The joys and perils of buying a suit from the other side of the world.
Here's an example of where the internet and modern communications have transformed what's possible. Online meets offline, personalised service in a mass-market, off-shore manufacture, on-shore sales - it's a whole world of opposites.
If you know me, you'll know I'm tall and slim. The "slim patroller" they used to call me in the day. Getting clothes to fit me is very difficult, never mind a suit. I can get the fit on the shoulders only to find no length in the sleeves and a tent around my middle. Trousers that fit my waist don't reach my ankles.
Recently into a new job, I thought it was time to invest in a new suit. I managed to squeeze 10 years out of the last one, but the poor old thing had had it's day.
This time I thought I'd try a tailor made suit (for the reasons mentioned above), but I didn't want to spend a fortune on Saville Row.
I'd heard of Raja Fashions before having seen their adverts in the papers. You might have seen them too - they talk of a Hong Kong tailor, Mr Daswani, who travels the world (mainly the UK and the USA) to measure up clients for his team of tailors in Hong Kong. You're promised high street prices, but tailor made quality.
(Offline advertising for brand awareness)
I recalled the name so I went online and searched Google for "Raja" and "Hong Kong Tailors" and sure, soon enough I found their site. On the site, I found a list of dates when he would be in London, and I could make an online reservation from the site for the date and time that suited me. As it happened I had a 3 week wait before my Saturday appointment at a Kensington hotel suite.
(Online lead generation and appointment facility)
I was kind of expecting to see Mr Daswani, but no, the room had 4 younger guys from his team, with suitcases of fabric samples, tape measures and credit card swipe machines. Very quickly I was being seen to by "Dennis" (I'm sure that's not his real name) who very quickly started to take details about what I wanted. I said I wanted 2 suits, one simple black one and a slightly more fashionable brown pinstripe. He measured me up, and asked questions about various options I had such as type of vents, width of lapel, angle of pockets, number of pockets etc etc. To be honest I wasn't quite sure what I wanted, it felt uncomfortably fast and I was getting flustered. Maybe that was his technique. Moving so fast I was caught off guard on the negotiation front. I was expecting to pay £300 to £400 per suit. In the end, with upgraded fabric, nice lining etc, I was looking at £650 a suit. I also went for a white shirt (only £50), so the total bill was a whopping £1350. Ouch. Whilst I was being distracted by a guy taking my photo, my credit card was already being processed and only 25 minutes after walking in I was leaving wondering how on earth I managed to just drop that kind of money and would I get what I wanted?
(Old fashioned pen and carbon copied paper, and a "tiger" for a salesman)
I was told to expect my suits within 4-6 weeks. 3 weeks in and the shirt arrived. Great fit, just that it was a little tight around the collar. I don't usually wear a tie, so I let it go. It was great to have a shirt that didn't flap across my chest and was long enough on the sleeves and tails.Being cotton, it has shrunk a small amount too. I thinkif I were to order more of these I'd get and extra 1/2 inch on the collar.
(International parcel delivery)
I waited for the suits, but they didn't arrive. 7 weeks in I emailed Raja Fashions in Hong Kong and was told by reply that they had despatched about 3 weeks previously. I was given a Parcelforce tracking number which I looked up online. It's at this point that I started a period of 4 weeks of stress trying to get my suits. I don't think I'll go into the full details here (it warrants it's own blog post) except to say that the parcel had the wrong house number on it, it was apparently signed for and delivered at an address 4 doors down, by a name not heard of by the owners of the house, with the suit no-where to be seen.
Given that this happened at Christmas time and I was having to deal with Parcelforce's customer service centre (think: impossible call routing systems that have none of the options that relate to your situation).... well, you can imagine.
(Automated UK customer "care" - nothing of the sort!)
Three weeks later I had manage to confirm that the suits were not where Parcelforce said they were and was just about to call Mastercard to re-claim my outlay, when Raja Fashions confirmed that they would re-do the order and send the suits over within 2 weeks. I had almost given up.
(Email Hong Kong customer care, this time with results)
Sure enough to the day, my suits arrived and I was this time given an SMS to alert me of the delivery with a choice to choose a different day if the proposed day didn't work for me. Nice touch. Shame they didn't do this first time around and I might have managed to get the suits.
