Bespoke tailor barely scraping by in New York

[Tomasso]

Isn't Martin Greenfield Clothiers in Brooklyn too. I'm not exactly sure what price point their suits are, but I'd guess they are north of $2k as well.

Yes, but if memory serves, they offer MTM rather than bespoke.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Yes, but if memory serves, they offer MTM rather than bespoke.

They certainly are known for handling a lot of made-to-measure volume. For example, for a long time, Brooks Brothers' MTM suits were made in the Greenfield factory. They also made a lot of suits for the Boardwalk Empire costume department. I guess I assumed they offered bespoke suits as well, but I'm not certain. Looking back at the article, Greenfield is cited as having a $2,000 price point.

Regarding the original article, making a few assumption I would say Peter Frew is doing alright. Case in point: at an average of two suits per-month, with average sales price of $4,000, he is grossing ~$100,000 annually. The article says he "makes" $50k per year, so I will assume that is what he lives on after basic business expense (COGS, SG&A, random overhead, etc.). If that is the case, he has ~50% profit margin. Speaking from experience both as a former manufacturing business owner and as an analyst at a private equity fund, that is quite good (actually it's extraordinary). Unfortunately, I suspect $50k is only what he clears after paying sales commissions and for materials.

 

[Tomasso]

I would say Peter Frew is doing alright.

Sure, he's not destitute but a Starbucks store manage is better compensated.