We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gary Flynn. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gary below.

Alright, Gary thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

Our annual Italian Dinner is one of my favorite things we do here at M. Dumas and Sons regarding customer appreciation. We just completed our fifth one, which was the best one so far. We had a catered sit-down dinner in the store for 52 people, inviting some of our most cherished customers, their spouses or significant others, and a few of the Italian brands we do business with. The event is a thank you. We are not actively trying to sell to anyone that night; we just want to have a good time. Local event company The Drifter handled our catering, including four courses prepared and served in the store and a beautifully decorated table and bar. We also had Charleston wine shop Graft do the wine pairings for each course, discussing why they chose each wine. Please see below for a video from the event to give you an idea of what it was all about.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16CyRtSnAcNxAORctg3h2pE6YiI5YA83J/view?usp=sharing

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

M. Dumas and Sons is a special place. It’s third generation, Charleston-based and has 107 years on King Street. Our flagship store is at 294 King Street in historic downtown Charleston, SC, and in September, we opened our second store in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre. Last year, we opened a Johnnie-o by M. Dumas and Sons store in the Charleston Place Hotel on Market Street in Charleston, and six years ago, we opened a Southern Tide by M. Dumas and Sons location also in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre, making us now four stores and a website. We have evolved the mix of products in the flagship store to move further into the luxury market by adding brands like Sartorio, Kiton, Canali, Castangia, Eleventy, Eton and others and now have become as well known for our sophistication as we are for our casual heritage, which sets us apart from our competitors in the market. We are 9000 square feet, covering looks from what you would wear fishing or hunting to what you wear to a formal gala. Head to toe, no matter your lifestyle, we have you covered!

I’m currently serving as CEO and Co-Owner of Dumas and have had the privilege of being with the company for over eight years. My career in retail began at 18 when I joined Nordstrom, where I spent 27 years learning all parts of the industry. After that, I moved to New York and took on senior merchandising roles with Hugo Boss and Samsung. In 2016, I found my way to Charleston and joined Dumas, and since then, we’ve opened up two brand stores and a second Dumas location, which has been incredibly rewarding.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met my business partner, David Dumas, during my first interview for my current role at M. Dumas and Sons. David’s family started this business in 1917, and he’s the sole Dumas still working at the company. Unfortunately, David has been stricken with a degenerative eye disease and is mostly blind now. He needed to take on a partner if he wanted the business to be able to continue, and he told me that Dumas would not close on his watch! He was willing to bring an outsider in and trust them with the legacy of his family business, which is a big deal and must have been challenging. Once we first connected and had a couple of phone conversations, we decided to meet in person. I brought my wife and then five-year-old daughter with me to evaluate if we liked Charleston enough to want to move here. It took all of 20 minutes to decide a resounding “YES” to that question. David and I hit it off quickly, and the rest is history.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

M. Dumas and Sons is a unique company. I’m sure many business owners feel that way, but I can confidently tell you that there are not many stores like us in America today. We are 107 years old and have evolved greatly since first opening, starting as a thrift-type store, evolving into a workwear store, pivoting into the uniform business during World War II, and slowly progressing into a more traditional casual men’s store. We added tailored clothing to our portfolio about 20 years ago and have been growing that offering for the last six years or so. We now are as well known for fine tailored clothing as we are for casual sportswear. We range from Filson outdoor wear to casual sportswear brands like Southern Tide, Faherty and Johnnie-O, to fine Italian clothing from Sartorio, Canali, Eleventy and more. Our stores total over 9,000 square feet and carry a large amount of inventory. First-time customers are often amazed at the size of the store, the depth of our product selection and the number of brands we carry. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mdumasandsons.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdumasandsons
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MDumasAndSons/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/m-dumas-and-sons/