You can assume they'd rather be constructing new clothes, rather than doing alterations. You can also assume that there is some amount of their previous customer base who aren't interested in restarting the process at 0 with creating custom patterns, etc.
It's quite possible that the lasting effects are more dramatic, as this plays out over time and we move increasingly towards casual dress.
> You can assume they'd rather be constructing new clothes, rather than doing alterations
Thankfully, the free hand of the market provides a solution uniquely tailored to this kind of problem - just raise the price for the adjustments to a point where it's easier and cheaper if you just buy a new suit. In fact, if we are talking about huge weight loss I'm not even sure how the "adjustment" would be any less time-consuming than starting from scratch.
"The cost of alterations is an economically reasonable risk: the above would come in at £1,600 with Terry when they would need £5,000 to 7,000 for a replacement."
Yes, the customer is returning, but that’s completely normal in the bespoke tailoring process—it’s not new business. The process of getting a completely bespoke suit there's usually multiple fittings over several weeks. It's normal for the customer's body to change, and adjustments to made to create a better fit.
That’s why it becomes such an issue when customers come in requesting an alteration—it’s like being dropped into a team at the final stages of a project that leadership says is 90% done, but it’s been stuck for weeks trying to finalize that last 10% due to some "small last minute requirement changes"
I assumed if I kept reading there would be a line explaining why they can't simply raise prices until the demand becomes manageable with current staffing, such as "We sold all these suits with guaranteed adjustments for £[some heavily discounted number] for life", but I didn't find any such explanation. Shrug
I think the population of people buying bespoke suiting is small enough that you would not want to alienate your existing customers. I agree that they should raise the prices, but I've got to think there's an aspect of a relationship there. It was hinted at, a little bit, in the article. It's not just a financial transaction, I mean.
Precisely. They're talking about a customer who has spent £700,000 ($870,000) on suits. That's a long-term relationship built on trust. Hiking your prices to manage demand might be a short-term financial bonanza, but it's disastrous in terms of reputation.
And the article suggests that's it's not even the population of everyone with a bespoke suit so much as the minority of whales who own a lot of them. There is going to be a fair number of very demanding and impatient rich guys in that group.
It's quite possible that the lasting effects are more dramatic, as this plays out over time and we move increasingly towards casual dress.