A bespoke suit made in one of the shops on London’s storied Savile Row is considered by some to be the epitome of gentlemanly style. Therefore, it’s no surprise that a growing number of wealthy Chinese visitors to London are stopping by the street to drop £3,000 and up for a tailored suit.
The only problem: custom suits take 10 to 12 weeks to make. As a result, some tailors are setting up shop in China to offer fittings to Chinese customers (although the suits themselves are still made in London). One of these shops is Henry Poole & Co., a famous tailor shop once frequented by Winston Churchill, which just opened the service in Beijing.
“What we’re trying to do is educate them a little bit in the sense that it does need to take time—it’s not a quick thing,” says the tailor shop’s manager Anthony Rowland in the interview with CNBC embedded above. “They’re used to things being quite quick.” Watch the video to view the full interview on how the shop is “tailoring” its services to the needs of its Chinese customers.