Stafford's super suit is born
To many people in the menswear business, planning a marketing campaign to sell business suits would be as likely to succeed as trying to sell ice-making machines in Iceland. But Melbourne-based Stafford Group didn't agree, arguing that if the company could give a conservative business suit an extra, spectacular dimension it could sell it in volume.
The vision was to offer an attractive suit, including a second pair of trousers, with a fair wear and tear guarantee for three years and one day.
A different three year period became important too, because that's how long the project took to develop. Obviously the starting point was fabric. It had to be way above average. For the "1096", as the suit was named, a blend of 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent polyester was chosen. Fine yarn was specified to give better wear, and several overseas mills were engaged to make various plains and patterns. Once made, it had to stand up to 50 dry cleanings and rate at over 50,000 on the Martindale test for wear resistance; the industry standard is nearer 20,000. It also had to be colour and light fast well beyond the minimum industry levels.
While the suiting fabric was being perfected, the marketing team had to make sure that the rest of the components wouldn't let it down. Buttons, sewing thread, lining and fusibles all had to meet the guarantee demands and also had to be sourced. The sew-in label became another first. Not only did it meet the wear guarantee standards but carried a sequential number - so that the suit could be tracked in the event that the guarantee was exercised.
While the suit itself was being developed, market research was being carried out to see what two age groups of men (29 to 39 and 40 to 45) thought of the idea. The message came back as a strong positive.
While the fabric came from more than one country, cut, make and trim was carried out in Fiji. No doubt China would have been cheaper, but Fiji was closer and more flexible when it came to manageable quantities and quick repeats.
The story was delivered to David Jones' nine suit departments with a suggested retail-selling price of $599 - also confirmed by market research. Six hundred and twenty of the suits went into stock in August and by October 24 sales had passed 900 - obviously assisted by stock service.
In addition to developing the right product and giving it several points of difference, the success of the suit had a lot to do with Stafford's advertising campaign. Beginning with teaser daily press advertisements the attention of the market was built through various media - including letter box drops.
Maurice Lubansky, CEO of the Stafford Group, is justifiably proud of his company's achievement.
"You try a lot of things and they don't all work, but this one has been an outstanding success. I put it down to knowing the menswear industry and having a very talented team. I have been in the menswear business for over 50 years and never before have I seen a men's suit move out of stores so quickly either in Australia or overseas," Lubansky said.
Throughout his long career in menswear, Lubansky has always been passionate about the suit. Although his group, which is a menswear leader in Australia, makes a full range of men's outerwear, it is the business suit that engages him the most.
There are strong export possibilities with the 1096 as well. Distributors in the UK, US and New Zealand have all shown interest, but Stafford wants to make sure it can satisfy local demand first.