(SMS customer alerting)
My suits arrived in a cardboard box, slightly crupmled after their journey. I tried them on straight away with some nervousness. It was 3 months of effort, a signficant amount of stress and a fair chunk of change to get this far.
The result? Spot on. Absolutely fantastic fit. I sighed a big sigh of relief and looked forward to wearing my new threads.
I had to take the jacket of one suit to the local dry cleaner to get the crumples steamed out of the arms, but that was no big deal.
I've since enjoyed wearing my new suits and I must say, the feeling of tailor-made has me converted. It's lovely good quality wool fabric, feels very sharp. There's no going back to M+S again now.
Would I use Raja-Fashions again?
Yes - I think I would. I am very very happy with the end result. The process to get there was very stressful, but I think to be honest I was just unluckywith the delivery. Raja-Fashions redeemed themselves by re-doing the order once they were sure that it had gone missing.
I've got my next appointment in 6 weeks time. A supply of shirts is in order I feel!
Apart from my personal story, the story here is of a very successful business that is a real mix of all possible ways of doing business: offline advertising, online lead generation and appointments service, face to face sales, old-fashioned payment systems, off-shore manufacturing, personalised goods, international delivery, email customer service, SMS delivery alerting. By locating in Hong Kong but by travelling to their customers around the world, Mr Daswani has created a compelling business model that is going from strength to strength. Good for him I say. Good for me too, the lanky odd-ball that I am.
51 comments:
I'm interested to hear other people's comments about this crowd, because they also did s slick job on upgrading what I wanted. I wanted to spend bottom of the line to see how good they were before I invested some real money, but ended up speinding £325. The suit I got arrived on time and the material is really durable, but the cut of it is abyssmal, so I would never go back!!
I have to agree. The adverts are enticing, but the staff are salesmen, not tailors. It doesn't feel quite right to be offered a 'free upgrade' on a tailored suit...
Based on my experience with them, I'd guess that they run (ill-fitting) off-the-peg suits in HK and retain tailors in-country to complete minor adjustments. I’m sure Mr Daswani himself does an excellent job, but unfortunately, a tailor’s individual skills are not ‘scalable’ into this sort of operation.
I was measured for a ladies coat in October 2007 very expensive but as it is cashmere and made to measure decided to go ahead. The unfinished garment was sent to me and I went to a hotel in Reading for the final fitting at the beginning of December. The coat arrived in January 2008 - wrong colour, vent in the back which was not requested and no piping or braiding round neck and front as requested. They offered to make me a new coat in the colour chosen and this would be sent straight to me 'express delivery'. Arrived today just over 8 1/2 weeks later and once again there is a vent in the back, plain neck and front, the sleeves are too short, but hey - the colour is correct!!!! This has all taken over 5 months, hopefully the winter is over, and I still haven't got a coat to wear.
I've requested a home visit, so will keep you posted.
Don't go near these people. You'll be disappointed, Save up and go to Saville Row!
never heard of saville row - do you mean savile row?
Several good places there - but they are over priced for what they give you - Although if you want the english prestige etc, it's good - but most are utterly too formal, sadly
I wouldn't use them - they are after your money nothing else. Use a mid range jermyn street tailor where you can buy a made to measure suit (all measurements taken) for a very similiar amount of money. They are trustworthy and deliver an excellent product within 6 weeks with no hassle or stress at all. Raja fashions treats its customers vey poorly. Do not use.
I have just had a bad experience with Raja, I ordered a suit from them and it's turned up in the wrong colour and fitting badly...they are not returning my emails to find out what went wrong and as they're only here a few days a month I am finding it difficult to get recourse...my advice would be to steer clear...
when using Raja I felt I was hustled by pushy salespeople.
Since then, I have used the Eat-end tailor Luke's bespoke in Canning Town, slightly more expensive bu much better.
Highly recommended
http://www.thatstheshop.com/lukesbespoketailors.htm
This firm is to be avoided - for all the reasons given. They are pushy; they get the colours wrong; they do not follow instructions; their clothes do not fit! I wasted £2,000 on these people - it paid for one of their expensive and misleading adverts of course!
