Johnny Bigg

Johnny Bigg is built specifically around big and tall menswear, which is exactly why it tends to land better than mainstream stores stretching their largest sizes. Because fit is the whole point of the range, the cut and proportions are designed for larger frames rather than scaled up as an afterthought. If finding clothes that actually fit has been the frustration, that focus is the main reason to give it a look.

Johnny Bigg is a retail chain that sells big and tall menswear, and that single focus shapes the whole offering. Rather than covering every category, it concentrates on dressing larger men well. That clarity of purpose is what sets it apart from general menswear chains.

Johnny Bigg was launched in 2014 by Retail Apparel Group as the fourth retail chain in its portfolio. By that point the parent group already ran several established menswear names, so Johnny Bigg arrived with real retail backing. It was created to serve the big and tall segment specifically.

There are 69 Johnny Bigg stores in Australia and ten in New Zealand, including four in Auckland. So it's primarily an Australia and New Zealand brand with a solid bricks-and-mortar presence. Visiting a store is the surest way to check fit across the bigger sizes.

Johnny Bigg sits within Retail Apparel Group, which is wholly owned by The Foschini Group, a South African retail group listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. That puts it inside a large international retail operation. The backing helps explain its steady store network across the region.

Retail Apparel Group runs a portfolio that includes Tarocash, yd., Connor and the women's activewear chain Rockwear alongside Johnny Bigg. Each targets a different slice of the market, with Johnny Bigg holding the big and tall corner. Knowing the family helps if you're navigating the group's stores.

Retail Apparel Group, the company behind Johnny Bigg, has its head office in Roseberry, Sydney, with warehousing and distribution across New South Wales and Queensland. That Sydney base anchors the brand firmly in the Australian market. It's a local operation at heart, even under international ownership.

Retail Apparel Group has partnered with Thread Together, an Australian charity that redistributes new, unsold clothing to people in need. The group has supported the charity for years and donated large quantities of garments through it. So buying from a group brand connects, in a small way, to that wider effort.

In 2024, Retail Apparel Group was named by Baptist World Aid's Ethical Fashion Report as one of Australia's most improved fashion retailers for ethical sourcing and sustainability. Its score rose to place it among the top fifth of companies assessed. For shoppers who weigh sourcing, that's a meaningful signal of direction.