Holdup Suspenders in the NEWS

Local spotlight merchant: Suspender market is holding up well as this Southfield company expects sales to hit $1.5 million in '04

By Neal Haldane / Special to The Detroit News

SOUTHFIELD — Huey Lewis sang “It’s hip to be square.” Sal Herman’s has taken a square product, suspenders, and found a niche market of people who don’t have the hips to wear belts and made it into a real fashion statement.

“I was a suspender wearer and suspenders have a tendency to slip because of metal fatigue, especially when you bend over” he said. “I came up with a better mousetrap.” Herman started tinkering with suspender clips in the 1990s. He created a new design, patented his clip, which is guaranteed not to slip, slide or pop off, and opened the Holdup Suspender Co. He initially started selling suspenders to consumers through mail order. Then Herman started offering a wide variety of suspenders to retailers, and more than 2,000 now carry the product.

“Hardware stores carry the work suspenders, sporting goods stores carry the camouflage ones and tuxedo stores carry the dress ones,” Herman said. “These are not large department-type stores. These are, for the most part, owner-operator stores. The Kmarts and Wal-Marts won’t touch this. They tend to lean toward the lower-priced product.”

Herman’s suspenders, available on the Internet, too, typically sell for between $20 and $40, much more than the discount-store varieties that sell for $10 or less. But even at those prices, Herman expects sales to reach $1.5 million this year.  “I started carrying them since I saw the line,” said Stewart Shifman, owner of Stewart’s Menswear in Waterford Township. “They answered a problem in the market.” Customers appreciate the guarantee, knowing that if the snaps break, they will be repaired, he said.

“I sell at least a dozen a month to all age groups,” he said. “People who have lost weight buy them. That’s a new market for suspenders. Also, guys who buy a sport coat or a suit want a little flair to go with them love the snap on new fashion look. We carry other brands, but we always push Holdups. They just work as advertised.” Herman has high expectations for a new line of jeans, called Sloops, designed to fit the typical suspender-wearer, someone with no hips and no rear end.

“Companies that make pants never address these guys. When I buy pants, I end up with a big tent in the back,” he said. “These pants have no belt loops, relaxed front and a tighter seat. If you do have hips, these won’t fit you.” and you should order 1" inch wider in the waist size to get a perfect fit. At $50 a pair, the new pants will complement the suspender line, but Herman doesn’t expect teenagers and young adults with their penchant for baggy pants that hang low to buy Sloops or suspenders.   “That’s their style,” he said.

Photos by Max Ortiz / The Detroit News

Herman started tinkering with suspender clips in the 1990s. He created a new design and patented his clip, which is guaranteed not to slip, slide or pop off your pants.

Neal Haldane is a Metro Detroit free-lance writer.

Newspaper article on July 5th -The Oakland Daily Press Newspaper

By LAURA ANGUS/ GARY MALERBA , Oakland County Michigan

SOUTHFIELD - Sal Herman has been an entrepreneur since 1975 but had a problem with his wardrobe. His suspenders always slipped as the conventional pressure clasps just wouldn't stay put. Sal loves wearing his sloops jeans and Double-Ups suspenders to work everyday. Sal Herman created the HoldUp Suspender Co. eight years ago.

So, more than 10 years ago, he invented and Patented the No-Slip Suspender Clip and in 1996 opened the HoldUp Suspender Co.

He never intended to get into menswear but "just happened to wear suspenders that didn't work," he said. "I wasn't really in that industry (the clothing industry)," he said. "So I was new into all of it."

In the early 1990s, he built several prototypes for the No-Slip Clip, which features a center pin that pierces the fabric and locks the waistband without damaging the pants. It carries a lifetime guarantee.

It took him six years to develop the idea into a commercial product, after working to find USA manufacturers and top quality materials for his line of men's suspenders.

