April 3, 2005
savile row in the evening standard
Have you ever wondered why English Cut has such an unconventional business model by Savile Row standards? An article in last Friday’s Evening Standard magazine (The ES is the big London paper that everybody buys to read on their evening commute) went a long way to explaining why. The business is changing, and methinks in English Cut’s favor.
I couldn’t find a URL on their website. Luckily Dominik sent me scans of it. Go see:
Page One. Page Two. Page Three.
Interesting to read about the trend to reducing “production” times — seems like some people aren’t prepared to wait until they can be fitted in.
The cynic in me wonders whether these reduced times indicate cutting of corners or whether the extended delivery times of old were due to inefficient businesses or a desire to artificially make the product seem special.
I agree, that is very cynical
Shortening the times is definitely cutting corners. But sometimes that’s just as much the customer’s fault, for not understanding how the game actually works.
Let’s say you’re Mr Jones, and you bought a suit last year from Tom, which you loved. So let’s say you want another one, just like it. Quite right.
Well, for that to happen you need it seen by the same guy who sewn it last time, say, Peter G (not his real first name), one of the best 3 – 4 sewing tailors in the world.
Hey, guess what? I saw Peter G yesterday (true story), and he’s currently busy sewing 15 suits for a certain New Yorker who is both very rich and famous. And after that he’s got another job of 12 suits for another hot shot of equal fame and social standing. And who knows? Maybe the Sultan of Brunei will fly into London for the day and order 30 suits, as he’s been known to do in the past. So our friend Peter G is busy for a while.
So Mr Jones, you as a customer have two choices– wait for Peter G to fit you in or give Tom permission to give your job to another tailor.
What would be your answer?
By automatically shortening production times you are basically allowing the suit to be handled by different tailors, every time.
You think you get to cut coats for Mr Brunei Sultan Chappie, or let’s say Calvin Klein, Donald Trump, Graydon Carter etc, by having “a desire to artificially make the product seem special”?
No, sorry. This isn’t designer label. This isn’t Madison Avenue. This is a whole different league.
Thanks for the clarification Hugh — I was being incredibly cynical — because that is my nature and because I couldn’t make sense of the tactics detailed in the ES. They either are indicative of poor organisation or cutting corners — I couldn’t see how either would be something worth crowing about and you confirm that.