Duck Head pants, L.L. Bean boots, and a plaid flannel shirt. That was the popular clothing style for men when I attended the University of Alabama in the late ’80s. This look—inspired by hunting and field wear— flourished across campuses in the Southeast. Essential to the outfit were the durable cotton Duck Head pants that withstood rainy, muddy slogs across campus and, when cleaned, appeared fashionable enough for semi-formal occasions.

Duck Head remained popular until the early 2000s, when its parent company began to suffer financially. From 2001 to 2015, the Duck Head trademark passed through several corporations that failed to revive the brand.

However, Duck Head is once again making a splash. In 2016, Oxford Industries purchased Duck Head and relaunched the company in 2019. (Oxford Industries is the parent company of numerous brands such as Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer.) But this is not the Duck Head of old. The company now produces a wide assortment of high-end casual and performance apparel, including its classic chinos that have been upgraded with modern fabrications. Also, the company has much more targeted distribution, selling only through outdoor specialty stores and high-end menswear shops.

Updating the Product Line

Founded in 1865, Duck Head initially produced durable work pants and shirts. The company name is derived from its original fabric, duck cloth, now known as cotton canvas. In 1978, the workwear company reinvented itself to attract new consumers and manufactured khaki pants made of 100-percent cotton. The pants were available in a wide range of colors and became known for the ornate Duck Head logo, which was located on the hip area and featured the profile of a mallard set against a bright yellow square.

Today, Duck Head still offers classic chinos, but it also makes a wide range of casual and performance bottoms, tops, outerwear, and accessories. While it has broadened its offerings, Duck Head has also updated the materials it uses in apparel. For example, its cotton twill Classic Fit Gold School Chino pants include 3 percent Spandex for added stretch.

“It’s a product for all use cases,” says James Kokalis, Head of Brand for Duck Head. “It can take you to the office, to class, to the cookout on the weekend, and it can be a knock-around trail pant. Plus, it comes in two fits, classic and slim.”

Duck Head’s Performance Poplin Sport Shirt includes Rayon from bamboo, polyester, and Spandex, making it a lightweight piece that’s easy to clean, dries quickly, and protects from UV rays. “It’s just as much a go-to-work shirt as a fly-fishing shirt,” says Kokalis.

He says Duck Head creates collections that reflect different periods of the brand’s 160-year history and incorporate the needs of today’s customers. Its best-selling Harbor Performance Short has classic chino short styling but includes a blend of cotton, nylon, and spandex to make it ideal for travel, hiking, golf, and swimming.

Designers also refined the appearance of Duck Head apparel to appeal to aspiring sportsmen and men seeking modern styling. For example, the Performance Poplin Sport Shirt has a small, subtle embroidered duck head on the pocket. While the chinos include the company’s iconic logo, it has been reduced to a small tab below the waist. With updated materials and styling, the pants are a higher-end product than what Duck Head produced in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.  

Serving a Broad Consumer Base

By blending classic styles and modern fabrics, Duck Head has broadened its appeal, and the company’s customer base now reaches far beyond the collegiate set.

According to Kokalis, Duck Head’s customers fall into three major categories for men: ages 18 to 25, 35 to 45, and 55+. He says men 18 to 25 are discovering Duck Head for the first time and responding to the trends toward vintage products, well-established brands, and timeless styles. For men 35 and older, Duck Head is a familiar brand that brings back fond memories of youth.

Additionally, Kokalis says that roughly 30 percent of sales are to women. “Duck Head is a comfortable choice when buying clothes for granddad, fathers, and sons alike because each generation connects with the brand in a unique way,” he says. When asked which category accounts for the most sales, Kokalis said the company does equally well with each one.

Focusing on Outdoor Retail

Before Oxford Industries relaunched Duck Head, the company surveyed consumers to get their impressions of the brand and what they thought Duck Head should be today. “They said it needed to be durable, it needed to be functional for today, and it needed to connect both the past and present,” says Kokalis. Having worked in dealer sales for Mountain Khakis, Kokalis knew that outdoor specialty stores would play a key role in relaunching Duck Head as an authentic brand born from workwear roots. “It’s one of the original outdoor brands in America,” he says.

“Toward the end of the brand’s evolution in the ‘90s, it was quite commoditized,” says Kokalis. “Our opportunity today is that we have millions of built-in customers eager to reengage with us. Now we have a very premium distribution model, and we’re focused only on outdoor specialty and premium men’s specialty.”

When Duck Head entered the outdoor specialty market, it targeted iconic travel destinations such as Aspen, CO; Big Sky, MT; Charleston, SC; and Savannah, GA. Kokalis used the brand’s presence in these markets as a springboard for expansion.

Duck Head is now in about 450 outdoor and men’s specialty doors across the country, and its most extensive distribution is in the South, says Kokalis. He says Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas are significant markets for the company, and the long-term goal is to be in outdoor specialty stores nationwide. “The Northeast has an enormous pocket of opportunity,” says Kokalis. “I think the Great Lakes is also a sleeper area in many ways.”

According to Kokalis, retailers in many target markets have already expressed interest in carrying Duck Head. “The need is there,” he says. “It’s really about growing the team to service the need.”

Supporting Specialty Retailers

As Duck Head expands its distribution, the company is ensuring that it continues offering retailers top-notch service. While Duck Head offers the expected resources, such as an easy-to-use ordering platform and catalogs with images instead of line drawings, the company also goes further.

“We design our collection with a high degree of emphasis on merchandising across categories and use cases,” says Kokalis. “We bring this a step further by designing our wholesale catalog with this same merchandising point of view.” He says the catalog encourages retailers to “bring the full collection of Duck Head to life within their stores” and enables them to build curated outfits that match customers’ needs.

However, Duck Head doesn’t require retailers to purchase entire collections. “Instead, we’re inspiring and guiding them, which to me is a drastically different way to approach how to do business,” says Kokalis. 

As Kokalis continues establishing Duck Head in the outdoor specialty market, he’s focusing on building strong relationships with dealers. “Businesses can talk about supporting retailers, but how do they walk that journey with them?” he says. “I’m really proud of the suite of wholesale tools we provide retailers.”