Some questions about a potential suit business...

[BradleyMatthew]

I set up an e-commerce site for custom suits. It took six months to build my relationships with suppliers. It's a really high barrier niche, and it's even more difficult to establish an advantage over competitors.

I wanted to learn from entrepreneurs who wear suits regularly about some of the issues. In addition to the material and design, what if the suit could automatically break down odors, such as cigarette smoke, alcohol, or even body odor and it can break down most bacteria, including mites. Could this be a breakthrough for the traditional suit industry?

Happy to hear any suggestions, thanks in advance.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Wish I could help... I don't own a suit and haven't in 25 years. Wearing one for me is tantamount to a strait-jacket.

That said, my initial gut says that this is a declining industry, especially with more work-at-home, remote jobs becoming normal.

Was there a reason why you would get into this industry?

In addition to the material and design, what if the suit could automatically break down odors, such as cigarette smoke, alcohol, or even body odor and it can break down most bacteria, including mites. Could this be a breakthrough for the traditional suit industry?

Sure, these are bonafide value skews.

 

[Kak]

That said, my initial gut says that this is a declining industry, especially with more work-at-home, remote jobs becoming normal.

Definitely a declining industry...

I don't share the straight jacket sentiment, but as someone that has never avoided wearing professional attire, I must say it has been a while for me. It just rarely seems called for anymore.

Last year, I picked up, what in 2019 would have been a $2500 suit for about $300. I have paid more than $1000 for a lot of my suits and this one is the nicest one I own. I haven't even had the pants hemmed yet. It is sitting in my closet collecting dust. At this point, my suits pretty much only come out for black tie events and charity gala type things.

Now, there is always going to be a demand for suits, ties, and the like because of politicians, lawyers, and finance. Three violent shitbag industries most of us don't want to look like we are part of.

My belief is that priority one for today's "dressing for success" is physical fitness. It shows motivation, dedication to a goal, and results.

 

[Simon Angel]

My belief is that priority one for today's "dressing for success" is physical fitness. It shows motivation, dedication to a goal, and results.

I agree. I'm much more inclined to work with someone who looks like they take care of themselves than one who appears to have completely let themselves go.

Fittingly, I've also noticed that successful people seem to have better physical fitness on average than regular folk.

 

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[eramart]

Maybe your innovation could be sold without suits? A spray, or maybe some substance that can be applied when manufacturing cloth - won’t it be more scalable?

 

[BradleyMatthew]

Wish I could help... I don't own a suit and haven't in 25 years. Wearing one for me is tantamount to a strait-jacket.

That said, my initial gut says that this is a declining industry, especially with more work-at-home, remote jobs becoming normal.

Was there a reason why you would get into this industry?



Sure, these are bonafide value skews.

MJ! Thank you for your reply.

Yes, I am well aware of what is coming up in this industry. But my target customer base is also people who are high income earners who tend to be more demanding in what they wear, at least at some point.

My marketing purpose is also clear, targeting a specific niche as pricing will come to $600-$1000. Relying on leading product power for word of mouth communication.

As for the reasons there are many, can I say it's because of James Bond?

 

[BradleyMatthew]

Definitely a declining industry...

I don't share the straight jacket sentiment, but as someone that has never avoided wearing professional attire, I must say it has been a while for me. It just rarely seems called for anymore.

Last year, I picked up, what in 2019 would have been a $2500 suit for about $300. I have paid more than $1000 for a lot of my suits and this one is the nicest one I own. I haven't even had the pants hemmed yet. It is sitting in my closet collecting dust. At this point, my suits pretty much only come out for black tie events and charity gala type things.

Now, there is always going to be a demand for suits, ties, and the like because of politicians, lawyers, and finance. Three violent shitbag industries most of us don't want to look like we are part of.

My belief is that priority one for today's "dressing for success" is physical fitness. It shows motivation, dedication to a goal, and results.

I agree that this is a declining industry.

But as I said, my client base experience is very niche. There will still be a segment of the population, or people in certain professions, who need them.

Due to the high cost this is hardly a $100 suit sold in Amazon. We can't make and sell thousands of them a day because they're all handmade.

 

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[BradleyMatthew]

Maybe your innovation could be sold without suits? A spray, or maybe some substance that can be applied when manufacturing cloth - won’t it be more scalable?

