Wednesday, April 21, 2010

What I've Learned: Jos. A. Bank

The Washington Post has a write-up of Jos. A. Bank; seems they're doing well despite the recession. 

If I haven't said it already, the vast majority of my suits have come from Jos. A. Bank, including my first black suit I bought for college-related purposes.  The article says it all--a good- (sometimes great- , as with the Signature Gold line) quality product at a great price point.

I learned a few things from the article:
1. They're from Baltimore. Neat.
2. My store--at 19th and M downtown--is their flagship.

What I already knew: They get through the lean times with sales and bank on people paying full price when there's no sale going on. 

For example: They just wrapped up a "buy one suit, get two free" sale, which is definitely the right price point.  Now, they have a "buy one at full price, pay $99 for the second, get the third FREE!" which is identical to the previous sale but $100 more expensive.  I don't begrudge them it, but their tactic appears to have been "generate interest with our best sale, then ratchet it back slightly to see how much buy-one-get-two business we can get despite a $100 premium."

Rule of thumb: never settle for less than a 66% discount off the list price for a JAB suit.

3 comments:

  1. Love the Signature Gold line. Dollar for dollar the quality just can't be beat. However, I find they need significantly more alterations than a Brooks Brothers suit.
    For example, besides the usual pants hem and waist adjustment, I needed the shoulders re-cut by my tailor to eliminate the 80s shoulder-pad "sack suit" effect. Its a $40-$50 alteration by itself, but the shoulders of the jacket are now perfectly shaped to my body -something you only see in custom suits.

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  2. P.S. - the tailors at the store won't touch the shoulders. All the more reason to just buy the suit there and take it to your own tailor.

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  3. The tailors at the 19th and M store are terrible. I also dislike the overly aggresive salesmen at that store.

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