I have had tailor made suits by a visiting tailor from Bangkok quite a number of times and have always been satisfied. I have recommended quite a number of friends and they also have had no issues. There have been times when the pant length was too long and the waist a little small but they were easily alterable here in London and the Thai tailor reimbursed the cost. The outfit I use is Inders Fashion. A bloke named Suk comes over twice a year and helps me choose fabric and style. The good part about this tailor is that they are not pushy. I think the site is www.indersfashion.com - they say their main marketing is word of mouth and as far as I can tell they do their best to keep their clients happy!
My Friend recommended me to this tailor but i tried a suit and the quality was not good and i paid very high price US$ 550 for the suits and was not satisfied.
Many tailors in the far east seem to offer this service, and to be honest, they are much, MUCH more reasonably priced then what we get at home. Both my brother and I also use a tailoring service from the far east. They're "Crown Tailors." www.crowntailor.com. Pretty much it was what you described above, but as they come in a team of two, they are not pushy and over time, have developed quite a good personal relationship with us. We would highly recommend them as the team to meet and order suits and shirts from.
i used raja for a wedding suit last year, i went to be measured and was greated by 3 gentlemen. i was quickly measured and asked what exactly i wanted . when it came to payment i told them i would be paying a cash deposit of £80 until the suit was in the uk. they didnt realy like this but i think they liked the fact i paid with some cash. 6 weeks later i emailed them to see how it was going and it was getting very close to the wedding, a woman from hong kong phoned and was concerned about the payment i told them that if the suit would arrive within 1 week i would bacs them the money so i asked for the balance. i went for a mid - high end cloth and was told at the measuring it would be £550 which was ok, the lady in hongkong requested a balance of £250 so i paid it . the suit came that week and it is the best suit i have ever had and at a really good price i saved myself £220.
I've just had a suit measured for me by Raja-Fashions and it's the first tailored suit I've ever purchased. I got the impression that the guy wanted to rush me but I wouldn't let him. I asked questions about every aspect of the suit and even asked his opinion and eventually I think he started having a good time. He got me to 'upgrade' to a better fabric as seems to be the case with many people on this blog but in all honesty the £300.00 material felt cheap whereas the £400.00 material he showed me felt much nicer and I was happy to pay the difference. I haven't actually received the suit yet and judging by some people's experiences this is the most trying part but I live in hope.
Watch this space...
I just came back from hong kong where I had a suit made at Raja.
The fit and the material was indeed good. Then again whats the point of a custom tailored suit if not even that?
The tailoring job unfortunatelly lower than a 300 dollar off the rack. Specifically the stiching job arround the shoulders was really bad. Of course I am comparing this to other made to measure suits i had for the same price range.
If you are planning to fork out 500 to 800 for a suit look elsewhere, you would have a better change getting a nice suit off the rack and having it tailored.
I have used Raja for the last 3 years, and had about 6-7 suits made during that time. The first 3 suits were fantastic- great quality and cut. However, since then, I've felt the service has dropped significantly. Like others have commented, I feel the service is rushed and the "salesmen" are always trying to upsell you. The last 4 suits I have had made have all been badly made- despite apparently using the same measurements as before, they were very badly fitting. The only practical way to get the suits adjusted has been to wait for Raja to revisit London, and for the suits to be sent back to Hong Kong for altering. In all, that means two suits have taken nearly 5 months to be corrected (and they're still not perfect) and another two that needed correcting FOUR times(!) and took nearly 8 months to adjust.
During this time, I've found the Raja response pretty uncaring- they even had the cheek to try to sell me another suit when I went to see them to complain at the poor service I had received!
Overall, given the very obvious drop in quality in the last couple of years, I won't be using Raja again. There are other UK-based outfits that I'd rather try.
Pushy, rude salesmen intent on hustling you into a more expensive suit than you intended. The first fit was hopeless, and I had a pretty stressful time trying to get my suit in time for my daughter's wedding. It turned out OK (but no more than that) in the end, but it wasn't the pleasurable experience that bespoke tailoring ought to be, and I wouldn't use them again.
