(London Evening Standard)

SINCE graduating from Oxford's Said Business School, Patrick Grant has fashioned a bespoke career running his own tailoring business on Savile Row.

When he acquired Norton Sons in October 2005, Patrick, 33, took on 185 years of tradition, a client list that has included Jools Holland and the King of Prussia, as well as generations of City folk and country gentlemen - and a brand that was in urgent need of a facelift.

"My business school thesis was on luxury British heritage brands, looking into the way that they managed to compete," explains Patrick. "I studied Burberry's success in repositioning itself, as well as a couple of Savile Row companies, and wondered whether other old British brands could replicate that success.

"Then one day at business school I happened to be looking at the ' businesses for sale' section in the FT and saw a tiny postage- stamp-sized advert saying 'Bespoke tailors, Savile Row, established 1821, for sale'. For me it was an amazing coincidence."

Patrick immediately wrote to Nicholas Granger, who was then running the firm, and they met up a few times to discuss his situation, what was unique about Norton Sons and why it was in the position that it was.

"When I began looking at it, I could see the business wasn't making enough of its heritage," says Patrick.

"We were still selling some fabulous clothes, and we were very lucky to have some great tailors working for us. But the business wasn't innovatingits product and we were targetinga tiny niche, aiming solely at the British shooting fraternity.

"I became intent on restoring the name of the firm as one of the world's best clothing manufacturers for men, as well as attracting a younger market and promoting the women's range."

Although Patrick confesses to displaying entrepreneurial tendencies "in the playground", this is a new departure for him. Graduating with a degree in material science from Leeds in 1994, he spent two years in the US working as a ski instructor and as a booker for an LA model agency before returning home to market semiconductors in the telecoms industry for a series of blue-chip firms.

"It would have been very hard for me to buy this business without my MBA," says Patrick. "We have a team of craftsmen who make the suits but I am basically doing everything else.

I do the accounts, manage the operation, do the marketing and branding and the financing.

"To make the acquisition I raised the debt and the equity, putting the plan together and selling it to investors on the basis of what I had learnt at Said."

He added: "Buying this shop was a fascinating challenge because it's so hard to value a business like this.

Most comparable transactions are quiet, private ones; usual methods for valuing are impossible to use. So even when I was in the process of trying to close the deal, I was getting my ideas from the business school on how to value it.

"Two of my investors are people with whom I got connected directly through the business school."

Now living in Maida Vale, Patrick grew up in Edinburgh and remains attached to classic British brands like Pringle, Lyle Scott and Aquascutum.

"I've always loved finely crafted products and think it's a shame that some other countries like Italy value their artisans and craftsmen so much more than we do in Britain," he says.

"What my current business and my previous business career in telecoms have in common is a need for precision and attention to detail in the final product. For me there is nothing better than a classic, Savile Row "West End" cut, although you can always play around with the details.

"At Norton Sons a bespoke suit could be Pounds 2,500, although we've had a client spend Pounds 15,000 on a single, cashmere suit.

"We in Savile Row have to think long-term and we can learn from the mainstream fashion industry. My MBA course at Said made me realise I could run this business and now there's nothing else I'd rather do."

http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/news/archives/EMBA/Former+EMBA+Patrick+Grant+buys+Savile+Row+tailors.htm

Last edited by Marc Grayson (2006-11-18 09:41:06)