Unfortunately, the coating dissolves in water. Is resistant to rain but definitely not to drum washing machines. So it is only suitable for dry cleaning clothes. We will use it in other industry, but for me I want to focus on here first.

 

[Kak]

I agree that this is a declining industry.

But as I said, my client base experience is very niche. There will still be a segment of the population, or people in certain professions, who need them.

Due to the high cost this is hardly a $100 suit sold in Amazon. We can't make and sell thousands of them a day because they're all handmade.

I don’t know brother. I was your ideal customer. I’m not really anymore. I’m seeing a trend of more and more casual attire.

That said, I see another problem. You are admitting it isn’t very scalable. You should be able to scale up even with a super high quality product. Somehow, Brioni and Kiton do it. Scale should be what you aspire to.

I’m not going to say this isn’t possible! It certainly is. You could dominate the suit industry. I hope you do. There just might be a broader market you can serve.

 

[BradleyMatthew]

I don’t know brother. I was your ideal customer. I’m not really anymore. I’m seeing a trend of more and more casual attire.

That said, I see another problem. You are admitting it isn’t very scalable. You should be able to scale up even with a super high quality product. Somehow, Brioni and Kiton do it. Scale should be what you aspire to.

I’m not going to say this isn’t possible! It certainly is. You could dominate the suit industry. I hope you do. There just might be a broader market you can serve.

Thank you for the suggestion, it reminds us.

Regarding the style we are not doing very serious, vintage suits. It will be a little more casual.

We have a great designer and I'm sure he can solve the problem. My hesitation is whether we should lower the quality of the fabric to lower the price.

 

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[Bing]

Seeing as I'm wearing my (only) suit in my profile picture, I feel I have to chime in. Keep in mind I'm a work-from-home software engineer and have been for ~8 years, so I rarely wear suits, but I do throw a formal New Years Eve party every year specifically so I can break out my tuxedo.

All that said, there are definitely professions who will not be ditching suits anytime soon. Lawyers is the first to mind, morticians, high-end car sales (Jaguar, Range Rover, Bentley)... plenty to make decent money.

My advice would be to approach 1-2 customers for an industry you will specifically target and ask them if they would like a custom made suit (either at-cost or free if you can swing it) and ask for feedback. Then be sure you over-deliver, maybe have their personal signature stitched inside using 24k gold yarn or some "signature" of yours. Wow them with quality and maybe give each one a business card with a different phone number on it (Google Voice works well here) so you can track who is talking about "this insane guy gave me this $800 for free, and it's by far the best one I own".

I could be completely off-base, but that's where I'd do my market testing in the suit industry.

 

[BradleyMatthew]

Seeing as I'm wearing my (only) suit in my profile picture, I feel I have to chime in. Keep in mind I'm a work-from-home software engineer and have been for ~8 years, so I rarely wear suits, but I do throw a formal New Years Eve party every year specifically so I can break out my tuxedo.

All that said, there are definitely professions who will not be ditching suits anytime soon. Lawyers is the first to mind, morticians, high-end car sales (Jaguar, Range Rover, Bentley)... plenty to make decent money.

My advice would be to approach 1-2 customers for an industry you will specifically target and ask them if they would like a custom made suit (either at-cost or free if you can swing it) and ask for feedback. Then be sure you over-deliver, maybe have their personal signature stitched inside using 24k gold yarn or some "signature" of yours. Wow them with quality and maybe give each one a business card with a different phone number on it (Google Voice works well here) so you can track who is talking about "this insane guy gave me this $800 for free, and it's by far the best one I own".

I could be completely off-base, but that's where I'd do my market testing in the suit industry.

It's a good idea, and we've thought about doing it on LinkedIn.

But we want to go ahead and mention the deodorizing and germicidal effect of the suit through video in the early stages. Maybe influencers would be a better choice？

Anyway, thanks for the reply.

 

[Boogie]

Fashion is always in fashion. You just need to find it. It seems odd to try to find it in the micro niche of people who want to dissolve scents with their clothing instead of just selling what they all want - good clothes that make them feel special because they're rare or weird or custom and they have one and look cool or important in it. But who knows?

