\ Beyond the Threads \

By Alan Chambers

Despite being a former golf pro, philanthropist, business mogul, and one of the sharpest-dressed men, family is what defines H. Craig DeLongy. His professional title is Founder and CEO of John Craig Clothier.

One of the founding partners in Champ’s Sports, Craig has spent most of his life studying trends and fashion from A to Z and understanding what it takes to make a successful and long-lasting business. He is a student who has dedicated himself to a life of learning: from others, from successes, and from failures. Craig opened the first John Craig Clothier on Park Avenue in Winter Park, Florida, in 1996 with the goal of offering the best selection of high-end men’s clothing, accessories, and footwear and building a legacy of relationship-based business.
 
John Craig has expanded its footprint and currently boasts six John Craig stores in Florida’s top luxury markets: Park Avenue in Winter Park, Third Street South in Naples, The Waterside Shops in Naples, Sawgrass Village in Ponte Vedra Beach, The Equestrian Hotel in Ocala, and Harbourside Place in Jupiter. In 2009, Craig opened Current by John Craig, a contemporary men’s boutique next door to our original John Craig on Park Avenue.
 
 
John Craig continues to receive numerous awards, including the Esquire Best of Class, MR Magazine’s Uptown Downtown Award, Best of Orlando, Best Men’s Store in Naples by Gulfshore Life, Best of Ponte Vedra, and Best of Winter Park. John Craig continues to achieve industry-wide recognition on The Esquire Retail 100. This prestigious list recognizes America’s finest menswear specialty stores.

In 2023, however, Craig was catapulted into the national spotlight, winning the coveted Merchant of the Year Award for Specialty Store.

2023 also saw the addition of John Craig’s Ocala location at the posh Equestrian Hotel on the pristine 11,000 acres of The World Equestrian Center (WEC). 

As I write this piece, I am sitting in the John Craig Jupiter location, which is handsomely anchored in the Harbourside Shops, along with high-end retailers, restaurants, and the Wyndham Grand Hotel. Usually parked in the back are several yachts of those who call Jupiter home part-time. Like every John Craig location, our Jupiter store houses everything from Peter Millar sportswear to the luxurious Italian clothing line Kiton. And everything you need in between. Customers are veritable who’s from the sports and political world to those with little notoriety but impeccable taste in clothes.

Craig DeLongy has accomplished what he set out to do in 1996. He has created a legacy of lasting relationships, stores that offer the highest quality menswear, built a sustainable business that will outlast him, and given significantly to individuals and charities that have been forever changed by his contributions.

One charity that has captured Craig’s heart is The Parkinson Foundation of Central Florida, which his son Brant serves as a board member. Parkinson’s touched the DeLongy’s personally as Suzanne was first diagnosed 29 years ago. It’s a disease Craig and Suzanne want to see cured, and his business success has allowed him to give greatly toward that end.

His success can be attributed to many things like no detail, big or small, going unnoticed, knowing when to take risks, knowing when to play it safe, and surrounding himself with the wise counsel of others. Describing his knowledge of style as extensive might be an understatement.