HAGERSTOWN, Md. (WDVM) — Temperatures out there may still be a bit on the chilly side, but before we know it, prom season will be here. Local retailers are hoping things will finally get back to normal after a rough couple of years.
When it comes to retail sales in the Hagerstown market, locally-owned brick and mortar is back. Ingram’s Mens Shop in Hagerstown has been in business for almost a century — you’d think they’ve seen it all, but then the pandemic struck. They faced struggles trying to get their merchandise in stock from suppliers.
“We’ve had times where it’s been hard to fit a guy in a dress shirt,” said Paul Ring, owner of the store. “That never happened in 90-some years in Ingram’s Mens Shop where a guy can’t walk out in a dress shirt.”
Ingram’s fine line of formal wear for prom season pretty much sat on the rack the past two years as COVID restrictions shut down the high school celebrations. Things may be looking up now as we turn the corner of the pandemic.
“The parents were saying ‘you didn’t have a prom the year before. you get what you want!’” Ring said with a laugh.
Can this locally-owned family retailer meet that pent-up demand? Ingram’s took a proactive approach to the marketplace challenges.
“The supply chain is a definite issue,” Ring explained. “I think that all retailers have been facing that. We saw it coming early and we planned for it and brought in a lot of extra inventory early because we were expecting some delays.
Ingram’s is seeing a surge in wedding bookings this spring and summer which is expected to be a shot in the arm to their retail business.
This will be a big wedding and prom season according to Ingram’s Mens Shop. With the calendar flipping to March, the store owners expect a lot of teenage boys to be checking out the prom season formal wear on the rack.
