Senor started its operation at Aquem, Margao in 2000 in a 25 square meter shop by Samson Francis, father of Blaise Naina. Blaise joined in after three years around 2003 at the age of 15. Today Senor as a brand has grown to seven stores in Goa. VIKANT SAHAY interacts with Blaise Naina, 33, partner of Senor to understand how they expanded to bridals and entire wedding shopping centre and employs almost 150 people across stores and the backend.
HERALD: What made you foray into the business of formal suits?
BLAISE NAINA: Goa has a tradition of suits since the Portuguese days. Not just Catholics but during those days even Goan Hindu men used to wear a coat on the dhoti. Similarly, we as a family were into the tailoring profession. My father first came to Goa from Mumbai to work as a tailor in a retail store in Goa and eventually decided to take the plunge and become an entrepreneur. Looking at the potential in Goa and in tailoring, my father got into this.
HERALD: Even corporate people in Goa are hardly seen in formals. Do you think this culture is a deterrent for your business?
BN: Our business is largely wedding. Off late, the corporate business has picked up because a lot of new age MDs and CEOs are used to wearing suits. They might not wear them frequently but they have a collection of suits. Also five star hotels, casinos, auto dealers, colleges insist that employees and students wear suits.
Also women are getting into corporates and suit is considered as a smart dressing for women in business. So the corporate business is looking up. Also the pricing that we offer has made it possible for everyone to own a suit.
When we entered the market we brought down the price of a suit to Rs 1600 when the market price was Rs 2500 only for stitching. Today our suits start as low as Rs 2499.
HERALD: Who are your major clients?
BN: Largely we have retail customers who are the to-be grooms. They want to look special on the wedding day. They come to Senor. It is a tradition in Goa. In Catholic weddings there are also the best men for whom suit is a must. We have celebrities too like tiatrists apart from businessmen.
HERALD: How is Senor different from others?
BN: We eat-breathe-live suits. The whole family is into the business. We now offer 24 hours delivery of suits. We have sourced the best accessories from all over the world that are unique to go along with the suits. We are the first in Goa to come up with an annual suit pattern guide. Unlike our competition we do not sub-contract the job to other tailors. Senor suit is made end-to-end at Senor internally. We have an in-house Master in all our stores who cuts the suit at site.
HERALD: With the advent of big brands in malls, what strategy do you have to retain your customers?
BN: We welcome the mall culture and International brands. However, they do not operate in the segment that we operate. We are into custom tailored (bespoke) suits made to measure as per the taste and liking of each individual customer. We know the Goan customer for decades. The choice of unique designs, colours, fabrics that we offer cannot be matched by a national or an international brand. In Goa the wedding customers like a one stop solution. They shop for the entire package (we offer a package of 12 items) that includes the accessories too like cravat, bow, tie, socks, cufflinks etc. So it’s a hassle free experience. Plus we do suits for bestman to go along with the grooms selection. Our prices are unmatchable. You get a complete wedding package from Senor for the price of one blazer by our competition.
HERALD: Does the mantra of Made to Order still work in Goa?
BN: It works like magic. Because a true connoisseur of suits knows that it has to be made to measure. That is what the Goan customer looks for. In readymades you can’t expect the perfection of up to 0.5 inch that Goan customers are finicky about. Suit is a ritual in Goa. There is a measurement then fitting process where clients are particular about the fit and they say that readymades look like a suit that has been taken on rent. Only when you choose your fabric and it is custom tailored they love it. It becomes their own suit.
