Tell us about Tailors Mark and TAILOR3D.
Tailors Mark is an Australian-owned menswear clothing brand established in 2013. We initially focused on creating men’s shirts but saw the opportunity to solve an age-old tailoring challenge and now provide men with perfectly fitted suits that are easy and quick to order in Australia and internationally.
It has always been almost impossible for tailors to determine how a garment would sit, fall and drape on a customer’s body until it’s been tried on. Typically, the alterations process is timely, expensive and often requires three or more visits to a tailor to get the right fit. So, in 2015 we set out to create the technology to change the way suits are made and bought, making the customer experience better and quicker.
We launched our new service TAILOR3D in September, using accurate 3D printed body replicas to bring tailoring into the modern world. It is a world-first 3D printing and scanning process that allows us to craft suits to the exact shape of a customer within four weeks. After a 30-second scan of the customer, we 3D print a life-size body shape replica, which our tailors then fit a suit to, creating a perfectly fitted suit.
Customers can be scanned at a place of their choice, making the process more convenient and accessible. As we’re able to fit a suit exactly to a customer’s shape without them being present, it eliminates the alterations process almost entirely and cuts down on waste.
We haven’t compromised on quality though: each Tailors Mark suit is bespoke, customisable and created from top of the range European fabrics.
What inspired you to start TAILOR3D?
We saw an opportunity to improve the overall tailoring experience by using technology and turn the traditional idea of tailoring on its head. We faced the same challenges that all suit brands face whether they’re selling online or offline – that it is impossible to determine how the suit will fit, until it is placed on a customer’s body.
We wanted to scale the business and thought that technology was the best way to overcome that impediment to scale.
The idea was conceived in a “what if?” moment…what if we could scan a customer from anywhere in the world and 3D print a replica of their body shape so our tailors could make clothing that honours the tailoring process, without needing the customer there. We wanted to develop a process that would bring tailoring into the modern world and enable our customers to be scanned at a place of their choice, making the process more convenient and accessible.
Tell us about your career and background.
Dave
I come from a digital and software background, previously working in software studios across Melbourne with some of the biggest brands in the country including Honda, Football Federation Australia and NAB. In 2011 I launched my own product development studio.
Rob
Having worked in the sales and finance industry for many years, I’ve also got an entrepreneurial spirit and previously established a direct sales and marketing business in Melbourne.
We’re high school mates of over 20 years and it was while we were leading these businesses that the idea behind Tailors Mark was born. We both transitioned into the business full-time from 2016.
Describe a typical work day for you.
Dave
No workday is the same at the moment!
I’m up around 5:30am at the gym or boxing and then get in a quick meditation session. I’m also trying to squeeze in quick daily 15-30-minute learning session at the moment – currently I’m trying to re-learn Japanese.
I’m in the office around 8am and Rob and I kick off by breaking down our priorities for the day. I’m typically working closely with our marketing, strategy and User Experience (UX) teams, along with our head of product to develop new ways to reach more people and make their experience better. We look at our products, web and mobile offering right through to how we surprise and delight customers through our support and after-sales teams. We want to make tailoring accessible for everyone and do it in the best way possible – we firmly believe that tailoring shouldn’t just be reserved for the elite.
Each day I spend time considering what enhancements we could make to our core product and the quality of every suit going out the door. From a marketing perspective, we’re coming up with really clever ways to get our brand out in the market – the TAILOR3D technology is an exceptional point of the difference and is being received really well.
We also spend time sharing ideas, wins and key learnings with the team to foster the innovative culture we have with an amazing group of talented people.
Rob
Although we started Tailors Mark around six years ago and are growing rapidly, I’m still across all facets and functions of the business daily which I enjoy. This covers everything from customer support and administration through to sales, branding and marketing, research and development and our strategy.
By 5:30am I’m up and either go to the gym, take a walk or meditate. I’m at the office around 8am to start my working day, where at least some of the team are already well into their day.
Dave and I usually have a management meeting around 8:30am to review the prior days activities, any challenges we’re facing and our upcoming diaries. This typically involves a lot of ‘divide and conquer’ decisions where we can maximise our days by splitting meetings and tasks between the two of us based on our skill sets and availability.
From 9am to 6pm I’m usually in meetings and working through my to do list, leaving the evenings to tidy up loose ends and prepare for the upcoming day. At the moment, I’m heavily involved in the process of implementation and scaling our newly released TAILOR3D technology, so I spend a lot of my time working on this with our key people that look after our product, manufacturing and technology.
What advice would you have for those wanting to start a business?
Dave
There are quite a few…be prepared for a receding hairline and a few grey hairs! It can seem really glamorous and ‘cool’ from the outside, but it’s incredibly hard. Things won’t always go to plan, so be prepared to continually reset the compass and learn from the mistakes.
Rob and I are both grateful we started when we were a few years younger and had each other to share the workload along the journey. The longer life goes on, I can imagine the harder it would be to take a risky plunge into starting and running your own business.
I would recommend anyone starting a business to surround themselves with mentors and people that have done it before – they can help guide you through those times you don’t have the answers.
Keeping fit and healthy (physically and mentally) and maintaining a good work/life balance is key to keeping yourself sane too. Knowing when you are burning out is critical. I have experienced it over the years, so knowing when those signs are on the horizon, you need to give your body and mind a break.
Rob
Failure is something you’ll need to get used to. It is okay to mess things up and to be out of your depth – get used to it! Viewing and absorbing the failure as checkpoints towards success is critical. Failure and challenge are the most wonderful pain points where either the wheels can totally fall off or the magic seeds of crazy ideas and solutions can grow.
What’s next for you, and TAILOR3D?
Dave
TAILOR3D is a game changer and here to stay. We’ve made exceptional suits for almost six years and the TAILOR3D process just means we can nail the fit with less involvement from the customer (e.g. no subsequent fittings). TAILOR3D is only available in Australia, but we are looking forward to rolling the offering out to out overseas customers soon.
We have the Tailors Mark portable scanners in market allowing customers to be scanned at home and are looking to release our mobile phone scanning app shortly. We have been developing this with the University of Technology Sydney over the past few years and it will provide a mass market scanning solution which is incredibly exciting.
Rob
We’re now in a position to roll out the TAILOR3D process and product nationwide and beyond (we currently offer our services in Melbourne and Sydney). This is a big focus for us over the next 6-12 months. We also have a serious number of retailers (and growing everyday) who want to use our technology so we’re looking at how this might play out.
For more info on Tailors Mark, please click here.
