Back in college, Cage Charlet dreamt of opening a luxury menswear store. As the son of the owners of stores like The Corbel and Barlow, Charlet was no stranger to the retail field. So when he opened outdoorsmen-focused men’s clothing store Deyo Supply Company just weeks ago, he was starting his own chapter.

Keep scrolling for Charlet’s story behind Deyo Supply Company and what to expect at the store this winter.

1. What is a typical day like for you and your team?

We’re a brick-and-mortar store. We’re here in person, accepting customers coming in, seeing the space and touching and feeling all the things that we’re selling and offering. We’ve got a store manager, so she, along with our other sales associates, are there on a daily basis to answer questions and help customers find what they’re looking for, whether it’s for themselves or a gift.

2. What’s your professional background? How did you get into the retail field?

One of the first businesses that my dad and uncle started back in 2000 was called The Corbel. That’s a business we still have today. About two or three years ago, we were at the point where we were wanting to move The Corbel to St. Francisville, which is where we have a lot of family and personal ties. When we found the spot where we wanted to move, that property allowed us to do more than just house our existing store. It allowed us to bring some of our other businesses along as well.

Deyo is really our newest business and our newest brand. It’s actually a brand that I came up with back when I was in college, and I always had a dream of it coming to life. And so when we moved to this new property, it gave us the opportunity to see that brand come to life.

3. What are the first things customers see when they walk through the doors of Deyo Supply Company?

The first thing that they see when they walk through Deyo is everything I think a man looks for in a clothing store. “Deyo” actually means “outdoors” in Cajun French. The intention behind the whole brand was to basically bring products and services to what we would call the Sportsman’s Paradise-type customer, or the Louisiana customer that spends a considerable amount of his time in the outdoors but is attentive towards high-quality products and may even find himself at a nice restaurant. Everything that we carry is focused on the outdoors and quality.

4. What sets your store apart from other men’s stores?

One of the things that we paid very close attention to was combining quality products and brands with a space that is very experience driven. When you walk in, you are not only going to find the product that you want or are expecting, but you’ll also find a place that invites you to sit and visit. We’ve got a really nice leather couch and two big leather chairs with a coffee table in the middle. We serve bourbon, tequila and rum to any of our customers who would care to have some. We also have a TV that always plays some form of sports game. We’re trying to provide a place where men can show up and find what they want, but also sit down relax, rest, drink a glass of bourbon and be there for as long as they’d like.

5. What is one thing that you think customers should know about your store that they probably aren’t aware of?

While we have a diverse selection with our inventory, we’re not filling our space with brands and products and items that aren’t quality. One of the biggest things we want our customers to know is that whatever product expectations you have, we feel very, very confident that we’re able to go above and beyond. 

Additionally, we want our customers to know that our space was built and designed not to overcrowd and overwhelm them with products, but to overwhelm them with design and experience. Our spaces are spaces designed to be enjoyed, not just to push products in your face.

6. How do you keep your store’s inventory fresh and up to date?

We are always looking for new products from our vendors, which normally happens on a seasonal basis. You’ll see brands that you know, love and trust, like Peter Millar, Faherty or Duck Head. In addition to picking the new products that these vendors have, we’re also looking for other vendors who match the brand. We’re expecting that by next spring, we’ll probably have another three or four different brands displayed in store and on our website that people are really going to be satisfied with. These will be brands that you may not have ever heard of because they’re either new to the market or they’ve not had as much exposure. We’re always keeping our eyes wide open for new things.

7. Can you share a hint about what shoppers will see in your store this upcoming season?

We’ll have everything we have now, which will include Howler Brothers and a new brand called Choona. We’ll also have new Deyo-branded goods and apparel. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by DEYO (@deyosupplyco)

8. What was your reason for opening the store? When did it open?

We opened in mid-November. As we grow, we hope to make our brand proactive and work with other local, national and regional brands. We also want to have a lot of experience-driven things. For instance, we’ll be having a bourbon tasting soon, and we’ll do things like that regularly. 

The reason we started is because we wanted to provide something that we didn’t really feel existed, particularly in St. Francisville and across the state. 

9. What are a few of your favorite items in the store right now?

I’d have to say that my favorite item most recently has been the Tom Beckbe “Tensaw” jacket. This is something that you would certainly wear out in the field, but would also be able to get away with wearing in New York City on a cold winter day, or to dinner in south Louisiana. Howler Brothers also has some really great button-down jackets and good outerwear.

10. What are a few must-have items for the winter?

I would say a must-have that everybody knows and loves is our waxed Barbour jacket. Barbour is a really timeless brand that only gets better with age, and the same is true for its products. 

One of the other must-haves I would definitely want to throw in there is by far the best. I say this genuinely: We have the best portable speaker on the market, the Turtlebox Speaker. It is 100% waterproof and the sound quality is incredible. It’s one of the loudest portable speakers I’ve ever heard. It can also pair with another speaker and it has microphone inputs that let you do karaoke if you want. It’s rugged and certainly built for an outdoorsman, but anybody would love to have one of these.

To check out Deyo Supply Company, visit the brand’s website and follow along on Instagram @deyosupplyco.