After moving to Bangkok from London and much research, I decided to try Tailor Pro.The sales person was very friendly and helpful and made my initial visit a good one. I was extremely satisfied by the two initial suits and shirts that I had made. Since then, I have had several other suits and shirts made here that are all of highest quality. I've also recommended Tailor Pro to several people back in London and here in Bangkok whom have been satisfied with the service and final product. My wife also had a woman's 3 piece suit made here and was also very happy with the results.
If looking for a good tailor, I could not recommend this place more!
I have four suits, two jackets and a number of shirts made by Raja Fashions. All of these were purchased in Hong Kong. There is no point in buying suits without a fitting - just to make sure that everything fits properly and you are completely happy with the style & cut. These suits were not the first tailored suits that I had made in Hong Kong.... But do not think that you are getting a bargain... this certainly is not the case... the suits that I bought were expensive despite all the "introductory offers" available with Hong Kong tailors. The salesmen spend an inordinate amount of time attempting to sell you better material and more product.... I am very happy with the cloth, style and fit of the suits - after all I chose the cloth and style. Another word of warning - be demanding, know exactly what you want, from the colour, lining colour, style, and specify everything... But as I say, I did visit the shop in Hong Kong.... I would not even attempt to order from the UK based upon measurements without any proper fitting by a tailor. This would only lead to disappointment. Would I order from Raja again, on another visit to Hong Kong? Only if I was flush with cash and had sufficient time to have the necessary fittings etc. But beware their salesmen are very pushy and no one gets a bargain - only a good quality suit in your particular style. Is it good value for money? A tailor in Jermyn Street is likely to be able to make something at a similar price... particularly now in the recession!
Never use Raja Fashions. I had a terrible experience after paying £400 for a suit, I returned 2 weeks later for the first fitting. It quickly became apparent that they hadn't made the suit but rather than be honest, the salesmen strung me a series of lies. Eventually they came clean and I was told to come back the next day for the final suit - if I didn't like it I would recieve a refund.
The next day I tried on the suit which did not fit at all as you might expect for one knocked up in 24 hours without any fittings. I was eventually given a refund and told I could keep the shirt as an apology for all the hassle the company had caused me.
When I arrived home I found that I had not received a refund. It was 3months, endless phone calls and emails before I got anything back and even then they insisted on charging me £100 for the supposedly free shirt. I even went to one of their hotel tours in an attempt to get my money back.
Don't use them - they ruined my holiday in Hong Kong and basically acted as criminals by retaining my money.
Interesting comments. Raja fashions have just advertised in New Zealand but after reading the comments I will be avoiding them.
While in Bangkok I have visited Jesse and Victor of Rajawongese http://www.dress-for-success.com/ after being recommended them.
Having read reviews which name them as one of the top tailors in Thailand I would have to agree. They are not pushy and do not try to make you upgrade. I spent 2 hours selecting my suit fabrics!
Unfortunately they don't travel the world (as they don’t need to) but well worth a visit if in Bangkok.
I am a prtner in Aptus Suits, a new Cotswold based tailoring company. Many of my clients come to me after buying Raja suits. Something that is fed back time and time again is this feeling of being rushed, pressured into making hasty decisions. I personally believe that tailoring is about much more than the beautiful, perfect fitting garment, it is also about a way of life, a level of service that you expect with this sort of investment. To achieve this, at Aptus we like to keep the personal touch. Our initial consultation takes about an hour, we discuss materials, cuts, and specifications for the suit. We also offer advice on what would best enhance your particular body shape. We then follow this up second and sometimes 3rd fittings (included in the price) to ensure the perfect fit. Our suits range from £360-£500 but there is no upgrading or any of the nonsense that you get with Raja.
So why are you paying so much for a Raja suit? sadly it is down to greed, and commercialisation. Raja fashions has very high running costs, think how much an advert in the times costs! thus these costs are passed onto their customers.
I personally think tailoring is about a family run business on a scale where you can build up an understanding with your tailor, its not about spending hours on the phone to Hong Kong chasing up suits.
