates to the recently released Gold School chinos. Remember,…
Sunday at East Lake was quite the experience. If you don’t believe in the “Tiger Effect” try having your out of town Brother In Law, Sister In Law show up at your door at 7:00 a.m. sharp ready to head to the course. That doesn’t happen for anyone else, sorry Rory. I hadn’t been to…
The Semi-annual East Dane end of season sale just kicked off. They are doing the buy more, save more approach, with 20% off orders under $500, and 25% off orders over $500. Looking to score some Filson, APC Jeans, Billy Reid sweaters, or R.M. Williams boots, here is your chance to get them at a…
Cue the AC/DC music… Some of my oldest friends are back: Jack Donnelly has re-emerged, and are back in the Khakis game. They have relocated to Austin, redesigned their khakis, and relaunched with a whole new feel. I got my hands on a couple pairs of their slim fits, and here’s what I like: First…
The fine folks over at Miller Brothers just finished a MAJOR renovation to their space down in Buckhead, and I really excited to show it off. While their old spot was an institution, Greg and Robby wanted to give it a major update with a better feel. Well, mission accomplished. The new space is fantastic. …
My friends down at Onward Reserve just stocked their Buckhead store full of Fall merchandise. Included are their buttondowns, their 5-pockets, Barbour (finally), and some of the coolest UGA gear this side of Athens. They’ve got you covered from business casual to gameday. I went down last week to take a look around…I have a…
Remember back in the 2000s when the Columbia PFG shirts were all the rage? The button up fishing shirts with a million pockets in pastel colors… They were somewhat innovative for their time, but they were really ill fitting and made out of some cotton blend. Over the past ten or so years, the world…
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I don’t want you to send me a label. We want our old Duck Heads back. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the market is already speaking. Not buying $100 Chinos. Destined to fail.. I am sorry to say.
I tend to agree.
Start with fabric similar to what they used in the late 80’s in navy, olive, and khaki. Offer a couple of fits (standard and trim/tailored), with the yellow patch already sewn on, brass zipper, and those fantastic wide belt loops. Price them at $90-$110 and I’m in all day long. The sew-your-own label seems gimmicky, and silly at best. Just my opinion, but this shouldn’t be that hard for the DH folks to understand.
Is it me, or is it NOT THAT COMPLICATED?With the penultimate relaunch, they realized too late that people wanted the yellow tag, and eventually (but doubtful it was solely because of that) went out of business. If I understand it correctly, some of the same people were involved in this latest version as well, so why didn’t they start with that as table stakes? I really, really want them to succeed, and was planning on buying a pair of the Gold Schools to try them out. But now I guess I’ll wait until they put this patch back on, because it seems like they’re headed back in that direction. Again.
Seems to me they fail to recognize that this product lives and dies with the nostalgia card/appealing to men who wore classic Duck Heads growing up. I get trying to grow your market but traditional khakis have fallen out of favor for “five pocket” pants that are cut like denim. Younger people don’t really wear khakis anymore, at least not as regularly as we did 15-20 years ago when it was almost a daily staple for college aged students in the South. The price point and design on these new pants does nothing to appeal to traditional duck head owners. The sew on label is gimmicky. The price is silly. These are destined to fail.
The pattern from Duck Head isn’t good, zero chance I am sewing my own label on a pair of pants. As much I would love to see them succeed at trying to create the time machine capable of bridging the best of the old with the best of the new, it is probably time for them to more on with dignity towards the new focus. There are too many good alternatives to pants almost as cool as the ones we grew up wearing.
Bill Thomas… If you’re reading this, I have a message for you. I bought Bills Khakis because they were made in Reading PA and they were GD amazing. My grandmother is from Reading and I thought about her every time I put on a pair of your pants. I wanted to support the local economy of Reading and have a reason to think of my dear ole’ Nana. I stopped buying Bills Khakis because you sold the company and they move their operation… I lost the connection.
I grew up in Marietta GA in the 90’s. Duck Head shorts were a staple. They represented hot summer days at the pool, swimming in khaki shorts instead of a swim suit, getting that phone call at the pool phone from your mom, hiding beer in the kudzu, the cool older kids riding their mopeds, sitting in the basement watching music videos on MTV, resetting the nintentdo by blowing on the cartridge… I could go on.
The duck head tag is a powerful symbol. Use it. God Damit.