Downtown Olympia Men’s Clothier Bartel Is Now g.miller: Same Faces, Same Exemplary Shopping Experience

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Greg Miller knows men’s clothing.

He began working at downtown Olympia’s landmark men’s clothing store Bartels in 1987, became store manager and eventually part-owner, and then recently took on sole ownership, sparking a long-planned name change for the popular clothier: g. miller.

Located at Fifth Avenue and Capitol Way, the store has long been known for offering unique, stylish clothes alongside extraordinary customer service.

“People want to be comfortable when they come in,” says Miller, who enjoys getting to know his clients. “They like to come in where they’re known and where they’re doing business with their friends – because ultimately you do become friends with your customers.”

After growing up in Napavine, near Chehalis – “Olympia was the big city when I was growing up,” he says – Miller moved here when he was 24.

In fact, it was a job offer from Bartels owner Joe Mount that instigated the move.

“I happened to be in town because the guy who cut my hair had moved to Olympia,” Miller remembers. “I just walked into the store and started talking with the owner. He said, ‘Are you interested in working in the retail business?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I seem to be pretty good at it.’ And he said, ‘Then come work for me.’”

Miller has been here ever since.

He worked for Mount for about three years before becoming the store manager. Seven years later, the two men worked out a deal for Miller to buy in to the business.

“We were collectively partners for about a dozen years, and then he was ready to retire and I bought him out,” says Miller. During their time working together, Mount did the accounting and other behind-the-scenes work, but didn’t interact with clients much. That’s where Miller excelled.

Although the store’s name recently changed, nothing else about this exemplary store is different: it’s the same faces, same stellar products, and same high expectations being met for longtime clients and just-off-the-street shoppers by Miller and his staff.

g. miller can outfit a man from shoes to a hat, and everything in between. “We tend to focus on dressier or a more unique product,” Miller says, “but we’re kind of like an old fashioned men’s store where they had all the categories.

The store also does customer tailored clothing and custom shirts – something no one else in town offers. The store’s talented alterationist has been with them for over 20 years.

“We do tremendous business in premium denim, like Joe’s and Seven, and Agave, lines that a lot of people have never heard of simply because they’re not the biggest brands in the industry,” says Miller. “But they do make great product and we’re very product-driven.”

“Quite often we’ll buy a product that has no name but ultimately turns into a great product, à la Tommy Bahama,” he says. “It’s now a huge company that has its own stores, but when we started, it was one small rack of apparel; they had maybe 20 different items to offer.”

Step inside g. miller, and you’re instantly aware that you’re looking at out-of-the-ordinary clothing and accessories.

“Every Macy’s looks pretty much the same up and down I-5 and across, east to west. And listen, those big stores do a ton of business; they’re good at what they do,” Miller says. “But it’s not good for everybody – for somebody who wants something unique. What we carry is less common.”

Miller’s goal as a buyer is to find a product that he believes a guy in Olympia will wear that won’t look out of place but also won’t look like everybody else. “Our niche is finding things that are a little different.”

Who is g. miller’s customer?

“It’s a guy who wants to put on something nice to wear that he feels good in, looks good in, that he’s comfortable with,” says Miller.

He could be a local business owner or somebody who’s in government. “We have customers who are retired and customers that come from out of town – who like the idea of a store like this but there may not be something in the town they live in,” says Miller.

Regular shoppers come in because they want a higher level of service, a better product, and a certain fit.

George Sharp, executive director of the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater Visitor and Convention Bureau agrees. “I like shopping at g. miller because they take the time to get to know me and my style, and are willing to custom order to fit my size.”

With everything humming along nicely for the store, even in this softer economy, and the interior remaining the same after the moniker makeover, why the name change?

“We always struggled with identity and the name Bartels,” Miller explains. Joe Mount owns another Bartels store in Chehalis, which sells both men’s and women’s clothing, as well as outdoor apparel.

“Then there was always Bartell Drugs, up north. And even though it was spelled differently, there was still always this confusion. So I knew, probably for the last 10 or 12 years, that I wanted to change the name,” Miller says with a laugh.

After a couple years spent conjuring up new names – but ultimately finding them lacking – Miller landed on g. miller. “I decided I could just use my own name – and people happened to know who I was after 25 years in town.”

Although a name change is a big move, to Miller, it’s the only thing that’s different since he became full owner. “In my mind, it wasn’t a change. It wasn’t like I bought a business; it was a business I already owned half of.”

Miller sees the name change as a continuation, another step forward, in the history of a successful store.

Miller’s goal is to continue pushing the store forward, to gain new customers while retaining strong relationships with his traditional customers.

“We always have this balance of fashion and tradition,” he says.

One popular item that straddles both worlds is hats. “Hats are really hip right now,” Miller says. “We sell them to older gentlemen, but then young people come in and buy them, too. If you look at Hollywood, people are going out wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a cool hat.”

The store is also using new methods for staying in touch with customers, from email and texts to social media. Check out their Facebook and Twitter pages to keep up with the latest on the store.

Or, of course, do it the tried-and-true, old-fashioned way, and stop on in. Greg and his staff will be there to greet you with a smile and a warm word.

“Sometimes I describe my job as a glorified waiter,” Miller says. “I’m here, and I find out what the customer wants, and I take care of their needs. That’s what I do – that’s what I like to do. And it’s what makes a business like this work.”

g. miller

501 South Capitol Way

Olympia WA 98501

360.786.6634

www.gmillerolympia.com

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