Aptus Suits has recently launched its new website, http://www.tailored-suits.co.uk, we offer a lot more advice on buying the perfect suit.
www.cadandthedandy.co.uk London based guys and great suits, or at least the one they made for me is
My experience at the fitting was similar to David Norris's. The shirts, like his, were slightly tight, and in a rougher fabric than I would have expected in a made to measure shirt. The 2 Suits were a reasonable fit (though ever so slightly on the short side of ideal in one case), but poorly finished for the price; several buttons have come loose, despite my having worn the suits a handful of times, and the trousers half as often as the coats as I bought two pairs on each suit. The stitching on the linings were not fully finished, and the stitching on the small pockets within pockets for coins came away pretty quickly.
I don't expect to use Raja Fashions again. I could do as well at Boundary Mills or at an outlet shop for a quarter of the price, even allowing for the cost of minor alterations.
In hindsight the fit of the suits is geared to the style favoured in Hong Kong (Tight fitting shirts, Belt loops on trousers, Very few acceptable fabrics, and those cost an arm and a leg). It only dawns on you after the bum's rush at the fitting that you have really had no time to think through the final look.
As for delivery, I imagine David Norris had his suits delivered in a box only because the first delivert had been lost. Mine arrived in a plastic wrapped bundle, very creased.
I have bought from Raja Fashions several times but this time his suits were like magic.His quality of lining are better and workmanship is improved.
I bought a suit for £400 from Raja Fashions on one of their tours in London and just received it 2 weeks later. Decided to go for a better fabric than others I was shown. Wouldn't go there again, pushy salesman and the impression I got is they will always go for higher returns and deliver poor quality where they think they can get away with it. The suit is of a lot cheaper fabric than I actually ordered. I'm planning to complain, but not sure I can expect any positive result, as I didn't take away a sample of the fabric I purchased. Stay away, or when you buy ask for a patch of the fabric.
I went to Raja Fashions when they were in Cardiff in 2002 and they really took advantage of me being a big guy - they are just boiler room salesmen. I wanted 1 suit and ended up with 2 suits, supposedly wool and cashmere mix. Cost £1,000 for the 2 - found out from a cloth merchant in Piccadilly the first suit was low grade wool or poly wool. I went to get the second suit and was told they wanted me to have 2 more suits - I flatly refused and told them I would only buy when I was ready. They did not like this at all. The suits were rubbish as far as workmanship was concerned - I would never trust this company again. Even another Hong Kong tailor said that Raja Fashions gives Hong Kong tailoring a very bad name.
Raja Fashions - remember that he who pays the piper calls the tune. I hope all Trading Standards departments in the UK hear about you - even the "spotty Saturday boy" in a store knows a suit better than you!
Have just visited Raja fashions in Manchester and can confirm much of what has been posted. We felt rushed and again felt pushed into choosing something we did not want. We resisted however but did choose a suit and two shirts for around £600.00.
Much to our surprise however we had to pay carrier charges and "extras" totaling £120.00. When we questioned this with the carrier we were told that the shipper Raja fashions had told them the bill was to be paid by us. This meant that the total bill was £120.00 more than we expected as Raja fashions did not tell us this at the time. If they had done I would not have bought the suit from them as I know I could have got an equivalent or even better suit at the same price in the UK.
The suit seems reasonably well tailored although the sleeves are a little long and the shirts are acceptable. I feel that the company has deceived me however on the matter of price. I shall go back and complain and will keep you posted about how they respond
My experience of this company is of a long catalogue of errors. I asked them to shorten jacket sleeves from the shoulder, not from the base of the sleeves. What happened? They shortened from the base of the sleeves. They have committed this particular error twice, once in 2007 and now again in 2010. They have made trousers without pockets. They have made a tuxedo with the wrong type of lapel. They have made three pairs of trousers with belt loops when I specified NO belt loops. I am fed up with having to complain and battle to get things made correctly and to get errors put right, traipsing up to London time after time to return garments to have errors rectified. Even if you e-mail the company in order to put your specifications in writing, Raja still get things wrong and do the opposite of what you have asked them to do. I am not going to use them again, and I am going to sue them over their latest error.
