Journal Entry
What a Small Suit Shop Earns per Made-to-Measure Suit: A Worked Example at 3, 10 and 25 Suits a Month
The calculator version of made-to-measure margin for a one-location shop: our public starting prices, two retail points, the gross difference per suit and per month at 3, 10 and 25 suits, and the costs you still have to take off.
As a worked example from our public starting prices, a small shop that sells a made-to-measure suit at USD 600 and has it made in our cloth keeps about USD 445 per suit, and a shop that sells a half canvas suit at USD 1,150 keeps about USD 965 per suit. At 3, 10 and 25 suits a month, that is a gross difference from about USD 1,335 to about USD 24,125 a month, depending on volume and mix. These figures are the gap between our ex-works price in Shanghai and the shop's retail price. They exclude shipping, import duties and every cost the shop carries itself.
We have written about margin twice already. What made-to-measure actually does to a boutique's numbers is about velocity, samples and who on your floor can measure. Is a made-to-measure business profitable? is about the layers between the factory gate and the client. This piece is the calculator: real numbers in, one table out, and a list of what you still take off.
The three factory prices we use
All three are starting prices per two-piece suit, ex works Shanghai, shipping extra and import duties paid by the buyer. The cloth and construction you choose move them up, so treat them as the floor of the sum, not a price list.
- Full make, in our cloth: from USD 155. We supply the cloth and make the suit.
- Half canvas, full make: from USD 185. The step up in construction many shops sell as their better tier.
- CMT, the client brings the cloth: from USD 100. Cut, make and trim only.
Every order runs from a one-piece minimum, 14 days in production from a confirmed order, shipping extra.
For retail, partners working with our atelier suggest €900 to 1,500 for a made-to-measure suit, depending on cloth and market. Some shops also run a lower entry tier. In the example we use two retail points in US dollars, USD 600 for an entry tier and USD 1,150 for a mid tier, so that factory price and retail price are in the same currency. If you sell in euros, rerun the sum at your own euro price rather than converting our figures at a guessed rate.
Per suit, then per month
Per suit, the worked example gives:
- Entry tier: USD 600 retail minus USD 155 full make = about USD 445.
- Mid tier: USD 1,150 retail minus USD 185 half canvas = about USD 965.
- Make-only: USD 600 retail minus USD 100 CMT = about USD 500, with the cloth already paid for by the client.
Most small shops do not sell one tier only, so the table adds a mixed month of roughly three entry suits to two mid suits.
| Suits a month | Entry: USD 600 retail, full make from USD 155 | Mid: USD 1,150 retail, half canvas from USD 185 | Mixed month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per suit | USD 445 | USD 965 | depends on mix |
| 3 | USD 1,335 | USD 2,895 | 2 entry + 1 mid: USD 1,855 |
| 10 | USD 4,450 | USD 9,650 | 6 entry + 4 mid: USD 6,530 |
| 25 | USD 11,125 | USD 24,125 | 15 entry + 10 mid: USD 16,325 |
Worked example computed from our public starting prices. Figures are the gross difference between ex-works price and retail price, before shipping, import duties, payment fees and the shop's own costs. They are not profit, and they are not a promise of what any shop will sell.
Two things stand out when you read the table the way a shop owner does. First, moving four of ten suits from the entry tier to the mid tier adds more to the month than two extra entry suits would. Second, the mid column at 10 suits is close to the entry column at 25. A shop with limited fitting hours should look hard at which of those two months it can actually run.
What you still take off
The table is the top of the sum. Here is what comes off it before anything reaches the owner. We do not put numbers on these lines because they belong to your shop and vary from one shop to the next.
- Shipping from Shanghai. Priced per shipment, so sending three suits in one box costs less per suit than sending them one at a time.
- Import duties and taxes. Paid by the buyer, set by your country, and they change with trade policy.
- Payment fees. On the client's payment to you and on your payment to us.
- Fitting time. The first measurement, the fitting when the suit arrives, and any follow-up. Count the hours per suit and price them at what an hour of your floor costs.
