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Keeping Your Shirt
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How long has The Savile Row Company been established?
Where did the idea for the Savile Row Company business come from?
How does the Savile Row Company business work?
Customers can order via the website, by telephone, by fax or by post. Stock permitting we aim to deliver goods within 5 days of ordering - (10 days for an international order). We offer free trouser hemming; monogramming and sleeve alterations at a minimal cost; free P&P on first orders; free returns on all orders and a 90 Day No Quibble Guarantee - even if an item has been washed many times. We offer such a high level of Customer Service because we have absolute belief in the quality and craftsmanship of our clothing ranges. And to show our commitment to expanding our business outside of Europe we’re offering completely free shipping and handling on all orders outside of the EU.
How did the company get off the ground?
A family business, established 70 years ago by Gerry Doltis, the company is now owned and run by his son, Jeffrey Doltis. It was Jeffrey Doltis that started the exit away from the traditional distribution channels and promoted direct selling and licensing abroad.
Who is your key target market?
Traditionally, our key target market had been 45+ ABC1, professional or retired professional men, likely to have an urban and SE bias. However, as our products gained in popularity with a younger market - we introduced more 'slim-cut' lines and this in turn created a second key consumer segment for the company. Now, a significant proportion of our revenue comes from the 30+, upwardly mobile, urbanites. Of course, with the introduction of Savile Row Woman - our target market now encompasses 30+ ABC1 Women, who have to dress smartly for work. They need to look tailored but want that tailoring to have a feminine twist. They're also looking for a wardrobe that works through the evenings and weekends.
When was the first catalogue produced?
The first Savile Row Company catalogue was produced in 1999. At that time, the catalogue was made up of 16 pages and our shirts were retailing at £20. Almost 10 years on and you can still get a Savile Row Co shirt for £20! Our recent Spring catalogue was 86 pages and carried over 250 products. 2007 saw the launch of our first Savile Row Woman catalogue – 36 pages of beautiful, contemporary fashion
How often are the catalogues changed/refreshed?
We produce 6 catalogues a year, reflecting the two main seasons – Spring/Summer & Autumn/Winter as well as Sale catalogues in January and July. These are also complemented by leaflets, flyers and double-sided inserts.
What process do you use to source Savile Row Co products?
We have a design and merchandising team in the London office who are responsible for the origination of each product. Then, using the latest technology, those designs are transmitted to the fabric mills, who will weave the fabric exclusively to our requirements. All the garments are made in factories either owned directly by us or by one of our licensees. All personalisation (hemming, monogramming, sleeve adjustments etc) and fulfillment is carried out in our UK factory We're sure a lot of people will be surprised that we don't just offer formal shirts and suits; we also have a very large casual range of clothing, shoes, sleepwear and accessories
How often do you introduce new products?
Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter are two key product launch periods but we pride ourselves on our dexterity so if we spot a new trend relevant to our customers – we will bring it to market as quickly as our high quality standards will allow.
When did the website launch?
It was first launched in 2001 but we constantly look at ways to improve our interaction, usability and appeal to our customers. The entire e-commerce platform was completely re-launched last September and our plans for 2008 include developing a web experience that links to the customer’s country of origin.
How has the website contributed to sales?
It continues to grow in importance and is definitely, the major revenue stream for the business. Year on year, our online business has tripled in size but the catalogue remains a significant sales channel. Many of our customers enjoy browsing through the catalogue and then going to the website to actually purchase. As long as that continues to be the case – we will foster the development and success of both channels.
Have you put procedures in place to monitor your customers buying behaviour?
Yes, we have integrated with one of the industry’s largest Analytics providers so we can access an accurate and complete record of visitor behaviour. This provides us with real-time, actionable insight into our customers and the industry. We then use that insight to make critical marketing decisions and to raise the bar on our own corporate performance. We also use a hand-picked selection of digital research agencies to carry out e-mystery shopping, benchmark and usability research. There is a survey within the site and we’re about to introduce ‘customer polls’ to garner opinions across a wide field of subjects
What key marketing strategies do you use?
Our core marketing programme consists of PPC, SEO, Affiliate and Email Marketing. The first three are the cornerstone of our acquisition strategy – the fourth is our strongest retention tool. We work very closely with our chosen specialist search and email distribution agencies, although the emails themselves are produced in-house. We also have very strong relationships with our Affiliate networks – we have two in the UK and several internationally.
Those four pillars are marketing ‘givens’ but we constantly test other opportunities. In recent months, these have included press inserts, ad network deals, intranet arrangements with large corporates and public bodies; charity patronage, lead generation campaigns, exclusive magazine offers, cross promoting with complementary online businesses, appearing in Online Guides within major supermarkets and even making our own You Tube & website video.
Our strategy is to make an initial low risk, low level financial investment – judge the ROI and then determine our next steps. As we evaluate every aspect of our marketing activity – our decisions can be made very rapidly. The digital landscape is constantly evolving so our aim is to positively adapt and provide customers with what they want or find of interest.
What is the company’s philosophy?
Everything we do; every garment we design and make; every penny we spend or invest is judged against whether it contributes towards delivering luxury clothes at affordable prices.
Over the years, what has been the biggest threat to the business?
We are all aware that customers are ever more dedicated to finding ‘value for money’ – and the big clothing retailers have transformed the market through heavy discounting and the provision of 'wear today/gone tomorrow' clothing. That does make it tougher to compete as we’re a medium sized, family business but the quality, cut, style and durability of our clothes has meant that we've built up an extremely loyal customer base. It has also meant that new customers are always pleasantly surprised by the quality of both the products and the level of customer service we extend.
What does the Savile Row Company acknowledge as their biggest achievement?
Having the vision to move away from supplying the department stores & to facilitate selling directly to the public was a momentous achievement for the company. More recently, year on year - we have doubled our domestic business and we're now really starting to see the green shoots of international sales revenue. Another significant feat has been the successful expansion of our licensee programme (mainly in Asia) which has taken Savile Row Co's world-wide turnover to over $175million
What is set for the future for The Savile Row Company?
We pride ourselves on our customer commitment, design and strategic abilities. As a team, if we continue to display these qualities - we should meet our objective of continued organic domestic and international growth. To a lesser degree, we are also carefully considering several acquisition opportunities.
We will continue to provide the very best level of products and service to our customers, ensuring that the aspirational clothing associated with Savile Row is available to everyone
