“Bespoke” and “Internet” are words that not even the most tech-savvy of sartorialists would normally put together. But, to the utter shock of dandys and industry professionals alike, that's exactly what Kyle Vucko and Heikal Gani have managed to do. The dynamic duo behind Indochino have created a revolutionary business that allows consumers to access made-to-measure suits within a few simple clicks of a mouse (and only two weeks of delivery time!) We recently sat down with Vucko to discuss the company and the value behind a well-fitting suit.
L: Can you briefly tell our readers how Indochino was born?
K: My business partner, Heikal Gani, and I were both studying at the University of Victoria, and he needed a suit for a conference and found the process to be very difficult. He ended up buying from one of the lower-end retailers, and just found the whole experience to be very uncomfortable. So what this led to was Indochino, where we could provide accessible, great-looking suits that were affordable and actually fit you.
L: When you were starting your business, were you and Heikal familiar with the art of the made-to-measure suit, or was it something that you had to educate yourself on?
K: We wanted to know everything, so we completely immersed ourselves in the business. Heikal went to China, lived in the fabric markets, hung out at tailor's houses, and really derived from the streets a “learn as you go” perspective. And it served us well. When we started out as a business, we just wanted to be able to get a great fitting, great looking custom suit at a price that we could afford. As a result, we started working with these home-based tailors so that we could deliver a custom suit to you, anywhere in the world, in two weeks. It turns out that we're the fastest custom clothiers in the world right now. When we talk to more serious, larger-scale suppliers, they seem a bit baffled by what we do, because traditionally apparel is a minimum order of ten thousand suits, where they'll make it in three months, and then ship it across the ocean in thirty days. So, when you say you want to make one suit at a time within seventy-two hours in order to get it delivered in less than two weeks, they kind of stare at you blankly. That lack of knowledge of the tailoring and apparel industry has actually served us well, for the most part.
L: How important is it that every suit is unique?
K: At the end of the day, fit is the most important thing. A great fitting suit, regardless of what you pay, is what separates you, appearance-wise. I think what people like is that if they look great, they'll feel more confident. The customization features that we offer, being able to choose your lining and have your pieces monogrammed, really resonates with people. You can personalize it to make it yours, you get a say in your suit. Apparel isn't really a personal business, generally. It's more trying to create a lifestyle as opposed to enabling your lifestyle, as an individual.
L: What do you think is the appeal in a man dressed in a made-to-measure suit?
K: Ultimately, it's the fit. You will look better, and because you look better, you'll feel better and a little more confident when you walk. It's the subtle things. That peace of mind for people makes all the difference, especially for guys who haven't experienced that before. We found that by making the process of dressing up in the morning easy, and giving confidence in knowing that you're going to look good, provides a really big value.
L: Is there a certain kind of man that you envision dressing?
K: We speak pretty broadly. What we really focus on is value, fit, and fashion. And those sort of things really speak to most men. We feel like we've got the whole spectrum, kids graduating from high school with prom to senior bankers and lawyers that are buying a suit every couple of months from us.
L: Do your products reflect the fashion “cycle” aspect, with new collections coming out twice a year, or do you like to focus on putting out more classic standards?
K: It's more in the middle. We like to be stylish, but we really try to focus on products that are wearable and can be worn a lot. We really focus on more contemporary, classic stuff. Most of our suits are the basics: charcoal, navy, black, light grey, navy pinstripe, and then there's the rest that are more savvy.
L: Your business is built on a foundation geared towards educating men on the advantages of a made-to-measure suit. What can men learn from their experience with Indochino?
K: Aside from proper fit, people should be focusing on stuff that they're going to use. It's one of the big things that we try to promote with the style aesthetic that we put out, and also with the sizing. If you get something that looks great, you can really wear it a lot. I think that's kind of the big thing, because people tend to focus more on disposable fashion and the more trend savvy stuff, which you just aren't going to be able to get the same level of use out of.
L: Your business is built on a mass-customization aspect, which is, in itself, a bit of an oxymoron. This degree of specialization leaves a bit of a margin for things to go wrong. How do you address this issue?
K: The big thing that we did is we launched the “Perfect Fit” promise, and we've had that since day one. What that enables our customers to do is, if you have a suit and it fits anything less than perfect, you can take it to your local tailor and we'll cover all the alterations. If it's way off, we'll remake it. And if it's not what you expected, you can return it for a full refund. So it's kind of a risk-free approach to buying custom-apparel. And being online only, and also making your suit purchasing experience comfortable, we feel like that's a very important feature.
L: Amongst a heavy recession, your business was able to triple its revenue from the previous year. Why do you think your business was able to flourish during a time where people were threatened by a shrinking disposable income and had to save up?
K: I think it's just the value that we offer. We kind of started at a very timely time, where people were seeking value, where they would get the biggest bang for their buck. Oddly enough, suits weren't that impacted during the recession. Guys either wanted to spruce up their game to stay in their jobs, or they were on job interview circuits and wearing suits. So, it did take an impact, but suits were relatively less hit than other industries.
L: Your website states that Indochino comes out with products every week in order to keep the collection fresh and fashion-forward, in turn, allowing you to quickly address customer needs. How are you able to keep up at this pace?
K: It's a combination of things. Our business is built very differently. We don't need to pre-make things, we don't have to ship them and put them into stores. So we can actually design, create, shoot, and put on the website a new product in two to three weeks, versus four to six weeks. So we have this ability to create products because we don't have to invest in inventory. We can very cost-effectively release small amounts of products. We generally feel that consumers like seeing new things, they like having a reason to come back to the site. I think it also consistently engages men to look good in different ways that only really an online custom-apparel company can do. So we're just really trying to take advantage of that and use it as best we can to make an experience that speaks best to men.
L: As of now, your selection includes only menswear and accessories. Do you plan on expanding in to womenswear, or any other area, in the future to appeal to a wider demographic?
K: Womenswear has been something that we keep looking at. It's a really big opportunity. But not really anytime soon. What we are focusing on is making the experience more compelling to men. I think men ultimately prefer to shop all at one place. So what we're building towards is the ability to get your entire wardrobe custom made. Right now we've got suits, shirts, outerwear, and accessories. And we'll look to move into other types of apparel as we grow. But the intention is that you can have everything you're wearing custom made to you very easily. That's our vision, and I think it's just a great experience for guys.
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