Advise Me on Intriguing Int'l Trade Oppty

Folks,

My Hong Kong tailor is importuning me to open a biz here in USA having custom
clothes
measured in USA and made in Hong Kong.

I think I mention in my book a fellow in Seattle who did exactly this for 25
years here in
Seattle, but through in the towel when congress made the paperwork process
overwhelming
for this biz.

I would never run such a business, but owning it would be fine. To investigate
this
possibility, I put on my 3 piece pinstripe suit made by these Hong Kong tailors,
and visited
the competition in the Seattle area. I walked in and introduced myself,
mentioned I lived
locally but bought tailored suits in Hong Kong. Then i said, "tell me how come I
should buy
from you and not from Hong Kong". (Mustn't ask "why"... "how come" is much less
threatening...)

He looked at the suit, and his first best answer was "well, that is a fall
weight suit..." that was
his best shot!

Then he explained how tailoring works in USA. The customer selects fabric, the
tailor takes
your measurements, and sends them to a plant back east which executes the suit,
and a
second fitting is done back here in the shop. Same with shirts, but different
factory.

I read all about this in Forbes once, the biggest such plant being Oxxford in
Chicago. Inn
essence USA tailors are simply measurement taking storefronts, and you select
from a set
range of avaialble fabrics.

Hong Kong on the other hand, with the worlds widest selection of fabrics on
hand, and
efficiently managed, can give one a wider range. Next, their ability to
accomodate outside
the box is unsurpassed. I've read several tests that put hong kong tailors
ahead of Saville
Row tailors.

What occurred to me was these USA tailor shops are for people who must wear
suits, wheras
a Hong KMong tailored product would be for people who love to wear suits.

And the trick in buying suits tailored is not to get a $500 suit for $300, but a
$3000 suit for
$700. I was surprised the normal price point for the local tailors suit is
about $900 he said.
Rather low i thought.

Seattle's premier tailor shop works on the same basis as the others, so it seems
to me there
is room for very high end, upscale tailor shop.

Now some people do have suit made in hong kong and sent to USA. To avoid the
heavy costs
and taxes and paperwork, it is commonly misprepresented as to what is coming in.
A formal
entry done by a broker can be $90 - $150 .... and takes time... and there isd I
believe a 10%
tax... much is done to get around these legal hurdles.

Avoiding the tax is foolish, i think, but the broker fees are hefty. Happily I
can fill out those
forms myself, or teach a clerk to do it cheap, since it will be the same thing
over and over. I
will have a reality check conferenced with a customsbroker on this.

I have an associate who has connections with real tailors, so that part is
covered. Starting
small and financing a few suits a week is no big deal. And a tailor shop can be
anywhere.

I am meeting with an auctioneer this afternoon, who often works charity events.
For
advertising, we'd auction off a tailored suit, such as the auctioneer wears, one
of ours. We
get our name in front of high rollers who in turn buy one of our suits, named in
the auction,
and then we sell the winner 2 other suits when he shows up to be fitted for his
tuxedo.

By the way, this Tailor will be in Seattle on July 18 and 19 if you want to meet
him yourself
and get a gorgeous suit made to fit. he takes credit cards, and you pay in
advance, but I've
worked with him 30 years now...

But to the point... anything I am missing here? Anything I should
cover...problems I should
look out for?

john

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