Judy and I have spent a bunch of time over the last few months learning as much as we can about tailoring and working with product suppliers. We finally agreed to work together with a particular tailor and factory yesterday. I think they’ll be able to provide us with high quality clothing at reasonable prices and have a fast turn-around.
It took us a long time to find a supplier that would interested in working with us, partially because we aren’t really sure how much volume we can provide at first. We found out pretty quickly that when you aren’t able to promise really large volume immediately, a lot of places won’t even want your business because it’s not worth the hassle.
To overcome this, we first talked to a lot of tailors to find some that would be interested, but what I think was most important at the end was that we went from just telling them what we wanted – e.g. low prices, high quality, consistent stock, to explaining a little bit more about what our vision was and why we were starting at low volumes, but that we’d like to grow together quickly. The one we decided to go with agreed to help us out quite a bit at first to try and get Bespoke Row going. Moreover, if we need to get things other than just clothes produced (shirt stays, labels, etc.), he can help us get in touch with people who can make them. Just like any other relationship, it seems that working with suppliers can’t just be them giving us what we want; we need to treat it a bit more like a team venture so that they’re rooting for our success as well.
