Kosins Celebrates 61 Years In 1922, Max Kosins immi- grated to this country from Poland and settled in Detroit, Michigan. In the old country, Max had been a master tailor, handy with chalk and tape measure, and his dream was to open a tailor shop where he could nurture his talents and present to an anxious, clothes- conscious public, the handsome fruits of his labors. Seeking his great adventure, Max explored every avenue that would lead him to fulfill his dream. And in 1926, in a small back room of a store on Griswold Street, Max opened a tailoring and pressing shop which soon became 'a small men's clothing store and the original Kosins Clothes location in Detroit. The Kosins' reputation for quality merchandise, personal service, wonderful value, and, of course, great fit grew and con- tinued to flourish until soon the little shop, the very first Back Room, was the grand and fitting fraternal meeting place for clergymen, city elders, judges, politicians, sports figures and show business people. MAX and his wife, Helen, struggled fruitfully in their happy little store and soon Benny, their eldest son, and Harry, the younger, were big enough to help out, running errands, making deliveries and serving customers after school and on weekends. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, it was a dreary, debilitating time. On its darkest day, Black Tuesday, more than 30 billion dollars were blown away in a panic surge of selling. Overnight, more than 12 million people were unemployed. THOUGH times were not easy, the Kosins family weather- ed those early years. Harry Kosins exchanged his gray pinstripe for solid khaki when he suited up for the Army. Harry returned from his tour of duty in 1945, bearing the Silver Star service medal he had been awarded for his participation in the Battle of the Bulge. Helen and Ben in the mean- time had been fighting their own battles on the homefront: Max's lingering illness and subsequent The $395 Cashmere Coat Is A Value That Can't Be Be Except When It's From Kosins for A magnificent blending of elegance and value. Experience the exquisite warmth and luxury of cashmere blend in the Black Diamond Cashmere Coat. Often imitated, but never duplicated. In your choice of camel, black. navy, charcoal or grey. Double-breasted available for an additional $20. 871 Units. = Lathrup Village 27881 Southfield Rd. at 11 1/2 Mile 32 FRIDAY, OCT. 30, 1987 "Where Fit Is Foremost" 559-3900 Mon.-Fri. 10-9 Sat. 9-6 Sunday 12-5 ADVERTISEMENT SMAIMMANSIMMIR-m. MT S+IMPORTIll+DESIGNE Max Kosins opened his original store on Griswold in 1926. death in 1946; difficulty obtain- ing the quality and quantity of goods for their tailoring business and a decrease in sales of non- uniform apparel. It was decided then that Kosins Clothes had to have more significance — had to stand for something other than just another men's clothing store. "We had to find an identity," Harry explains. "At that time fashion just didn't exist in men's clothing." Kosins was going to set fashion trends. In 1952, they introduced the 100 percent silk suit to the American market. Two thou- sand of them were sold in the first year. In 1954, gabardine suits in 11 colors were offered by Kosins. Light blue, silver gray, taupe, burgundy and toast were the popular shades. In 1959, when most styles were double- breasted, they reintroduced single-breasted suits and their sales doubled. By 1966, buSiness was so good at the original Kosins on Gris- wold that the family broke down three walls and enlarged the now famous Back Room. "It was a store within a store," Harry comments. "Bankers, auto manufacturers, industrialists, show people and all the athletes went there." In 1976-77, the downtown Kosins store was at its peak in sales — doing more business than the traffic could bear. It was during that time, following the popular trend toward busi- ness expansion, that Ben and Harry decided to extend their operation, and subsequently moved into a 2,000-square-foot suburban store in Lathrup Village. DURING the following years, 1978-79, with sales still booming, the decision was made to move into a larger, 9,000-square-foot, store in the same area. That move, of course, left a vacant store. But not for long. Ben and Harry hit on the idea of opening a store completely devoted to big and tall men with apparel especially for larger and taller sizes — big, tall and portly clothes with fashion appeal. "I realized that big and tall men couldn't buy anything but dumb clothes," Harry explains. "At that time, manufacturers of big and tall menswear didn't make anything but dumb clothes. So I dealt with my average-size clothing manufacturers, suggest- ing they also make garments to our larger size specifications or I wouldn't do business with them," Harry continues, "I wanted to give big and tall men something they couldn't get off the racks then — like quality and fashion." Helen Kosins They acknowledge that there is nothing magical about their success, but they do believe a lot of hard work, quality merchan- dise (" . . . we never substitute quality for anything," Harry adds), good value and personal service — plus that terrific Kosins' fit — are the key factors to Kosins' meteoric rise to fame. _ "Ben is the financial genius. I'm the fashion consultant," Harry said. "Ben never treads on fashion. I never tread on finance. And before her death, our mom — bless her soul — was the best referee we could have had." IN 1987, 61 years after Max Kosins opened his little tailor shop in a back room on Griswold, the two Kosins' mens- wear stores in Lathrup Village are recognized as world-wide leaders in men's fashion.