Herman continued developing ideas for suspender wearers like himself. His next invention was the Double-Up, which provides for more stylish suspender-wear. He said it's a very hot product now, bringing in about 25 percent of the company's sales.

"Suspenders don't have a good look when it comes to aesthetics," he said.

According to Sal Herman the new Double-Up line looks like a button-on brace, but uses his dual no-slip suspender clips. He said it provides a much dressier and classier look than normal suspenders without the hassles of sewing on pant/suspender buttons.

His third invention, Sloops, are jeans specially made for the typical suspender wearer. Herman said he and many other suspender wearers do not have hips that hold up their pants. Because of their lack of hips, they don't fill out standard jeans and tightly cinched belts are of no real help.

"Nobody ever made pants that are directed to this physique." He said Sloops are not for everyone, but they are selling very well. Sloops do not have belt loops and have a higher waistband, a relaxed front and a tighter seat. He recommends all customers order Sloops Jeans 1" more then their normal jean waste size to really enjoy the comfort of wearing these jeans with suspenders. In distributing these inventions, HoldUp Suspender Co. does not have its own storefront, but has products in more than 2,100 stores across the country and in their online shop since 1997.

The company is housed in an office in Southfield, which is also the home of Herman's other business of Mobile hearing test labs for industrial manufacturing plants . The company's suspenders are stored in a warehouse in the back of the office complex. "It's grown tremendously ... and growing," he said. HoldUp Suspender Co. started as a mail-order company, marketing to only individual customers. Herman said that two years later, in 1998, he started working to get his products in stores. Now, products are also sold online at www.mysuspenders.com. The company doesn't sell through big chains, said Herman. HoldUp's prices are on the expensive side because it offers premium quality materials in all their suspender products. Herman said he would like his company to continue growing. Around Christmas, he intends to start selling silk Double-Up suspenders, as well as black Sloops jeans, along with our 180 styles and colors of suspenders..... View article in .pdf format

  ANNOUNCING: Holdup Suspender Company creates a brand new site dedicated to the Google Checkout™ simplified payment plan. Google and Holdup Suspenders are dedicated to protecting shoppers privacy, while putting real value into every search engine click. Checkout (pun intended) the Holdup suspenders you can purchase using this secure payment option! www.Holdup-Suspenders.com and bookmark that site for this creative free payment option.

‘We made a better mousetrap. . .now we’re in about 2,000 stores.’
Sal Herman co-founder, Hold-Up Suspenders

Herman, along with his wife, Judee, started the Southfield-based Hold-Up Suspender Company with a simple concept: They added a tiny needle to the inside of the traditional suspender clip, which pierces the fabric to keep the suspenders in place. “We made a better mousetrap,” said Herman. “We’ve been making them ever since and now we’re in about 2,000 stores.”
Business has been growing very slowly, because of the small market niche that Herman has to work with. “I just happen to be a person who wears suspenders every day. I need them to keep my pants up. But it’s not a fashion statement today. It was maybe 20 years ago. It’s possible it will be again. Hollywood has a lot to do with it. They became very popular after the movie Wall Street.” Herman attended his first trade show in Pennsylvania in 1990. It took him six more years to patent his product and find a manufacturer in the U.S. to produce them. “Everything is made overseas but it was really important to us to have our product made in the U.S. It took us a long time to find someone who would make it to our exacting specifications,” said Judee Herman. “Our goal is to make every man a suspender- wearer.” Countless hours of phone calls, networking and
research went into the business in the beginning. So many, in fact, that Herman said only a self-employed businessman could make it work. The Internet sure adds to our reach.

“If I worked a regular 9-to- 5 job, I would never have been able to do it. It took a few years, but now it’s profitable.” To avoid the heavy marketing costs, they have taken a “grass-roots” approach to reach their small market, said Herman. Their marketing efforts include selling Hold-Ups through catalogs and the Internet and advertising in magazines geared toward seniors, like American Legion and the Elks Club. Their newest product is a dress suspender called Double-Ups, and is marketed to a younger, professional crowd. The Hermans want their suspenders to not only be utilitarian but also fashionable. “Smart fashion with the snap of a clip,” is the new product’s slogan, said Judee, who serves as advertising director and marketing advisor.