- Alterations. Local adjustments after the fitting, whether done in-house or by a tailor you pay.
- Remakes and returns. We stand behind every piece: if something isn't right, we make it right. Your appointment time and the client's patience are still yours to spend.
- Samples and swatch books. A fixed cost. At 3 suits a month it is spread over 3 orders; at 25, over 25. That single line is why low-volume months feel thinner than the table suggests.
- Rent, staff and marketing. The costs that exist whether you sell a suit this month or not.
Write each line as a cost per suit at your real monthly volume. The number left over is your margin. The table above is not.
Where small shops leave money on the table
No reorder product. A suit client comes back every year or two. A shirt client comes back much more often, and the shop already holds most of the measurements it needs. We made the full case in shirts are the reorder product. If your file has a suit tab and an empty shirt tab, that is the cheapest revenue you are not taking.
One construction for everyone. At our end, the step from full make at USD 155 to half canvas at USD 185 is a USD 30 difference. At your counter, the step from an entry tier to a mid tier can be several hundred. Shops that sell a single construction give up that step. Offer two tiers, explain the difference in plain words, and let the client choose. Our guide to full canvas vs half canvas vs fused is written so you can hand the explanation to a client almost as it is.
Turning away the client with cloth. Some clients arrive with a length of cloth from a trip or an inheritance. CMT from USD 100 lets you say yes, charge for the make and the fitting, and keep a client who might otherwise go to a local tailor and not come back.
Paying a layer you do not need. A trading company between a shop and a factory commonly adds 30 to 60 percent to the factory price. If you already do the measuring, the fitting and the client work, that layer is paid for a service you are doing yourself.
Run it at your own price
The worked example uses our starting prices and two retail points we picked. Your prices, your mix and your volume will give a different answer. Our 3 minute check computes this margin at your own retail price: seven questions, free, and at the end you get the wholesale price sheet, the gross margin per suit at your price, a direct line to a partner manager and an account for AI ordering.
We make made-to-measure suits in our own factory in Shanghai, from a one-piece minimum, with cloth from 33 mills and cloth merchants, 26 of them in Europe, in 14 days in production from a confirmed order, shipping extra. If you want the process end to end, read suit production for tailor shops.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a small shop make on a made-to-measure suit when it works with a factory?
As a worked example from our public starting prices: a suit sold at USD 600 and made in our cloth from USD 155 leaves about USD 445 per suit, and a half canvas suit sold at USD 1,150 and made from USD 185 leaves about USD 965. That is the gap between our ex-works price in Shanghai and the retail price. It excludes shipping, import duties and every cost the shop carries itself, so the amount the shop actually keeps is lower.
What is the monthly gross difference at 3, 10 and 25 suits a month?
Using the same worked example, an all-entry month at USD 600 retail gives about USD 1,335 at 3 suits, USD 4,450 at 10 and USD 11,125 at 25. An all-mid month at USD 1,150 retail in half canvas gives about USD 2,895, USD 9,650 and USD 24,125. These are gross differences before shipping, duties and the shop's own costs, not profit.
Which costs are not included in the factory-to-retail difference?
Shipping from Shanghai, import duties and taxes in your country, payment fees, the time spent measuring and fitting, local alterations, the occasional remake or return, samples and swatch books, and the shop's rent, staff and marketing. They differ so much from shop to shop that a factory cannot size them for you; write each one down as a cost per suit before you trust any margin figure.
Does CMT pay better than full make for a small shop?
CMT, where the client brings the cloth, starts from USD 100 at our end, so at the same USD 600 retail the gross difference is about USD 500 instead of USD 445. But the client has already paid for the cloth elsewhere, so a shop may reasonably charge less for a make-only job. CMT is best seen as a way to say yes to a client with a length of cloth, not as a higher-margin product.
Does a small shop need to order in bulk or hold stock?
No. We make from a one-piece minimum, 14 days in production from a confirmed order, shipping extra. Nothing is cut until the client has committed, so a shop selling three suits a month orders three suits, not a size run.