My experience of this company is of a long catalogue of errors. I asked them to shorten jacket sleeves from the shoulder, not from the base of the sleeves. What happened? They shortened from the base of the sleeves. They have committed this particular error twice, once in 2007 and now again in 2010. They have made trousers without pockets. They have made a tuxedo with the wrong type of lapel. They have made three pairs of trousers with belt loops when I specified NO belt loops. I am fed up with having to complain and battle to get things made correctly and to get errors put right, traipsing up to London time after time to return garments to have errors rectified. Even if you e-mail the company in order to put your specifications in writing, Raja still get things wrong and do the opposite of what you have asked them to do. I am not going to use them again, and I am going to sue them over their latest error.
My experience of this company is of a long catalogue of errors. I asked them to shorten jacket sleeves from the shoulder, not from the base of the sleeves. What happened? They shortened from the base of the sleeves. They have committed this particular error twice, once in 2007 and now again in 2010. They have made trousers without pockets. They have made a tuxedo with the wrong type of lapel. They have made three pairs of trousers with belt loops when I specified NO belt loops. I am fed up with having to complain and battle to get things made correctly and to get errors put right, traipsing up to London time after time to return garments to have errors rectified. Even if you e-mail the company in order to put your specifications in writing, Raja still get things wrong and do the opposite of what you have asked them to do. I am not going to use them again, and I am going to sue them over their latest error.
They spend so much on their misleading advertising and as others have said, usually get things wrong! I am inclined to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority and refer them to this web site.
SB
I would happily be a witness in any legal case against them.
Absolutely to be avoided. Got two suits from these guys having fallen prey to hardsell. And made the mistake of upgrading to expensive fabric. Paid a total of three thousand US dollars for the suits. Still a bargain compared with the Zegna suits in the boutiques down the street I thought. Boy, was I mistaken! These are suits put together in a sweatshop in China and then passed off as "tailored". The stitching is terrible, the buttons are cheap, and I suspect the fabric is fake. And they will try to sell you more suits as you wait sipping Coca-Cola in the ratty backroom of their shop as dozens of Indian guys take a break from harassing tourists on the streets and the tailor shows-off his Bentley to valued customers. This operation is a typical "golden-mile" scam. Stay away and save yourself the hassle. And god-forbid you try to get your money back. They've got it all sewn up nicely. I would be happy to participate in a suit against these guys. Please write-in if you'd like to work together on suing them.
ABSOLUTE RIP OFF AND SCAM. I BOUGHT 2 SUITS FOR 2300 USS. The services seemed very promising at the time of the puchase, which was in the Marriott New York. The guys were great salesmen, but mr. Daswani is NOT A TAILOR! i was told that i was buying the best fabric and that it was saville row quality for a cheaper price. 5 weeks later i recieved a small box with my suits crumpled up in it. The trousers did NOT FIT, too short. The waste was too loose. The SHIRTS HAD THREADS COMING OUT OF THEM AND WORST OF ALL THE SUIT LINING HAD BLACK MARKS IN IT AS IF IT WAS MADE IN A FACTORY IN CHINA. I was not happy at all!! i am still trying to contact them but they dont respond to my email. Tried calling but they told me to email my details!! HORRIBLE SERVICE, I AM STILL TRYING TO GET A REFUND OF ALTERATIONS, TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. STAY AWAY!!
Was tempted to go to their Beverly Hills event (I read their ads in Financial Times). But, have decided I will not. For about the same price I can find a good REAL tailor in LA Fashion district and know exactly what I'm getting.
went to them yesterday, salesmen horrible. Adverts lied about prices and there is apparently a "minimum" order, i only wanted 1 shirt to try them out. Ended up threatening to walk out, so i got my one shirt with no "extra" charges. awaiting delivery
I have tried Maxwell and Raja fashions for a suit and couple shirts. Maxwell's shirts were ok but suits were just terrible. As for Raja Fashions the suit wasn't the fabric i chose, and a bad fit and quality. Both had crowded rooms and took quick measurements without attention to detail. My boss buys from another traveling tailors from Hong Kong called the Empire Int'l Tailors. Me and 2 other colleagues of mine visited them few months ago, and the difference was noticeable already. They have 2 tailors measuring one customer, (2 measurements), they gave us a 'try-on' fitting at the spot, made adjustments. They also took our photographs. The process took 45 minutes, but i felt that i was given more attention to and taken seriously. Suits and Shirts arrived last week, outstanding cut and quality i must say. NO wrinkles from bad fits, no bad quality shoulder padding, i got the contemporary fit i wanted and my suits feel and look wonderful. also CORRECT FABRIC! i recommend these guys all the way- Empire International Tailors of Hong Kong.