The West Bloomfield couple has always worked together, and Judee said she calls her husband, “My Suspender King.” Sal’s advice for an entrepreneur who thinks they have a good invention? “Don’t give up. If they have a feeling for it, and if there’s enough time, they’ll make it.” View Article in .pdf format

Ergonomic Benefits of Suspenders: Posture’s Unsung Hero Posture is the body’s natural balancing act. Without good posture, various health problems can occur. Self-image also can suffer, since good posture makes a person stand taller and look more confident. Some people do not realize that suspenders, which were the primary method of holding up pants until the early 1900s, have the added benefit of improving posture. We use our muscles reflexively to
balance ourselves when we sit, stand, sleep or work. Our bodies would fall forward without muscles pulling us back. When your body is balanced, it is self-supporting and requires very little help from your back muscles.

Taking strain off of your back can help to avoid many injuries. This can become especially important in certain types of jobs or activities. With correct posture, your internal organs have room to function normally, and blood circulates freely to create the best total fitness. Wearing suspenders contributes to better posture by applying pressure on the shoulders, stimulating the brain and the body to straighten and balance itself front to back, in much the same way that balancing a book on your head stimulates the body to straighten and balance itself in all directions... Click here for .pdf format article

Detroit NEWs ARTICLE - Thursday, December 30, 2000
Suspenders carry lifetime guarantee
Company launches new jumbo clip line of heavy-duty suspenders

Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News ..Sal Herman shows off one of his designer series No-Slip suspender clips, available in casual, formal and designer styles. "Our main priority is to hold your pants up," he says.

By Rasheda Williams

    SOUTHFIELD -- Sal Herman doesn't worry about embarrassing moments that result from slipping suspenders.  The 53-year-old Southfield resident is president and founder of the Holdup Suspender Co., which patented the "No Slip" suspenders a decade ago.  Herman said the Jumbo Clip suspenders are ideal for individuals who work in construction or who hunt and fish.  "We've designed the product for daily suspenders users," said Herman, who operates Holdup Suspender with his wife, Judee. "Our main priority is to hold the pants up."     Herman said he patented the "No Slip" idea in 1990, but it took about six years to get the products made and perfected.  The suspenders come in casual, formal and designer styles. They are sold at 380 independent retail shops across the country, including more than 30 stores in Michigan.  The company recently launched a new 2X4 Jumbo Clip line that features a two-inch-wide heavy-duty elastic fabric and four jumbo clips. These suspenders come in the cross-back style and work great for the heavy or workingman.

    "Other suspenders don't hold like these do. Each clip is tested with 25-pound weights," Herman said. "Once they (customers) put it on, their pants will never fall."   All of the company's products come with a lifetime clip guarantee. The suspenders are priced from $19.95 to $29.95.   "Fathers Day and Christmas, by far, are a major point for our business," Herman said. "Many women buy the suspenders as gifts for their husbands and fathers."   Customers can order the suspenders by mail, over the Internet at www.mysuspenders.com and in stores. Donna Larson of Circle, Mont., ordered a pair of heavy-duty suspenders when the company first introduced the product. She bought them as a Christmas gift for her husband.   "He's very happy with them," Larson said. "I felt comfortable in ordering them with the guarantee. That's very important that a company will stand completely behind their product."
   
    Rasheda Williams is a Detroit free-lance writer. ..reprinted article- Copyright 1999, The Detroit News

Holdup Suspender Co: 21421 Hilltop, Southfield   President: Sal Herman   Products: "No Slip" suspenders, available in casual, designer and formal styles (includes the Finger Clip or Jumbo Clip line).     Information: (800) 700-4515