Canadian Luxury Series: Men's Tailored Clothing

Date:
Tuesday, January 22nd

Time: 8am - 9.30am

Location:
'21' Club
21 West 52nd Street,
(Between 5th and 6th Avenues)


Please RSVP by replying to this email or by writing to rsvp@luxurycouncil.com by no later than Friday January 18th.


In the event that your plans change we'd be most appreciative of the courtesy of a cancellation.

With a small domestic market of just 33 million people, Canada exports almost half of its domestic product. Growing in size and stature since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1984, successful men’s clothing companies have progressed up the value chain in the course of two decades. At first making private label suits of exceptional-quality for many of the leading luxury labels in American men’s wear, they are today also making and marketing men’s clothing for better department and specialty stores under luxury labels they have created, licensed, or acquired.

By taking on the marketer’s role, these manufacturers, such as those represented on the panel for this event, have taken on the challenge of building luxury brands. Beyond standard methods including participation in key trade shows (such as The Collective in New York) and maintaining offices here in New York, each has a unique marketing mix in pursuit of growth and ultimate success. For Jack Victor this includes both consumer advertising and producing high-quality image books twice a year, and for Coppley Apparel Group, the emphasis in on in-store training of sales associates, as president Warwick Jones explains, “because forty-five percent of our business is custom and we’re able to measure the effectiveness of the training.”

But Canada’s real advantage is service, and speed to market is the feature most sought after by their customers. On the luxury end of the men’s clothing business, this service to specialty retailers includes offering suits from the collection on a special order basis. According to Warwick Jones of Coppley Apparel Group (now a division of Chicago-based Hartmarx Group), “The most significant factor that separates us from the competition is our ability to produce a custom suit in seven working days, which is about the same turnaround time for a tailor to make alterations.”

We do hope you can join us on Tuesday, January 22nd. Our panel discussion on Canadian men’s tailored clothing will be preceded by breakfast at the ’21 Club’, one of the last bastions of the “jacket and tie” dress code and a legendary locale for executive dining and deal making.

Alan Victor began his career in Los Angeles as an international financial analyst for consumer products conglomerate Dart Industries Inc. He later joined Varco International Inc., an Orange County, CA-based oil equipment manufacturer, where he served as Assistant Treasurer. From 1983 to 1989 Mr. Victor worked as Vice President for a leading Southern California real estate investment banking firm, where he specialized in arranging financing and joint ventures for major hotel, office and retail properties.

He joined Jack Victor Limited in 1989 as Vice President of the family-owned manufacturer of men's suits, sportcoats, trousers and tuxedos. In 1996 he was named President and Chief Operating Officer, succeeding his father Herschel who was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He has been especially involved in planning and implementing the company's successful strategy for penetrating the U.S. market for men's tailored clothing.

Born in 1954 in Montreal, Mr. Victor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University, a Masters in Business Administration from UCLA, and a J.D. from Loyola Marymount University. He resides in Montreal with his wife Alyssa and their two children Steven, 15 and Jon, 11.

Warwick O. Jones was born and educated in Auckland New Zealand, graduating from the University of Auckland. Mr. Jones started his career in 1968, working for Sir Hardy Amies on Saville Row in London. There he worked with the pattern making and development of two seasonal collections.

In April of 1969 he moved to Canada and joined Coppley Apparel with Coppley's signing the first North American Hardy Amies license. In 1976 he became Coppley's first product manager, developing a stand alone trouser business under the Keithmoor brand.

Mr. Jones was promoted to VP of sales and developed the US market in 1990; today 60% of Coppley's business is done in the US. He also developed the strategic plan that addressed and revolutionized Coppley’s approach to custom made garments. In 1997 Coppley launched custom wear in 7 days, this at a time when custom traditionally required four to six weeks for delivery. This advancement is a world class standard that is still unmatched today. Today custom wear makes up 45% of Coppley's production.

In 2001 he was appointed President and Managing Director of the company. Coppley launched the dress collection in 2006 with all components being available in custom, including neckwear. In 2007 Coppley reduced their brand offerings from eleven brands down to one. This has enabled Coppley's financial and personnel resources to be more focused and productive