William Skinner, Chairman, Savile Row Bespoke Association and managing director of Dege & Skinner, says tailors in London’s Savile Row street have called for rent reductions on their stores. Savile Row is a key destination for affluent shoppers visiting London and is also a tourist attraction with its status as the home of tailoring an important part of the overall package that makes the West End of London stand out.

The street has been under pressure for some time with relatively low margins, the rise of relaxed dress codes, higher business rates and rising rents all conspiring against it. Now a number of suit-makers on the street are asking for rent cuts and greater flexibility over payment terms.

The Pollen Estate is the biggest landlord in the area and has been mulling rent-free periods, rent deferments and monthly rents for reopening businesses. But recent periods have seen tailors like Hardy Amies, Chester Barrie and Kilgour either closing completely or exiting the street. And there are fears that after the crisis are over, if tailors can't afford the rents and if other retailers with deeper pockets are prepared to move in, the character of the street could change forever.