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PERIMETER BUSINESS
Dan Whisenhunt
Chip Stockton,
president of
H. Stockton
Atlanta, shows
off some of
his latest
inventory at the
Perimeter store.
H. Stockton,
a metro area
retailer with four
locations, sells
men’s clothing.
H. Stockton's president sells
suits, style and relationships
By Dan Whisenhunt
Chip Stockton relaxes by moving.
"I'm more of a doer than a talker,"
he said.
The president of H. Stockton At
lanta, a men's clothing store with four
locations in the metro area, said he's
been able to stay in business by out
working the competition.
One recent afternoon, the 59-year-
old wore a soft-colored tweed coat
and twill trousers as he zipped
around Stockton's Perimeter store in
Dunwoody. Belt buckles and buttons
glowed under the soft lights and the
room smelled of polished leather.
Upstairs, his business
partners, Patrick Dye and
Joel Patton, waited for him
with a selection of patterns
they were considering for
the fall 2013 inventory.
Soon, Stockton joined them,
taking the seat at the head of the ta
ble. As they studied pieces of fabric
arranged on the table, Stockton often
would stand from his chair, reaching
over to point out a pattern he liked.
Stockton said over the years he's
learned that sitting still puts him at a
disadvantage in a business where his
competitors - national retail chains -
are down the street.
"What's changed for me is that I've
realized I've got to work harder than
the next guy to be successful," Stock-
ton said.
Stockton went into business as a
youngster with his father, Ham Stock-
ton, and they ran a store on Forsyth
Street in Atlanta. He began work
ing in the suit-selling business when
he was 12. He moved to the Perime
ter area in 1980. For 17 years, he part
nered with his brother, Court, who
passed away in 2010.
The Perimeter store staff takes
turns choosing that day's music se
lection, piping pop music in through
the speakers. Once Stockton tried his
hand at working in the music busi
ness, but said he "starved" trying to
make a career out of it.
"I still like that," Stockton said.
"But I do want to eat."
Distinguishing oneself in the dis
tinguished gentleman's clothing busi
ness became a game of contrasts. The
chain stores trotted out flashy duds
with foreign labels; he looked for un
derstated garments made in America.
Stockton estimates around 70 percent
of his inventory is made in the United
States and he makes regular trips to
New York to "beat the bushes."
"We canvass the market to see ev
erything that's out there,"
Stockton said.
He said figuring out
what he doesn't like for his
store is as important as de
termining what he does.
As he's evolved in the
business his company has relied on
sportswear - trousers, shirts and
sweaters - as another angle to explore
his toned-down aesthetic. Stockton
wants to provide clothes that won't
stick out in a closet, but will still look
sharp.
"Our challenge has been to make
sportswear understated but interest
ing," he said.
Stockton prides himself on be
ing local and said his business has
thrived on building relationships
with the community, even members
who aren't customers. He has a wife,
Anne, and two grown children: his
son, William Stockton, and a daugh
ter, Hannah Orth.
The people who sell his suits have
been with him for 15 to 20 years, he
said, and the sales staff does all the
tailoring upstairs.
"The person who fits you is the
person who measures your garment,"
Stockton said. "If you do want a rela
tionship, we're here for you."
Perimeter
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