These people are to be avoided. I, like so many posters here, fell victim to being suckered into a quick and overpriced purchase. I had to chase for suit delivery, having heard nothing for 9 weeks. The quality of the suit is appalling. The fit isn't too bad, but buttons and detailing are pathetic, and I am sure the fabric they made the suit out of is a whole lot cheaper than the fabric they sold me. I sent a lengthy email to explain why I was dissatisfied, and asking them to take me off their mailing list. They did take me off their mailing list, but no apology was offered. Instead they suggested I attend again for another fitting - but the fit is fine, the suit is just badly made.
I am contemplating turning up unannounced when they are next in town to tell them what I think in front of their customers...
Rushed suits, bad fit, bad fabrics, threads sticking out. Rude Salesmen, push you to buy more, no personalities, no knowledge about formal wear/ fabrics. Never again.
My first experience with Raja was terrific, the second was poor. I won't use them again. If you do decide to use them then here's a tip, don't agree a price on the day, get the salesman's card and negotiate him down later. I did and got a much better deal than he was offering on the day.
I went with my wife to these people when in Hong Kong recently. She wanted to buy a tailor made suit for herself and they had been recommended to her by an acquaintance. I was not interested in getting a suit for myself. As soon as we were in the shop 4 sales guys rounded on me with very persuasive sales talk even though I did not want to buy a suit as we had only two days in Hong Kong . When they got nowhere they put me in the hands of Gary, who told me he was their most senior international sales representative and by chance happened to be in he shop that day. After discussing a while with Gary I agreed that they could take my measurements so that they could contact me next time they were in Brussels for a fitting . He eventually had me agreeing to come back that afternoon for a fitting on the understanding that there would be no obligation to buy a suit if for any reason I did not like it.He told me I had nothing to lose. Becaus of these assurances I agreed to have a fitting that afternoon. He asked me to pay a deposit of HK$3000 (EUR 300) via my CC. When I asked him why did I need to pay a deposit of HK$ 3000 he told me not to worry as it was totally refundable if I did not for any reason wish to complete the purchase. He said he just needed this deposit to justify the order.When I left shop Ifelt I had been railroaded into agreeing to have a suit made for HK$ 7500 which i did not need or want. When I went back that afternoon and before trying on the first cut of the suit I asked to have the deposit cancelled since my understanding was that there was no obligation to buy to suit in the first place. I wanted to ensure that I could trust him and was able to try on the suit without any pressure to buy it. He said that was in no way our agreement. He said that he had agreed only to refund the deposit if the suit did not fit. We got into an heated discussion. He was not prepared to budge on the issue. He eventually walked away from me and my wife and left us standing there. As we wanted to visit Hong Kong we could not spend anymore time arguing our case. We therefore decided to leave the shop, short of HK$3000. We are trying to find a way to sort this out with Raja Fashions....
We feel totally conned by this whole experience and would warn anybody visiting HK on a short visit to stay well away from these so called bespoke tailoring outfits, in particula Raja Fashions!
Vinny was a thorough gentleman and Very respectful and understanding of what I wanted.
But Harry was far too casual. Next time I will check if Vinny is available. His customer service is superior.
By the way my suit was fantastic. And it arrived on time.
Yes do ask for the color number and the color to be written on the receipt.
Yes, do insist that you will not go over your budget. Though do not reveal your top budget. There are thousands of swatches. They will always show you the most expensive swatches first. Ask to see others.
Harry was too brisk and too casual. Vinny listened.
