The town I grew up, Lincoln some miles northeast of Sacramento, never had more than 3,800 residents in the 28 years I lived there.

If you wanted to buy clothes without leaving Lincoln, you really only had one choice — Demas Department Store.

It was run by an enterprising Greek immigrant Peter Demas and his son Eli.

By 1974, when I had graduated high school, shopping patterns had change to the point almost everyone in Lincoln drove to stores in Roseville or in the suburban outskirts of Sacramento to do the bulk of their clothes shopping.

That said, you’d drop by Demas  first if you didn’t want to go out of town.

On one occasion when I was 19, I was looking for a pair of Dockers-style slacks.

Try as I might, I could not find a pair in my size at the time in the color I preferred.

As I started making my way toward the front door, Mr. Demas approached me.

He asked if he could help me find what I was looking for.

Together, we made our way back to the men’s clothing section. He found the style and color I wanted, but not my size.

He insisted, though, I try on one pair. 

When I stepped out of the dressing cubicle, it was clear it was way too big. Sagging pants back in 1975 weren’t any acceptable option.

As he handed me the next size down, he made the pronouncement, “you need to gain weight.”

I looked at the tag and was more than sure the pair he handed me wasn’t going to work.

He insisted I try it on, noting you never know.

A minute later, I was standing in my stockings turning a beet red when Mr. Demas stated the obvious as he patted my stomach, “you need to lose weight.”

That encounter surfaced from wherever in one’s mind your brain stores seemingly inconsequential images and words from 50 years ago after reading about the ongoing trials and tribulations of Macy’s and Kohl’s.

Macy’s is closing 66 stores nationwide and 9 in California.

Kohl’s is calling it quits at 27 locations across the USA including 10 in the Golden State.

It has less to do with economic malaise than it does with not being the right fit.

Try as you might, you’ll not going to get someone with a 40-inch waist that I had at the time to buy pants with a 38-inch waist or a 42-inch waste.

Whatever Macy’s and Kohl’s are doing in the locations they are closing, it is due to not being a fit for the consumer dynamics of the community they are serving.

Yes, there are discounters, online shopping, and even Costco selling clothes.

But the reason the stores failed is fairly elementary.

They weren’t snagging customers in the markets they are located.

It may be because of styles, it may be because of selection, it may because of pricing, it may be because of convenience, and it may be because they never have the right size.

Assuming everything else listed isn’t out of my comfort zone, the one thing that tops my list for reasons I reduce trips to a clothing retailer is their consistently not having something in my size that is in a style or design I see in their store that I like.

Shirts are the worst example.

I’ve now worn large for years.

But it almost never fails when I find something I like and I’m even willing to splurge to pay the non-discounted price whatever that means anymore, I rarely can find a large.

There seems to always be a lot of smalls, a generous selection of mediums, and at last a couple extra larges, and even XXL.

That goes for button and collar shirts off the racks  — as opposed to dress shirts neatly folded on shelves — as well as casual shirts, exercise shirts, and T-shirts with designs.

More than once I’ve asked clerks why they don’t stock more larges.

And each time I was told the reason they don’t have large sizes in abundance is because a lot of guys that could wear mediums prefer large.

One would think if your inventory sent to stores is continually depleted of large size after a short period, you’d adjust the number of shirts you send in a particular size.

This is not an observation of a cranky old man.

Take a look at places like Kohl’s — the place I’d prefer to buy shirts because I like their styles the most but rarely end up buying from there because I never can find a large that is a normal fit — and see how they sell pants that are placed on shelving.

The top shelves have the 28s, 30s. 

The next shelf down has the 32s, 33s, and 34s.

The larger sizes are on the bottom.

Given I’ve been a 33 now for more than two decades, the amount of searching through stacks of pants on bottom shelves is minimal unless I’m on the lookout for pants that a previous customer returned to me same shelf.

I get the “system” is for waist sizes to start at the lowest number and work down.

But if you’re a guy searching for a 42, you have to go to the lowest shelf that clearly is easier for the customer searching for the 28s to access.

Perhaps it is a small thing.

But it doesn’t build confidence that whoever is running a brick and mortar concern is making the right decisions.

And that includes the assumption you can simply order it in the store via a kiosk or online.

Not all customers want to buy clothes they are going to wear online.

Some are completely comfortable with it.

But the problem is if you are still among the pool of consumers that want to try on clothes before you buy them.

You aren’t thrilled with hit and miss via the online process that allows free shipping returns if it doesn’t fit right,  or you notice an issue with a button and such that is unacceptable.

The kiosk ordering isn’t going to make you spend money at the store.

Dialing in on micro-consumer bases that specific stores serve is dicey.

In areas with strong consumer bases and population growth, you don’t have to thread a needle as much as simply play a good game of horseshoes and get close enough to make it count.

It’s why Kohl’s stores in Manteca, Stockton, and Modesto are still standing as well as the Macy’s locations in Tracy, Stockton, and Modesto.

That said, you can price yourself out of existence.

You can also over emphasize cutting edge styles to attract new shoppers to the point your steady customer base starts abandoning you.

Retail, especially when it involves clothing that has a style component, can be fickle and risky before interjecting the meat and potatoes economic issues.

It is why the predictable chorus of bloggers gleefully tapping away on their screens about what they perceive to be the pending demise of specific retailers means we’re heading for an economic Armageddon, or Amazon is laying waste to Main Street and shopping malls is off the mark.

Retailers — virtual or brick and mortar — have to be a good fit for consumers.

It’s not the other way around that consumers have to be a good fit for retailers.

It didn’t get people to buy something that didn’t fit their needs and wants 50 years ago.

And if still isn’t working today.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com