01Move
DNA dimensions
Bespoke commissions/month, avg bespoke ticket, alteration volume, fabric supplier mix (Holland & Sherry, Loro Piana, Drago), repeat customer %, fitting-to-finish lead time.
All playbooksSmall business
Tailor playbook.
An independent UK tailor running bespoke + made-to-measure suiting, alterations and a small ready-to-wear range. The 2026 win is balancing high-margin bespoke commissions with steady alterations + Wardrobe Club partnerships.
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Reference fit-out · Tailor
Overview
A UK independent tailor in 2026 runs three revenue engines: bespoke (£3,400–£6,400 per 2-piece, 52–62% margin, 8–14 commissions/month), made-to-measure (£980–£1,800, 48–58% margin, 24–48/month), and alterations + repairs (62–78% margin, 600–900 jobs/month at £18 avg). Maths: 10 bespoke × £4,200 = £42k + 32 MTM × £1,280 = £41k + 720 alterations × £18 = £13k = ~£96k/month gross at a strong single-site. Corporate suiting programmes (law firms, hedge funds, City partners) add £140k+ annual contracts. The 2026 strategy is MTM-led growth — it converts walk-ins at 3× the bespoke rate and trains the customer for a future bespoke upgrade.
8 commissions
Bespoke/month
£4,200
Avg bespoke ticket
180 jobs
Alterations/wk
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Cutting & sewing
Cutting table (3.5m × 1.5m solid oak)
£2,400–£5,400
Industrial lockstitch (Juki DDL-9000C × 2)
£2,400 each
Industrial buttonhole (Juki LBH-1790S)
£3,400
Industrial button-sewer (Juki LK-1903B)
£2,400
Industrial blind-stitch (Juki MB-1800)
£1,800
Industrial overlocker (Juki MO-6716S)
£1,400
Vintage Singer 201K / 99K (display + repair)
£280–£640
02
Pressing & finishing
Suzie pressing table + boiler (Veit / Macpi)
£3,400–£6,400
Form finisher / mannequin steamer
£8,400–£14,000
Hand irons + ham + sleeve board set
£420
Buttonhole + felling needles + thread library
£280
Body forms (sizes 36–46) — Wolf / Bonaveri
£900 each × 6 = £5,400
03
Fitting room & front of house
3-way fitting mirror + raised platform
£1,400–£3,400
Fabric library shelving (250+ books)
£3,400–£8,400
Consultation table + leather chairs
£2,400–£5,400
POS + chip-and-pin
£1,400
Made by Hand or Tailorlux POS + customer records
£140/month + £900 setup
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Affluent professional catchment
Law firms, banks, accountants within 0.5 mi
Bespoke + MTM lives on commuter professional demand.
Footfall + repeat drop-off
Step-free + 30-min parking
Alterations need 5-minute drop-off/collection convenience.
Fitting room privacy
≥4 m² with curtained access
Bespoke fittings need uninterrupted private space.
Natural light
North-facing window or skylight
Cutting + colour-matching needs neutral daylight.
Trading floor + workroom
30–60 m² front + 25–50 m² workroom
Cut + sew + press + fitting need clear separation.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
Savile Row / Mayfair / City
£6,400–£18,000
Bespoke heartland. Premium pricing supports rent.
London Zone 1–2 (Marylebone, Chelsea)
£3,400–£8,400
Strong MTM + corporate programme demand.
Affluent commuter town (Sevenoaks, Esher, Cobham)
£1,800–£3,400
Local professional + father–son repeat trade.