I visited Raja Fashions at their Kowloon shop over the 2011/2012 new year holidays. In short, I have never wasted so much money in my life and I feel completely ripped off. It is by far, the worst retail experience I have ever had.
I ordered two suits and 5 shirts for 15,000 HKD and was promised that the suits would be ready before I left Hong Kong (5 days later).
I went to the shop every single day of my stay for repeated fittings. There was a catalogue of errors, including wrongly sized lapels and incorrect linings. This was coupled with appalling service as I was constantly fobbed off that my suit would be there in 5 mins (I ended up waiting 1 hour 30 mins one visit).
The suit jackets were not ready by the time of my departure and at the last fitting, the sizing was still some way off. I was assured the relevant adjustments would be made and the jackets would be shipped.
I have now received the jackets. They are appalling. One jacket still has the wrong coloured lining and the other suit is a check pattern that has not been correctly aligned along the back seam. The stitching is abysmal, the linings are attached with a rough and ready tacking stitch and on one suit, there is a tacking stitch still visible on the outside of the lapels, pockets and collar. I wish I could post photos to demonstrate the true magnitude of how bad these jackets are. They are in no way fit for purpose.
You could get a better fitting and better quality suit in London from any high street store for far less money. I am currently waiting for a response to my request for a refund. I do not hold out high hopes of a postive resolution.
Cheers all for the comments. I sought them on line after seeing ads in Private Eye and just thought I'd check the reviews first - Jermym St it is then...
These guys still haven't delivered me a satisfactory suit after 6 months. If anyone knows the best route to sue them, please post a comment here. I am going to retrieve my money legally, and them create a website detailing how to get a refund from these clowns.
Great thread here!!
After reading one of Raja's very well written advertorials in the 'Australian'. I was a little sceptical, but booked my appointment for their Melbourne visit. Now I am sure that the advert saying "ask for Mr Daswani's room" in no way meant that I would have seen Mr Daswani. It sounds like I'd have been subjected to just the sort of pressure salesmanship that I hate - and which seems to me to be the antithesis of bespoke tailoring.
I will NOT be going now. Thank you Ladies and Gents!
Seriously. I would rather conduct eye surgery on myself than use Raja fashions again. High pressure sales, questionable quality of tailoring (at best), some extremely poor attention to detail. Instant billing on my credit card, months of waiting for the suit to arrive. And a surprising number of "anonymous" reviews on various websites in bad English with a very similar structure and content calling Mr Raja "The Prince of Tailoring" and such.
Avoid these people at all costs. There are plenty of better options. I now use A Suit That Fits and they really do know the meaning of service and quality.
Raja Fashions - awful, terrible service and total waste of money. I order 2 suits and they first tried to fob me off with inferior quality material. After I dug in my heels, they agreed to cut new suits from the original agreed material. These arrived and after several fittings, they still do not fit. It is almost 12 months now and I still don't have a suit that fits and am €900 down. These guys are cowboys and gangsters. Do NOT use under any circumstances. You will regret it.
I was looking to get a new suit made and looked around at various options, I was intrigued by the Raja 'deals' and I read up substantially on people's views and reviews. I am London based and I decided that in the end it would be much better to use a local tailor for not much more money. I ended up with Henry Herbert (www.henryherbert.com) and would give them a try. They made me a first rate suit. You will need a number of fittings with any tailor, so I would always recommend, now with some experience, to always use a local tailor.
My last visit to Rajah left such a nasty taste in my mouth that I will not be back. The quote for two jackets was outrageous.I nearly fell off my seat.
Except I bought two jackets the previous time, 6 months earlier, for far less and the fabric was the same only a different colour. I was so disappointed that the pushy salesman thought I could be a so easily duped.
I walked out of the fitting never to return. Even as I walked out they tried to tell me I could have an extra jacket for "free" if I paid the outrageous price or two.
Rajah were great the first time I visited. I'm trying a different HongKong firm now.And so far so good with this other group.
What everyone is missing here is that in buying a product of this type in a UK hotel room from a foreign company you are assisting them to defraud HMRC of the VAT and Duty element of the value (roughly 35%) and for which HMRC could easily come after you for as the imoprter of record
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