Suits you, sir (From The Oxford Times)

Suits you, sir

10:32am Thursday 16th July 2009 in Search By Chris Koenig

Two students who took holiday jobs as waiters at the stately Oxfordshire conference centre, Ditchley Park, were so impressed by the clothes worn by delegates — politicians, tycoons, even the occasional Royal — that they decided to produce similar garments themselves.

The result was Internet tailoring business Aptus Suits. Now Alexander Edwards, 22, a fourth-year business administration student at Bath University, and Richard Demczak, 25, a former Oxford Brookes University student, are selling about 25 bespoke suits a month from a showroom in a Cotswold barn.

Mr Edwards said: “We started in September 2008. But in the last couple of months the business has really taken off. We have sold about 50 suits.”

The idea was to sell excellent clothes in the Cotswolds, but the problem was that neither of them were tailors.

Mr Edwards explained; “We take customers’ measurements, either in the barn or at their homes and offices, and then send off the details to first-rate tailors in Thailand or Hong Kong.

“Then, when the made-up suit arrives back here, the customer has a second fitting and any alterations are done by a tailor here in England.”

He added that he reckoned there was a gap in the market for selling bespoke clothes at reasonable prices — which could be achieved by cutting overheads and using top quality craftsmen overseas.

Prices for a bespoke suit from Aptus — which means fitting in Latin — start at about £285, which compares well with Saville Row, where even prices in the sales rarely fall below £500.

Mr Edwards said: “We managed to become official tailors for both Magdalen College, Oxford, and Magdalene College, Cambridge, for their May Balls, which are white tie affairs.”

He added: “Originally we set up for friends and family, but in the last few months we have opened it up to the public and the demand has been so high that, at one point, we had to freeze orders. Now we have made alterations and can deal with higher volumes.”

The two then thought their main market would be in London, but they are now rebranding themselves as Cotswold tailors.

“Our main market now seems to be for people aged between 30 and 60 who work in London but have houses in the Cotswolds. They want country suits and shooting jackets,” said Mr Edwards.

He added: “Now we have branched out into bespoke Harris tweed shooting suits and tailoring women’s garments. But we still cater for students, too.”

Perhaps fashions have changed there: only a couple of years ago one Oxford college junior common room voted to ban tweeds!

But why is the company based in a barn in the middle of the Oxfordshire countryside at Dean, near Chipping Norton?

Mr Edwards said: “My parents are both doctors but they live in a farmhouse complete with outbuildings. We have moved the business into one of those.”

The firm’s two young directors reckon their success so far stems from not being too greedy. Mr Edwards said: “Our prices haven’t changed from the start when we were catering for relatives, so our mark-ups are still low which, of course, ensures that the client gets a good suit at a reasonable price.”

He added: “I think the story makes a change from all the gloom and doom of recent months. It shows that there is still hope out there.”

But now the young company faces a major hurdle: Mr Edwards must return to Bath for his final year and Mr Demczak, having graduated from Brookes, has landed a job with a Witney law firm. So who will run Aptus suits?

“We’ll manage — we’ll have to,” said Mr Edwards.

He added: “There have been many low points on the journey, many a time we have considered throwing in the towel, made even more real by the fact that we funded the venture solely ourselves by putting in extra hours at Ditchley.

“But we are extremely driven, and by juggling university exams with Aptus, we have — bit by bit — put together the pieces for success.”

All in all its not a bad problem to have in the middle of a recession: too much work.

And next month the pair have an opportunity to whisper their wisdom in the corridors of power. They have an appointment to measure up Witney MP and Conservative party leader David Cameron for a suit. What, I wonder, will they suggest he should wear to woo the West Oxfordshire electors in the upcoming election?

o Contact: Aptus Suits, 07590 287064.

E-mail: mail@aptussuits.com