For instance, suppose the cash received be £1. The profit out of this amount is 5/-, or, in other words, the cost of cloth, trimmings, making, and cutting totals up to 15/-, so that when calculating to get 25 per cent, in this way, one-third must be added to the cost.
For credit trades the usual profit is 33J per cent., or, in other words, one-third profit: and in order to get that, half the cost should be added thus:—cost, 20/-; selling price, 30/-, and so on.
Now, out of the profits made in this way 10 to 15 per cent, will be swallowed up in working expenses, such as rent, lighting, business expenses, etc., so that the net profit would only be from 10 to 15 per cent. The fact of working expenses should be carefully remembered, for rent has to be paid, carriage of goods must be forthcoming, and the errand boy will not stay unless he is paid his wages, so that the Tailor must never buy and sell for the actual price he pays the woollen merchant, etc. That would mean to him a loss of from 10 to 15 per cent., and would soon land him in the Bankruptcy Court.
The plan followed by some of the most successful houses is to arrange
A SCALE OF CHARGES.
and then instead of having to make a calculation for each customer, they refer to this list and quote the price in a moment.
Here is a sample list, such as is issued by a large City house, to which we have added a list of prices of the cloth, quoting for narrow width goods. Now to use this, note the price of the cloth and then continue across to the column devoted to the garment you wish to quote for, and there you will find the price: as, for example, cloth 2/6 per yard, the price for trousers is 14/-. If there is an extra pocket the price would be 14/6; 6 d. extra being charged for the pocket.
Lounges may be reckoned at ten per cent, less than Morning Coats; thus: ( lass 1. Lounge Jacket 17/-; Lounge Jacket Suit. 34/-; and so on.
It must be borne in mind that this list is only a sample one, and should be used as a model upon which to make one of your own, for whilst this one is doubtless very excellent, yet local conditions vary, and as these often affect the price, they must enter into calculations.
