After identifying a hole in the market for a modern suit store and making a decision to build a concept specifically for a modern customer, Nate DeMars opened Pursuit in October of 2011. “Learning an industry from the ground up was tricky. With no experience in fashion retail, nor with suits, we were able to build something really unique,” Nate said.
After earning an undergraduate degree in marketing from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Nate was hired by Whirlpool Corporation and moved to Columbus. Following four successful years with Whirlpool, he enrolled in the full time MBA program at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. Then in 2011, Nate opened a ‘pop up’ shop in a South Campus Gateway storefront, a perfect location for his original target market – college students that needed suits and dress clothes for job interviews, formal events and other professional occasions.
This past summer, though, Nate said goodbye to his on-campus location and moved south to a 1440 sf store with permanent fixtures, more dressing rooms and a lounge space at 937 N. High Street, in the heart of the Short North arts and shopping district. In conjunction with the new location, Nate and his Chief Creative Officer, Shay-Jahen Merritté, are proud to have just launched a new line of private label ‘Pursuit’ suits. And they are looking forward to the upcoming holiday season where they’ll open (for the third consecutive year) a temporary retail operation that caters to customers wishing to wear something ‘utterly gaudy’ to holiday gatherings. Yep – it’s an Ugly Sweater store called Christmisc.
As far as partnerships go, Nate said, “We’ve been fortunate to be quickly integrated into the local business community. We got connected to our lender Kelly Law and Heartland Bank through our fellow Ohio State MBA entrepreneur friends at North High Brewing. And, collaborating with local retailers and small businesses has helped us spread the word naturally about our operation.”
Whether you’re a 39 short or a 50 extra long, you’re just the right size for your friendly neighborhood bankers at Heartland. Try us on for size at any of our 12 banking locations throughout central Ohio.