Custom Clothier Leases New Office in LoHi
A LoHi clothier busting at the seams is about to slip into an office with a little more breathing room.
by Kate Tracy
BusinessDen
Three-year-old custom clothing brand Ratio Clothing, which has had a 450-square-foot presence in LoHi for the past 30 months, is leasing a 960-square-foot office up the hill at 2150 W. 29th Ave. (at about $2,800 per month).
“Initially the store was an office with a little display out front,” said Eric Powell, founder and CEO of Ratio. “As the retail business grew, we have had to add additional office space to support the backend and administrative functions.”
Ratio’s current store will remain at 2559 16th Street. But Powell and the majority of his staff will work from the new office, where they will handle Ratio’s online marketplace and product design. A store manager will remain at the retail location to meet with customers.
Custom-tailored shirts average $125, while suits run for $1,100. (Amy DiPierro)
At Ratio’s diminutive tailoring shop, a fitting for a shirt usually takes about half an hour. Suit fittings take an hour. Customers can walk in, grab a drink, get fitted and pick out cuffs, collars, fronts and pockets for their suits. If they decide they want more shirts or suits later on, they can go online and fill out an order, where their information is stored in a database.
Shirts average $125, while suits run for $1,100. For customers who shop at Ratio online and those who step in the Denver store, they fill out an eight-question survey that asks for height, weight, age and off-the-rack sizes that Powell and his employees enter into an algorithm to generate accurate fits.
Powell, who has a software background, built the backend for all of Ratio’s orders, factory fulfillment and shipment.
“It adds a lot of efficiency to the process,” said Powell. “Even in our own factories, other custom clothing companies making their orders will flow through software we wrote.”
Around 75 percent of Ratio’s orders are online. Denver customers make up the remaining 25 percent, Powell said, including returning customers in Denver who buy online after initially buying in the store.
Powell said many of his customers are trying custom-made clothes for the first time, after frustrations with off-the-rack finds at stores like Nordstrom’s, Banana Republic or J.Crew.