TAILORS ARE BOLDLY GOING INTO MARKETING

Traditional reticence and long-held suspicions of publicity have been a barrier to Savile Row's development in the modern world of marketing. With one or two notable exceptions, tailors have largely remained unknown and any attempts at promotion have been tempered by a wholely admirable if decidedly limiting desire to keep their customer relations entirely confidential. But things they are a-changing.

Have no illusions: They are not about to start revealing the identity of famous customers, nor exposing their private dimensions. But some are making serious moves to draw attention to themselves and to widen their horizons.

Take China, for example, the market that everyone wants to get into, and the one that everyone recognises as difficult. Yet Savile Row tailors are ahead of many global corporations in moving into this huge  country, where quality, tradition and exclusivity are increasingly in demand.

One of the first on the scene was Kilgour. Back in 1997, we helped stage the first British retail promotion in Shanghai  and found Kilgour already there. They had signed a licensing agreement that saw them have suits made in China. Despite Fred Stanbury spinning in his grave, this proved a successful arrangement.

The jacket above is an example of Henry Poole's impeccable classic tailoring. On the right, Richard Anderson used a bold check cloth for this topcoat. At bottom, the classic Huntsman style, a one-button suit jacket with long slim shape and lapels.

The store promotion, staged in cooperation with the British Consulate and the then Department of Trade & Industry, helped spearhead a raft of promotions and attempts by British industry to move into China.  Yet it proved a tricky business scene and many early attempts by British clothing companies failed to blossom.

Yet that leading light in Savile Row, Henry Poole, is starting to see rewards for its carefully nurtured move into China. Viewers of the TV series on Savile Row earlier this year will have seen Poole’s then representative in difficulties with their Chinese partners – but since m.d. Angus Cundey has applied the benefit of his long experience in visits to guide development, he reports that they are now “seeing very good business”.

They are of course well established in Japan and now it is India. A contract with a major Indian department store group will see a Henry Poole outlet opening first in Bangalor, then Delhi this year, with Mumbai to follow. In addition to their long-established American and European business, for which all clothes are made in their Savile Row workrooms, all this makes Poole a player, albeit a small one, on the global market.

Now, plans are afoot to promote the Henry Poole brand as other global brands are marketed. For the first time, this grand old company is employing the services of a marketing consultant, Caroline Brown, and sees this as the natural next step to the extensive refurbishment of it premises undertaken last year.

Huntsman, iconic Savile Row name in the past, is set to revitalise its image. It went through a rocky period in the 1990s, under changes of ownership, but is now settled under the able management of Peter Smith. He has been with Huntsman for many years and in the Row for many more.

The company has always made some classic styles for ladies but is now moving to develope this sector. For the first time, it has appointed a women's wear cutter, Anette Akselberg, and has a consultancy with stylist and fashion editor, Pippa Holt, to advise on styling. And this forms part of a strategy to increase its profile, with a newly appointed outside public relations company. The Huntsman name is to be in the spotlight.

Richard Anderson's company hasn't longevity (he launched it in 2001) but he trained at Huntsman and is assisted by Brian Lishak - referred to as The Godfather of Savile Row and who celebrated 50 years in the business last year.

They have always had a policy of promoting the business, through a PR company, and also with new styles and ideas each season. Exclusive tweeds, unusual use of patterns and such revolutionary window displays as a scarlet sequin dinner jacket have helped to put the Anderson name in many style magazines.

Brian's long connections with the U.S. has ensured strong business there, and they also have good customers in Japan, but they are now starting to look at other markets. Potential links with China are being considered and India is another possible market.

These are just some examples of a new outlook in Savile Row. This may be prompted by younger executives but the Row has always had an international customer base and its representatives have long travelled to important customers in faraway places.

Now, they are at last starting to recognise the benefits to be had in actively promoting their names, in a way that far less accomplished and experienced companies have done so successfully. Savile Row itself is famous. Now, its tailoring names are set to take on a higher profile and to move into the luxury limelight that the likes of Armani and Ralph Lauren have so long enjoyed.