Scottish entrepreneurs Ryan and Calvin Smith behind Suited & Booted Dubai prepare to debut Glasgow store

“Our dream has always been to bring the brand to the UK, and shake up the suiting market,” says one of the co-founding duo.

They are focused on getting their customers looking sharp. And now, two Scottish entrepreneurs could well help do the same for Glasgow’s in-flux retail sector by opening a bricks-and-mortar branch of their Middle East-based tailoring firm in the city.

Friends Ryan and Calvin Smith, natives of Ayrshire and Edinburgh respectively, are the founders of Suited & Booted Dubai, and will this summer cut the ribbon on the store in the Merchant City in a welcome vote of confidence in the Glaswegian shopping sector.

The new outlet, serving both men and women and for the first time off-the-peg items, will be the brand’s first in the UK, where it looks to “shake up the suiting market”. The UK’s suits market is this year worth £910 million, market data specialist Statista has calculated, adding that demand for bespoke tailored suits has been “steadily increasing, as consumers prioritise high-quality craftsmanship and individualised style”.

Suited & Booted Dubai was created in 2017, after the Smith duo teamed up in the UAE, saying they had identified a gap in the region for a premium bespoke product. They say their offering is now “renowned” in the Middle East, with a branch in Abu Dhabi as well as Dubai, and attracting high-profile customers such as Brazilian footballing legend Ronaldinho and former boxing world champion Amir Khan and a tie-up with Rangers Football Club.

They also lay claim to being the first Scottish businessmen to host the Style Stakes at Meydan Racecourse sporting event in Dubai in 2022, following in the footsteps of Jaguar, TopShop and Banana Republic.

Their forthcoming inaugural Scottish retail space, located on Montrose Street and whose exact opening date is TBC, spans 3,300 square feet, and is set to offer bespoke tailored garments for men and women, plus a range of ready-to-wear suits, “a first for the brand”. The suit collection covers business tailoring to tuxedos, wedding suits and smart-casual options plus seasonal and limited collections, and the boutique will be run by managing director Dillon Arthur and store manager Michael Dixon.

The new shop is described as having been designed to reflect the aesthetic of the firm’s existing premises, with a mix of the traditional and modern, and the fit-out done by Dickson Joinery, with bespoke interior design by Lucid Designs. There will also be a private, cordoned-off space downstairs to accommodate private group appointments and wedding parties, and bar and lounge areas that will be used for client entertaining and in-store events. Two private tailoring suites are also being created and will be used for all bespoke appointments.

From left: entrepreneurial duo Calvin and Ryan Smith. Picture: contributed.

Ryan Smith said: “Our concept has thrived in the UAE – we are extremely proud to have built such a strong brand presence in the Middle East, but our dream has always been to bring the brand to the UK and shake up the suiting market. With our years of experience in bespoke tailoring, it was important for us to bring the highest level of quality and craftsmanship we possibly could to the collection offered in Glasgow. This collection has been carefully curated over the past five years in collaboration with the top suppliers globally.

“This is the first time we have offered ready-to-wear suits – we believe the quality and construction of the product is truly unmatched, and will be highly popular... Over the past couple of years, we have seen an increased demand in the preference for refined dressing, and this has translated to a surge in bespoke suit sales, while also extending to the heightened popularity of our smart-casual products.”

Calvin Smith added: “From the outset, our brand statement has always been ‘changing the way you experience tailoring’. We’re extremely excited to launch this concept in Glasgow this summer, and bring something completely new to Scotland with an extensive range of bespoke formal and casual wear products.”

The business will be competing with local peers such as Glasgow-headquartered menswear brand Slaters, which was founded in 1904 by Russian-born Samuel Slater. It moved into retail in 1973 and his son Ralph launched Ralph’s Room in 1978, which houses the firm’s most exclusive and premium suits, while it secured a Guinness World Record for the largest menswear store, located in Glasgow at 2,600 square metres. It now has nearly 30 stores and about 800 staff across the UK.

Buchanan Street, historically one of the UK's busiest shopping thoroughfares, and facing the introduction of more residential property (file image). Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images.

Suited & Booted is to join Slater in forming part of the fabric of Glasgow’s retail sector, which faces major changes with Glasgow City Council’s plans to double its inner-city residential population by 2035, and plans to knock down key shopping malls Buchanan Galleries and the St Enoch Centre and replace them with mixed-use developments.

Also mooted is the creation of more cultural attractions in the now-morose Sauchiehall Street area as part of the bid to revive the “Golden Z” of the city centre, an area also comprising Buchanan Street and Argyle Street.

A study published earlier this year by Lismore Real Estate Advisors found that 89 per cent of investors expected to see investment opportunities in Glasgow city centre gain momentum over the next 12 months. However, just 21 per cent expressed confidence in the public sector’s support, citing potential challenges such as rent control legislation hindering Glasgow City Council’s ambitions to revitalise its urban core and bring residents back to its heart, and amid still-shaky Scottish retail statistics. “Despite setbacks, Glasgow’s resilience shines through,” said Stuart Orr, senior development manager at property giant Land Securities, who was interviewed by Lismore for the research.