How Need Supply Turned One Small Virginia Shop Into a Global Menswear

On a Saturday in February twenty years ago, Richmond, Virginia-based shop Need Supply had its big grand opening. Only problem was, a massive blizzard blew through town. "A great opening day," the store's founder and CEO, Chris Bossola, jokes in a are-you-kidding-me monotone. "I only remember two customers, and the rest were family and friends. But those customers still shop here!"

It hasn't been easy, though, and it hasn't even necessarily been by choice—just two decades of survival as the brick and mortar days turned into the digital one. When Bossola started, he had the humble task was bringing cool things to the Richmond area that weren't available then — "all we had was a really bad mall," he says — now he ostensibly competes with every other store in the digital world. "Everything is available," he says. "That challenge of discovery and introducing customers to new products and new brands is 100 times more challenging."

And despite a tumultuous retail market, Need Supply is flourishing, even doubling-down on growth in the past few years by introducing an in-house line called NEED earlier this year, adding homewares to their selection, using their website to cast a global net, and, starting next season, by adding luxury labels like Marni and Dries Van Noten to their roster of brands.

"It opened up a lot of doors that had restricted the landscape," says Gabriel Ricioppo, Need Supply's co-owner and creative director since 2005, of the boutique's embrace of the web. For most, the brand's digital portal is probably the way it first interacts with the store, and it's no accident that the the design and visual feel is so distinct. Need Supply went online in 2008, and nothing was outsourced, says Ricioppo. "Every image was created internally, we shot everything ourselves," he says. "As far as the design and the aesthetic, that’s just who we are. That’s how we see the world. It’s just our point-of-view. We’e been lucky because we’ve been able to bring in a key team at the top that shares that vision."

That means the site is populated with dudes that you'd likely see in Brooklyn, Los Feliz, Wicker Park, and, you guessed it, Norfolk, Va. Guys who are slightly unkempt but in an undeniably stylish sort of way. They're the kinds of guys who have graduated to APC jeans, and Gitman Brothers shirts, and who have a pair of beat-up Common Projects in their closet. They're guys who have a certain baseline knowledge of what's cool today — who know what Vetements is, even if they don't wear it themselves. In other words, they're the ideal customer.

And in a business that values the new and changing trends, they've taken a different approach. "It's not by accident that Need Supply is so consistent," says Chris Green, the store's divisional merchandise manager. "It will be continue to be consistent. We sit in a really special place. Our size allows us to take some risks, and to really hone in on our customer and speak to them, and that's something that a lot of other stores aren't able to." That's evident in the shop's spot-on balance of contemporary brands and buzzy cult labels (think OAMC, Visvim), plus some fun outside-the-box selections that make their stocklist feel particularly relevant (like throwback Stussy, workwear brand Carhartt, and the underground label Brain Dead). There's a reason we've had them on our Best Stores in America list not once, but twice.

To coincide the big anniversary, Need Supply reopened the store (no blizzards this time around) after a series of renovations to achieve a space a sleeker, more streamlined look. They also released an exclusive capsule collection of pieces in collaboration with a few longtime store favorites including Alden, Unis, Common Projects, and Gitman Brothers. "It's not just people we have longstanding business relationships with, it's people we have friendships with that we've known for a long time," Green says of the collection, titled Twenty. "To release a new fit with Gitman Brothers that we developed with them, that's exclusive to us, that's new, that's exciting to us." Green notes that they worked closely with all the participating designers to create co-branded product that both honored the store as well as the brands, including Our Legacy, which will only be hosted in the store, a treat to those who can make it to the physical space.

Those who know the brand, this sort of project will seem perfectly in line with what's come before: substantial in its scope, but decidedly laid back. That's a reflection of the Need Supply team, right up to Bossola. "I'll be honest," he said when asked what he loves most about his job. "I like it because it's 20 years and I can't figure out how half this shit works," he said laughing. Good enough reason as any.

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