George Zimmer, the founder of Men’s Wearhouse, is at it again attempting to create something big. Although he has not been working with the brand as of late, he is still in touch with the world of suits and men’s wear. This time around, George Zimmer hopes to completely revolutionize the industry of tailoring by giving smaller businesses a chance to thrive while reaching a larger customer base. More specifically, he hopes to create a network where independent tailors can join together under his company to be connected with local customers seeking their services. If this is beginning to sound vaguely familiar to you, that’s because another company called Uber does something very similar to this but with local city drivers.
According to the zTailors website, all of their partnered tailors are referred to as “Master zTailors” and all have at least 5 years work experience. On the zTailors website, you can log in to book a tailor for a home or office visit. Although it appears as though the website is the only way to book a tailor for now, smartphones are pictured on the website indicating a mobile booking is possible as well. The launched zTailors website also states that all booked tailoring jobs are guaranteed to be completed withing one week with free pickup and delivery. If the received clothing doesn’t fit just right, zTailors even offers complimentary adjustments to ensure you walk away a happy customer. Then much like the way Uber operates, customers will probably be able to log onto their account to rate their experience with the tailor they were matched up with to aid future prospective customers in search of a good tailor.
A service such as this, that attempts to unite a fragmented industry such as tailoring, is a big undertaking. It will be curious to see how the service pans out, including how it affects both the employees and the customers. It is likely that all of the extraneous possible charges such as complimentary adjustments and free pickups will have to be footed by the partnered tailors rather than the company. zTailors is launching with a set commission rate of 35 percent. While this is certainly a big chunk of the profits, George Zimmer is confident the service will be so successful in bringing higher volumes, that everyone will benefit in the end.