Jeff Recker didn't choose his business; it chose him. Mr. Recker is CEO and founder of PlusSize.com, a Web retailer that represents many lines of clothing and accessories for women who wear sizes 12 and larger. Most recently, Frederick's of Hollywood and Lands' End have signed on to feature their apparel on what Mr. Recker calls “the No. 1 plus-size portal.”

        The two retailers join more than 40 brand-name designers and manufacturers, including Coldwater Creek, The Gap, Jockey and Liz Claiborne.

        The Cincinnati native didn't set out to become a niche apparel marketer. After graduation from Xavier University and a colorful string of jobs in sales, tourism, acting and diamond brokering, Mr. Recker moved to New York to further his acting career. To pay the bills, he began designing Web sites.

        As the Web became his stage, Mr. Recker and friend Charlie Mason started buying domain names and creating concepts for possible e-retailing.

        “We bought PlusSize.com because someone let it expire, and we found we were getting a few hundred hits a day,” he explained. “We thought, "This is a natural opportunity.'”"

        Neither man had any experience in apparel sales, but thought it significant that hundreds of women were cruising a Web site that existed in name only. A bit of research showed that the potential in larger sizes was very promising.

        “According to the Centers for Disease Control, 68 percent of the American female population is a size 12 or larger,” Mr. Recker said. “Women's Wear Daily says that the plus-size market is a $26.1 billion industry. No matter how you cut it, it's a large pie.”

        To further sample that pie, the men posted an “under construction” notice on the PlusSize.com Web site and asked interested visitors to register for information on the site launch. The entrepreneurs also asked visitors for comments on why they were browsing the site. They were deluged with responses.

        “They want to feel good about the way they look; they want to feel sexy,” Mr. Recker explained. He keeps a list of the many comments received, voicing the frustration many large women have in finding clothes that fit and flatter them.

        The company rented space from Main Street Ventures in Over-the-Rhine. Mr. Recker became the front man, with Mr. Mason providing technical support from his home in New York City. The PlusSize.com Web site premiered in April 2001.

        Said Mr. Recker: “We have a quarter-million people visit our site on a monthly basis. More than 100,000 have registered to receive e-mail from us. All this with virtually no advertising.”

        While the site was an instant success, the two partners quickly realized that their full-figured customers wanted to do more than window shop or order relatively safe clothing from their cyber mall.

        So they collaborated with a Montreal-based software company to install a virtual-shopper program on the Web site. Now each plus-size shopper can use My Virtual Model Dressing Room to create a three-dimensional computer model of herself, correct to details of hair and eye color and skin tone.

        “The "virtual you' makes it easy for shoppers to find and "try on' fashionable, comfortable clothing — even swimwear — in the privacy and comfort of their own home,” said Bob Burgert, senior merchandise manager at Lands' End.

        This capability also lured retailer Frederick's of Hollywood to PlusSize.com.

        “With the largest selection of plus-sized merchandise in the industry, PlusSize.com offers our customer a convenient, private way to buy sexy, fun lingerie,” explained Gary Landry, general manager of Frederick's of Hollywood direct division.“We are always looking for ways to make the shopping experience for our customers more personal and successful; this service is one of those ways.

        “This is a formidable market segment that needs constant attention and support,” he continued. “No other lingerie maker will have this type of online retail support. Therefore, we hope to be the dominant force in the plus-size market.”

        “Frederick's is going to make a lot of other retailers decide that ours is a useful tool,” Mr. Recker said. “They can reach plus-size women at lower cost than by renting retail space.”

        PlusSize.com is getting attention from other quarters as well. Recently, Procter & Gamble's online S-Magazine, which reaches 1.2 million people, included a feature on the new company. The company also won S-Magazine's Editor's Choice Award.

        PlusSize.com's owners are taking a more in-depth look at their customers and plan on expanding their offerings. Shoppers already can print out coupons from the PlusSize site and use them in featured merchants' bricks-and-mortar stores. This crossover enhances the value of PlusSize.com to the retailers and manufacturers it represents.

        “We look to establish a lot of relationships with a lot of national retailers, offering daily items such as footwear,” Mr. Recker said.

        “We're looking beyond apparel, to things such as automobiles. Women are making 70 percent of buying decisions in this country. More than half of American women wear size 12 or larger. The plus-size woman is the most powerful woman in the U.S.”

        PlusSize hits Main Street

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