Founded 1905
Sam Meyers
Sam Meyers was the son of immigrant parents and a tailor by trade. In 1905, master tailor Sam Meyers opened one of the first garment shops in the Midwest to supply ready-made tuxedos altered to customer's specifications. Four generations later, the family is carrying on the tradition of quality formal wear and superior customer service on which the business was founded. Sam Meyers specializes in tuxedo rentals, tuxedo sales, suit rentals and suit sales. We also offer a wide array of festive and themed suits and accessories for special events and holiday themed parties!
Sam Meyers Grows Up
Mr. Meyers only daughter, Mary Lee Meyers married Jim Corbett, who entered the business and eventually took over as president. They have five children - Carolyn, Sam, Pat, Mark and Lee. Jim Corbett started the wholesale division to rent tuxedos regionally. When Sam Meyers passed away in 1962, Jim continued the the high standards with the help of two of his sons, Sam and Pat. The other siblings took different career paths. When Jim retired in the mid 1990's Sam and Pat purchased the company.
The company moved to larger quarters at 6th and Main in 1978, occupying 40,000 square feet. The company moved again in July of 1986 into “the warehouse” which was a state-of-the-art facility with over 110,000 square feet of space. In 2019 we moved from the warehouse into the St. Mathews mall where we house our entire inventory providing thousands of tuxedos and suits to rent or purchase.
Timeline
1905 - Sam Meyers, a Louisville tailor, opens a tailoring firm.
1930's - Sam Meyers makes formal wear for a local department store.
1940's - Sam Meyers Formal Wear rents ready-made formal wear locally.
1950's - James H. Corbett, Sam Meyers' son-in-law enters firm and begins wholesale rental of formal wear on a regional basis.
1970's - Sam and Pat Corbett, Jim Corbett's sons, enter Sam Meyers Formal Wear. Both retail and wholesale businesses expand rapidly.
1978 - Sam Meyers Formal Wear moves its headquarters to 631 West Main. The 40,000 sq. ft. remodeled building includes a showroom, laundry, shipping and alteration departments, as well as corporate offices. The wholesale market is national in scope.
1980's - Sam Meyers Formal Wear buys Bittner's Formal Wear with two locations In Nashville, Tennessee.
1983 - Sam Meyers Formal Wear buys Hamilton's Formal Wear, a Louisville competitor.
1985 - Jim Corbett is President of the International Formalwear Association.
1986 - Sam Meyers Formal Wear builds a 110,000 sq. ft. facility designed to meet the growing demands in the marketplace. Housed in this facility is a complete state-of-the-art computer system which increases accuracy in placing orders as well as tracking formal wear. After Six confirms that this new facility is the largest, most modern of its kind in America.
1987 - Sam Meyers Formal Wear expands horizontally to a related field, opening three Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry outlets: 2924 Hikes Lane, Germantown Square, and 516 West Main Street. At the same time, three Sam Meyers Formal Wear outlets are opened in Cincinnati.
1988 - Sam Meyers Formal Wear expands horizontally to include industrial uniform rental and sales. Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry opens an outlet at Holiday Manor, which also includes a Sam Meyers Formal Wear outlet.
1989 - Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry opens two outlets, one at 9800 Shelbyville Road and one at 3620 Lexington Road.
1990 - Sam Meyers Formal Wear buys a Boston wholesale tuxedo rental company and renames it Sam Meyers of New England.
1991 - Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry opens three outlets, one at Woodlawn Shopping Center, one at 8022 New LaGrange Road, and one in the Waterside Building at 101 East Main Street. Also, space is rented as a dry cleaning service center in the Winn Dixie at the Springs. Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry closes its Germantown outlet.
1992 - Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry rents space as a dry cleaning service center in Kroger's at McMahan Plaza on Breckinridge Lane. The Winn Dixie dry cleaning service center is closed.
1993 - Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry acquires Logan's Dry Cleaning, including two outlets, in Shelbyville, Kentucky. At the same time, two more dry cleaning outlets are opened in Louisville: 9213 U.S. 42 and 400 West Market Street in the Capital Holding Building.
1993 - Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry acquires Spalding Dry Cleaners, which includes 17 dry cleaning stores and 5 routes. With this acquisition Sam Meyers is the largest dry cleaner in Kentucky.
1995 - Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry opens Discount Cleaners and Shirt Laundry at 5717 Bardstown Road.
1997 - Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry acquires Capital Dry Cleaners, a 70-year-old establishment in Frankfort, Kentucky.
1998 - Sam Meyers Formal Wear buys Bernie's Formal Wear in Quincy, MA. Sam Meyers Dry Cleaning acquires John Cope The Cleaners. The nine outlets are consolidated to six.
2001 - Sam Meyers opens a new store combining both formal wear and men's designer casual clothing. Located at The Mall - St. Matthews, Louisville's premier shopping center, management anticipates the high fashion addition will be a regional shopping destination!