Dear Sartorius,
I might just as well write in Romanian and my message would still get across just as fine
Costi, I am hearing you just fine in english thank you. And very much enjoying our debate!
jb wrote: it seems clear that RTW is a different business with entirely different determinants of success. In the bespoke world top notch craft can develop loyal customers, albeit one at a time, and create staying power at a modest level. RTW success is about marketing and proper merchandising, skills that are not developed in the normal course of running the bespoke business. Further, RTW takes a fair amount of investment upfront for each new season and can therefore be a new source of risk if not managed carefully.
jb - I entirely agree. Whilst I am supportive in principle of the bespoke houses' attempts to diversify, I also worry that they are going about it in the wrong way. The risks you identify are real and immediate.
In a perfect world I would probably prefer them to focus on their core business and perhaps expand by acquiring their supply chain (the mills and cloth producers) rather than trying to take ground from Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss. The trouble is that the supply chain is itself struggling for survival and going in that direction would probably just mean acquiring another tier of ailing companies. Also, while you gain the benefit of being able to control your inputs, you don't actually gain more customers for your end product. Not much sense in that.
Alternatively, they could have gone into very high end RTW and competed with the likes of Brioni, Ermenegildo Zegna and Loro Piana. I suspect however that these companies have a very similar customer base so it would be very difficult to grow the business significantly - they would be trying to increase market share in what is already quite a small pool.
Being realistic, therefore, I feel confident that G&H and Kilgour would have analysed the market and, whatever your view about their direction now, they have gone about things wholeheartedly and professionally. They evidently do spend big on marketing (check out any issue of GQ) and they have also diversified their RTW labels (G&H has the "Gieves" label and Kilgour now has a separate RTW line housed in the newer of its SR preminses). There are differences of course - G&H has opened a string of stores across the UK whereas Kilgour is still exclusively based in SR and seems to be aiming at a slightly higher end and fashion forward customer. But both have appointed creative directors with responsibility for the RTW lines.
So, whilst I don't necessarily like what they're doing, they have gone about it with a recognisably sophisticated level of business sense and planning. That in itself is reassuring for those of us intending to continue to buy and maintain bespoke garments from these great names.
Yes, your strategy is the winning one and I am sure there is a miriad of creative, tasteful ideas to promote bespoke OVER rtw rather than thoughtlessly sign the pact with the devil (which, in our case, is not RTW clothing itself, but giving up on one's fundamental values).
