19/05/2026
Every time Alexander Rose has faced an existential threat, we have asked ourselves the same question.
Not "how do we survive this?" but instead, "what should this business become?"
The mid-1980s saw British manufacturing in decline. Offshore competition was rising, costs were climbing, and a labour-intensive model could not turn quickly enough. We sold the factory before it became a liability and started again with a blank sheet of paper.
By the 1990s and early 2000s, the corporate clothing market we had built from nothing became commoditised. New entrants who did not understand why quality mattered began selling on price alone. We asked the question again and the answer was a return to our roots in made-to-measure tailoring.
In 2015, we launched an online shop offering ready-to-wear suits and shirts. The problem was familiar. Competitors who could deliver quicker and cheaper. We asked the question once more and the answer was clear. No stock, no inventory, everything made to order, and a direct relationship with the end customer.
Then came Covid and in-person tailoring stopped overnight. We did not ask how to survive until normal returned. We asked what the business should become in a world where normal had disappeared. The answer was an online configurator, a virtual fitting room, and a remote measuring system that now serves clients anywhere in the world.
Each time, the businesses around us that asked "how do we survive" waited and struggled. The businesses that asked "what should we become" moved first and thrived. The difference between the two questions is the difference between defence and reinvention.
Alexander Rose Fine Tailoring has been based in Leeds since 1945, serving clients in person and online at alexrose.uk. Every order is personally reviewed by our master tailor before a single thread is cut. If you have an occasion coming up or simply want to know more, we would be very happy to help.
