Two Young Men Bring the Tailor Experience Online

The customized business has taken off online. Companies, like Zazzle.com, allow customers to design their own products using various blank canvas that the website provides. Websites like these are not considered tailored clothing and are usually simple in design, unless the customizer is really good at graphic design. Fan Bi and Danny Wong are two young men, 23 and 19, respectively, who created Blank Label. The website has the customized method as described before but the spin with this company is the product involves choice of various fabrics and more tailored-like options.

According to “Dressed for Success” by Joel Holland on Entrepreneur.com, the inspiration came from a trip Fan Bi took to Shanghai. He was exposed to a myriad of fabrics and came up with the idea to offer a service, in which customers tailor make a shirt online. While studying abroad in the U.S., Bi worked on his business model and met Danny Wong who helped translate the business to an e-commerce platform. With Blank Label, customers “can build a custom shirt by selecting a fabric, color combination and style of cuff, collar, placket, pocket, button, monogram, even custom label—all for less than $50” (although, I tested the options and my somewhat simple custom shirt came to an estimated $77).

Blank Label launched in 2009 and since then, it has generated $350,000 in revenue. The article doesn’t mention the cost of the operations or if there has been a profit. For first time young entrepreneurs, the revenue means they have a market. It may seem obvious to have a market in mind when starting a business but, at times, the market becomes known as the business grows. While the young men believe they attract college students in need of tailored clothes for entry-level jobs, I think they attract customers who want a more tailor-like shirt without having to go to a tailor. Selling fabric rich custom shirts is a great idea. If they can work on more fabric and fits, especially for women because women enjoy dress shirts also, and continue to get their name out there (as in being featured in Entrepreneur), they can count on more revenue. I enjoy writing about young entrepreneurs and would love to read more about the operations of the business.