You might like this. Hugo Jacomet has a youtube channel called Sartorial Talks. Here he is speaking to the founder of an Italian clothing company with bespoke suits selling online with other merchandise. He expressed some of the sentiments above about starting that kind of company today. Hugo alone has hundreds of videos talking about suits and how to buy them as well as interviews with bespoke suit and shoe makers. Someone's interested. Maybe some material for you.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZN4-lvSQbQ


Here's an interview he did with makers and online sellers of very nice socks:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWCSrP42m1E


They even do bespoke socks: Our Parisian Bespoke Sock Workshop

There are still people who wear suits. You might try looking into content or talking to influencers like Hugo who wear them, write, and create videos about them and might be able to feature your products. Just be good first.

Kirby Allison has a successful business selling very nice and expensive men's clothing and cigar accessories. Here he is talking about his $80k suit collection which might interest you. What are the emotions behind these expensive purchases he made especially starting out as a young guy? He and his beautiful wife on their wedding day with his custom tux will get someone's attention. What a great way to relive memories and show the benefit of having nice things. Look at the suit lovers like him and see what he talks about.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OydksQjNuP4


BTW, He started with the idea of selling luxury hangers for suits and started that online. Hangers of all things. Pretty micro niched, but turned that into a good biz.

The Hanger Project Story - Kirby Allison

Kirby Allison helps the well-dressed acquire and care for their wardrobes while exploring the world of quality, craftsmanship, and tradition. Discover our collection of luxury wooden hangers, saphir shoe polish, and other luxury clothing accessories!

www.kirbyallison.com

 

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[BizyDad]

Last year, I picked up, what in 2019 would have been a $2500 suit for about $300. I have paid more than $1000 for a lot of my suits and this one is the nicest one I own. I haven't even had the pants hemmed yet. It is sitting in my closet collecting dust.

Same. Your comment last year inspired me to take advantage of the deals. Mine is also hanging in a closet, as yet untailored.

 

[BradleyMatthew]

Fashion is always in fashion. You just need to find it. It seems odd to try to find it in the micro niche of people who want to dissolve scents with their clothing instead of just selling what they all want - good clothes that make them feel special because they're rare or weird or custom and they have one and look cool or important in it. But who knows?

You might like this. Hugo Jacomet has a youtube channel called Sartorial Talks. Here he is speaking to the founder of an Italian clothing company with bespoke suits selling online with other merchandise. He expressed some of the sentiments above about starting that kind of company today. Hugo alone has hundreds of videos talking about suits and how to buy them as well as interviews with bespoke suit and shoe makers. Someone's interested. Maybe some material for you.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZN4-lvSQbQ


Here's an interview he did with makers and online sellers of very nice socks:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWCSrP42m1E


They even do bespoke socks: Our Parisian Bespoke Sock Workshop

There are still people who wear suits. You might try looking into content or talking to influencers like Hugo who wear them, write, and create videos about them and might be able to feature your products. Just be good first.

Kirby Allison has a successful business selling very nice and expensive men's clothing and cigar accessories. Here he is talking about his $80k suit collection which might interest you. What are the emotions behind these expensive purchases he made especially starting out as a young guy? He and his beautiful wife on their wedding day with his custom tux will get someone's attention. What a great way to relive memories and show the benefit of having nice things. Look at the suit lovers like him and see what he talks about.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OydksQjNuP4


BTW, He started with the idea of selling luxury hangers for suits and started that online. Hangers of all things. Pretty micro niched, but turned that into a good biz.

The Hanger Project Story - Kirby Allison

Kirby Allison helps the well-dressed acquire and care for their wardrobes while exploring the world of quality, craftsmanship, and tradition. Discover our collection of luxury wooden hangers, saphir shoe polish, and other luxury clothing accessories!

www.kirbyallison.com

I appreciate your response, it's been a great help!

My designer expressed the same view as you. Functionality is the added value, design is the goat.

 

[Mathuin]

The number of men who NEED to wear a suit is reducing due to Big Denim’s Anti-Suit propaganda.

There will always be the men who WANT to wear a suit and are willing to pay a premium.

The Gentleman Wolf/ Sharply Dressed International Playboy is timeless.

View: https://youtu.be/eIlWcH68Q2c

 

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[BradleyMatthew]

The number of men who NEED to wear a suit is reducing due to Big Denim’s Anti-Suit propaganda.

There will always be the men who WANT to wear a suit and are willing to pay a premium.

The Gentleman Wolf/ Sharply Dressed International Playboy is timeless.

View: https://youtu.be/eIlWcH68Q2c

I think the suits are just lost to the people who would have been forced to wear them. They tend to go shopping for $100 or so cheaper.

Elegance never goes out of style.