Walpole Small Business Q&A: Delux Tux

Delux Tux is located in Walpole Center and is a suit and tuxedo sale and rental store. The store has a large in-house inventory so customers are encouraged to come in and try on their many different styles. The store, with two locations (the other in Franklin) has been owner-operated for almost 20 years. This Walpole store is located on West Street.

Be sure to check back each week for a Question and Answer session with another local business owner.

Walpole Patch: What is one thing people might not know about Delux Tux?

John Ricci: The original and still current owner grew up and lives in Walpole. John Ricci owner/operator has two kids in the Walpole school system that are following in his educational footsteps from Fisher, to Eleanor Johnson, to Walpole High.

WP: How has the economy affected you in the past year?

JR: Fortunately the effect has been very modest on us. Prom and wedding make up the bulk of the business and people are not usually looking to cut back in those areas. We have an excellent reputation and get most of our business from referrals of past customers.

WP: What is your busiest time of day and day of the week?

JR: There is no real rhyme of reason to when people will come in and book something, but Saturdays tend to be a bit more busy for that, and we schedule our pickups on Thursdays from 4 p.m.-8 p.m.

WP: What is your most popular item?

JR: Right now we are renting a lot of suits. For tuxedos, the classic look is still very popular, with a vest and long tie and dark gray tuxes are the new hot thing.

WP: What do you feel is a benefit about being a small business in Walpole?

JR: I have always enjoyed being in Walpole Center. So much so that, at one time or another we have been in three different buildings in Downtown Walpole in our 21 years in business. There is a constant flow of traffic for good visibility and having grown up in the town it is nice to be able to work here. I personally know many of my customers.

More from John:

Delux Tux has been in Walpole Center for over 20 years. We also have a second location in Franklin. What makes us different from the big chains out there is that we are owner operated, and we keep our inventory in-house. Service is the most important thing in my business and nobody is going to work harder for you than the owner of a business. Because we keep inventory on-site (a rarity these days) and do our alterations in-house, we can provide rush service and can fix last minute emergencies that others would not be able to. We both rent and sell not only tuxedos, but suits as well and can normally produce either in just a few minutes time.