Regional city centre (Edinburgh, Bath, York)
£1,400–£3,400
Tourism + corporate + alteration volume.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCompanies House Ltd registration
Companies House
£100
Usually 24 hours
OptFederation of Master Tailors / Savile Row Association
FMT / SRBA
£280–£640/year
4 weeks
ReqPublic + product + treatment liability insurance
Hiscox / Tradesman Saver
£420–£900/year
1 week
ReqEmployer's liability
Broker
£240/year
1 day
ReqICO data protection
ICO
£40–£60/year
1 day
ReqWaste carrier registration (fabric off-cuts)
Environment Agency
£154/3 years
2 weeks
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 0 — Concept & sourcing
Weeks 1–6- Open fabric supplier accounts: Holland & Sherry, Loro Piana, Vitale Barberis, Drago, H. Lesser
- Site search + lease HoTs
- Trim + lining + canvas suppliers (Hymo, Permess)
02
Phase 1 — Fit-out
Weeks 4–10- Workroom build (cutting table, sewing benches, pressing area)
- Fitting room + 3-way mirror
- Fabric library shelving install
- POS go-live
03
Phase 2 — Stock + hire
Weeks 8–11- First fabric library order (250+ books)
- Industrial sewing + buttonhole + button machines
- Coat-maker + trouser-maker hire (£32k–£48k each)
- Junior alterations tailor hire
04
Phase 3 — Soft launch
Weeks 10–12- Trial bespoke commissions with friends-and-family at cost
- Local law firm + finance firm outreach lunches
- GBP verified + 20+ reviews
05
Phase 4 — Open
Week 13+- Open Tue–Sat
- MTM programme + corporate suiting launched
- Dry-cleaner partnership for alterations drop-off (3 partners)
- Quarterly fabric trunk shows + cutter visits
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Lease deposit + 3 months
£4,200 → £18,000
Shopfit + fitting room + workroom
£14,000 → £42,000
Industrial sewing + pressing kit
£18,000 → £32,000
Cutting table + body forms + hand tools
£4,800 → £10,000
Fabric library + opening stock
£14,000 → £42,000
POS + tech
£1,800 → £3,400
Branding + licences + insurance
£3,400 → £8,400
Pre-launch marketing + lunches
£2,400 → £8,400
Working capital (3 months)
£18,000 → £42,000
Typical total
£80.6k–£206.2k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Rent + service charge
£1,400 → £12,000
Business rates (after relief)
£0 → £3,400
Utilities + boiler
£420 → £900
Fabric COGS (38–48%)
£12,000 → £32,000
Wages (coat + trouser + alterations + sales)
£14,000 → £28,000
Outwork (subcontract specialists)
£900 → £3,400
POS + insurance + memberships
£280 → £900
Marketing + fabric trunk shows
£420 → £2,400
Typical total
£29.4k–£83k
Numbers that compound
How a tailor actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 1
Soft open: 2 bespoke consultations booked, 4 MTM commissions deposited, 18 alterations dropped.
02Day 7
First week: 1 bespoke deposit (£2.1k), 6 MTM (£7.6k), 120 alterations (£2.2k). £11.9k total.
03Day 30
Steady: 4 bespoke + 18 MTM commissions, 540 alterations, £52k revenue. First law firm corporate enquiry.
04Day 90
Full ramp: 8 bespoke + 32 MTM + 720 alterations = £84k/month. Corporate contract with 1 City firm signed.
05Day 180
Mature: £108k/month, 3 corporate accounts (£14k/mo), wedding-suit Christmas peak hitting £148k. Junior cutter promotion underway.
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a tailor.
02Move
Suggested route
Open Holland & Sherry + Loro Piana + Vitale Barberis Canonico accounts, launch made-to-measure (MTM) at £980–£1,800 vs bespoke £3,400–£6,400, add a corporate suiting programme for law/finance firms, then partner with 3 dry cleaners for alteration drop-off.
03Move
Automations
Fitting reminder SMS, fabric arrival notification, bespoke milestone updates (basted, forward, final fit), anniversary 'time for a new suit' nudge, alteration ticket tracking.
04Move
Integrations
Made by Hand / Tailorlux POS, Stripe, GBP, Klaviyo, Xero, fabric supplier portals (Holland & Sherry online, H. Lesser).
05Move
Benchmarks
Bespoke commissions/month, avg ticket, MTM vs bespoke mix and alteration volume vs UK indie tailor cohort.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors from Savile Row Bespoke Association, Federation of Master Tailors, and ex-Gieves & Hawkes / Henry Poole cutters.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
Owners of a tailor often run — or cross-sell with — these adjacent operations.
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