Business Spotlight: Suit Up

Superman wouldn’t be the man of steel without his cape. Captain America’s much less effective without his shield. Uniforms make the hero.

The Smith family has outfitted Ozarks’ heroes for more than five decades.

Providing custom uniforms and tactical gear for public servants from West Plains to Springdale, Ark., and most places in between, Frank’s Uniforms Inc. is a fixture for many area officers, paramedics, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies.

Born out of the demise of downtown Springfield’s Schwab Bros. clothing store – once housed in the now vacant Remington’s building – employees Tom Freeman Sr. and Frank Smith divided the clientele, birthing Freeman’s Clothing and Frank’s Uniforms in 1959. Frank’s operated in a small space in the back of Freeman’s before moving across the street to 212 S. Campbell Ave. in 1961, now the site of Palm Beach Vapors.

“We’ve always wanted to be centrally located,” says Allen Smith, the family’s third-generation owner. “For decades, the police were split into north and south sectors. If an officer experiences a uniform malfunction, we want to be easily accessible.”

It wasn’t until 1987 that Frank’s moved to its current site, 532 E. Walnut St., the former home of a drive-thru savings and loan. Only 14 feet wide and 96 feet long, Smith has adapted the building to fit his needs, displaying uniforms in the drive-thru window booths. Other signs of the bank still remain, such as the black, gold and red plaid carpeting that covers the floor and many walls.

“We’ve thought about getting rid of it, but people say it’s our signature now,” Smith says.

Affectionately known as “the tunnel,” the former bank’s basement vault houses Frank’s inventory, which also includes uniform pieces for chefs, industrial workers and Missouri Conservation Department employees. An old eight-track tape shelf organizes more than 100 uniform badges waiting to be sewn on by a handful of Singer sewing machines dating back to World War II.

Same pie, more mouths
The tunnel isn’t nearly as full as it once was. Flipping through a tattered black ledger in use since his grandfather opened shop, Smith says Frank’s brought in $292,000 in revenue last year as the business struggles to fill a void left by its one-time largest client: the Springfield Police Department.

“We are down considerably,” he says, noting the company’s revenue peak of $716,000 in 2000. “The pie hasn’t grown, but people sitting down at the table to eat a slice of that pie have.”

For decades, Frank’s was the only uniform shop for hundreds of miles, but Smith says he counts nearly 10 competitors regionally, including one in Carthage that now supplies uniforms for the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, an $88,000 annual contract.

Smith says in 2011, operational changes at SPD cut his salary by two-thirds as the department started buying uniforms in bulk.

“The department was never contracted with Frank’s but all the officers spent their uniform allowance there,” says SPD spokeswoman Lisa Cox. “In 2011, we started having the uniform allowances sent to the training unit and having all academy uniforms purchased together.

“Procedure says when you spend that much at once, you have to bid it out. The department chose the lowest bid.”

With an estimated market price of roughly $1,000 per uniform for the 12-25 academy graduates, Cox says the department buys from New Jersey-based Red the Uniform Tailor for $960.95 per recruit. Cox notes many post-academy officers still choose to spend their uniform allowance at Frank’s.

Head to toe
Smith’s wife and co-owner, Amy, says it’s the personal touch that keeps officers, such as SPD’s Aaron Pearson, who recently was shot in the line of duty, coming back to Frank’s each year. In addition to monetary contributions, the Smiths embroidered SPD uniform T-shirt fabric with the police logo and Pearson’s name as part of a quilt project for the officer’s two children.

“We get to know each of our customer’s likes and needs,” she says. “This is a personalized business, not something you can do through the mail.”

Under contract with the Christian County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Joey Kyle has patronized Frank’s since his first days in the SPD 26 years ago.

“When I was elected here, the county already used Frank’s and I was glad to keep them,” he says, noting the department’s contract ranges from roughly $10,000 to $12,000 annually. “Uniforms are not cheap. Allen would carry us and let us make payments. It’s that kind of approach you can only get from a local company.”

Through the years, Frank’s has outfitted the likes of the Showboat Branson Belle captain to train conductors at Silver Dollar City’s Fire in the Hole roller coaster, but Navy veteran Smith says the loyalty of local officers means the most.

“We’ve got their back, literally,” he says.[[In-content Ad]]