Suit the City is tailor-made for success

Bespoke-tailoring franchise Suit the City delivers sartorial service at a snip of the price

Suit the City is tailor-made for success

Carol Rawson first had the idea for Suit the City, the bespoke-tailoring franchise, in the 1980s. After graduating from university, she secured a high-flying job with technology giant Xerox but there was one aspect of the role that she struggled with. “If you are a professional woman, it’s really hard to find appropriate business attire,” Rawson explains. “So I had this brainwave that starting a tailoring business for women would be a really good idea.”

Rawson soon found herself a business partner with whom she registered the company. But when they decided to move abroad, she had to put things on hold until 2007. “I shelved the idea because I was looking for the right person to work with,” says Rawson.

That person turned out to be Sallie Belton, who had previously completed a work placement at Development 1st, the business consultancy that Rawson launched in 1991. “Sallie had ambition, drive and enthusiasm,” says Rawson. “She was the sort of person that could be entrepreneurial. And they are not easy to find, particularly at the age of 21, which Sallie was then.”

With Belton on board, Rawson started hunting for a factory in Europe that could produce Suit the City’s garments. Given that each of its suits is made to measure, this proved to be something of a challenge. “We trialled one factory, which was dreadful, before we found another factory that could deliver to our standards,” says Rawson. “And we have been with them for eight or nine years now.”

The company also struck a partnership with Holland & Sherry, which supplies Saville Row fabrics to Suit the City’s tailors. Yet, while the company’s attire might be designed for well-heeled professionals, it is able to offer it at a more accessible price point. “We don’t have high-street shops that cost a fortune,” says Rawson. “This means we can pay staff properly and produce a suit or jacket in the same fabric that you would pay three times the price for in Saville Row.”

And, by taking care of its employees, Suit the City brings an ethical approach to business that, according to Rawson, much of its competition lacks. “A lot of our competitors will be producing on street corners in Hong Kong or factories in Bangladesh,” she says. “We won’t do that; we won’t exploit people.””

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<p>Once the fledgling tailoring firm had its supply chain sorted, it was time to get the word out. “We found customers by networking and doing what we call ‘in-company events’,” says Rawson. “This is where we set up in a company’s boardroom and inviting staff to come in and meet us.” </p>
<p>Before long, customers were flocking in their droves to get themselves suited and booted at Suit the City’s studio in rural Buckinghamshire. Given the demand for the service, Rawson was soon putting her plan to franchise the business into practice. As she explains, the nature of the company made franchising the best bet. “Our service is very personal; we get to know our clients,” says Rawson. “We didn’t want to be managing staff all over the country.” </p>
<p>However, instead of rushing headlong into a recruitment drive, the company brought on two pilot franchisees in 2012 to help fine-tune the model. It proved to be an invaluable experience for Rawson: while one of the pilots failed to get off the ground, the other lacked the ability to sell – an essential trait for most franchisees. Ultimately, it meant the company had to go back to the drawing board. “We completely changed our recruitment profile,” says Rawson. “We needed people who were much more sales-orientated.”</p>
<p>Suit the City’s first franchisee – former Mothercare COO Tony Carr – ticked all the right boxes. “He is very professional, great with customers and a brilliant networker,” says Rawson. But, while Carr was a great fit for Suit the City, the franchise was also a good match for him. “He was looking for something that would fit around his family,” she adds. “Because this is a work-from-home franchise, he is able to go networking in the morning and then pick his kid up from school, which he couldn’t do in a corporate job.”</p>
<p>With franchisees able to run a studio from their own home, customers are afforded a more personal service than they might get from a town-centre tailor. “Most people come to our studios because it’s a very relaxing experience,” says Rawson. “You can park for free, which means you don’t have to slog down the high street and worry about your parking meter being up.” Franchisees will also pay a visit to a customer’s home if they are unable to get to the studio. “We have visited the homes of some very famous elderly people because they’re still going to ceremonies but they would find it hard to go shopping,” she says.</p>
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Adam Pescod
Adam Pescod
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