North Menswear Heads in a New Direction

In 2006, while living in New York, Martin Majano was having a conversation with a friend at a cigar lounge when he was asked about his ultimate dreams and goals. “I told my friend without hesitating, ‘I want to have my own shop with American brands -- whether it be clothing, furniture, or accessories.’” 

Years passed, along with a cross-country move, and Majano found himself in downtown Laguna Beach, where he stumbled upon the hip men’s clothing boutique, North Menswear. He was immediately transported back to that conversation and dream.

Then owned by Pete Surprenant, Majano and Surprenant quickly became friends. “I wanted to help him out with the shop, so I asked if he’d be open to me taking over social media, doing things like stories, videos, and photoshoots, and he was all for it,” recounts Majano. With an extensive background that included sales and marketing he knew he had exactly what the brand needed in order to gain traction online.

“After a while, I told Pete that if he ever got tired of owning the shop, to let me know.”

Fast forward to early 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 took a stronghold in the US, and Majano’s dream came true, with Surprenant passing over the reigns of his popular boutique to his friend and loyal customer. Majano immediately got to work stocking it with his favorite products and clothes in order to accompany his mission to create a classically curated and relaxed shopping experience.

“In February, my team and I started analyzing the business preemptively, looking to increase Internet sales,” recalls Majano. “It was my first full month here and we were doing great!” Indeed, their sales had grown significantly and Majano and his crew were excited to see what the rest of the year had in store. He hired web consultants, started working on an app for the brand, and added a roster of online payment options for shoppers -- all ways to make it easier for customers to shop. 

These proved to be a series of steps in the right direction as the pandemic lay just around the corner.

Sure enough, come March when the shelter-in-place orders went into effect, paired with the closure of non-essential businesses, Majano had to put his dream on pause… at least temporarily. 

However, he was determined to persevere. For the last two weeks of the month, the entrepreneur racked his brain trying to figure out a way to keep North Menswear going, as well as a way to help other local businesses who were struggling like him. He knew he had to get creative to keep his dream alive. 

He reached out to a friend to collaborate on a small business campaign, wherein a small percentage of North Menswear’s proceeds would go towards a particular small business each week. The community rallied together for small brands and it carried the brand through April. 

“That was our saving grace,” admits Majano. “Every week people knew where their money was going, and all the small businesses were super grateful. I’ll never forget that.”

On top of broadening their online shopping and small business campaigns, Majano has also figured out a way to ensure they remain essential if another closure happens. North Menswear now serves as a place people can swing by and pick up pre-packaged food. 

Not one to have something like a worldwide pandemic bring him down, Majano is still dreaming big, with a five-year-plan that includes bringing North Menswear to more locations along the West Coast. Already preparing to open their second location in San Clemente in October, Majano has his eyes set on cities all the way up to Washington State. 

“Part of this is for selfish reasons,” Majano laughs. “I ride a motorcycle and it gives me freedom. It’s where I do my thinking, where I do my praying, and it really rejuvenates my soul. Someday I envision my corporate team all riding on motorcycles as we go from one location to the next.” 

And with Majano’s perseverance, adventure, and ability to dream, it all sounds very doable and very North Menswear to us.

Logan Cross is a writer and dancer based in Los Angeles. Get in touch with her via Tweet or Instagram DM. 

Photos by Alexa Pilato. Visit her on Instagram at @currentsofcapri or on her website at lexandthelotus.com.