Building A Bespoke Business

At the height of his career as a senior vice president of Onni Group of Companies and the Redstone Group, Zahir Rajani left corporate real estate and launched the luxury clothing brand Rajani Bespoke in New Westminster, British Columbia.

Recently rebranded as The Sartorial Shop and relocated to downtown Vancouver, the company holds relationships with the world’s most renowned fabric mills in Italy and the UK—and upholds a family tradition that spans three generations.

Rajani shares how he found the courage to make such a drastic pivot and what it takes to lead a fast-growing business.

What made you decide to leave the corporate real estate world and launch a luxury clothing brand?

It wasn’t that I wasn’t experiencing success. I wasn’t experiencing spirit, fervor, fire. Corporate real estate had taken me far. I was two decades deep, at the senior executive level and responsible for more than $200 million in revenue. So, safe to say, the decision to leave did not come easy.

Yet I was pulled by underlying influences, ultimately stemming from my roots. Like I am now, my parents were entrepreneurs in the world of fashion. They had built strong connections, sold quality pieces and, as a child, I was fortunate to watch them do this. This, paired with my own frustrations around the decreasing quality of garments, gave me an inkling that I had something—an idea. A sense that I was on the right track.

All of a sudden, there was a feeling that bubbled up inside when thinking about doing something in fashion, it was a powerful one. I knew this was it. That I had found my calling, and I was going to see it through.

So in 2023, with a child on the way, Rajani Bespoke, now The Sartorial Shop, was born. The Sartorial Shop is a luxury clothing brand. We produce custom and bespoke garments for men and women and after just over a year in business, last month we moved from the Royal City of New Westminster into Vancouver’s downtown core.

Opening our doors in Vancouver is monumental on a personal and business level. On a personal level, I’m in awe of just how quickly we’ve been able to pull this off. This move validates there was a gap in the market, and to have connected these dots is reassurance I made the right decision. Something that really sets us apart is that we do not offer made-to-measure garments. Everything is custom. Everything is some form of bespoke.

On the business side of things, moving our atelier to the heart of the city is enabling. It will enable us to grow, provide artisanal quality at scale and realize the long-term growth opportunities of our category.

I’m thankful for my journey and all of the opportunities and relationships I built during my time in the real estate world, but the fire under me has been lit and The Sartorial Shop is just getting started.

As part of a long family tradition of selling and tailoring clothes, what have you learned from your grandfather and parents that helps you in your current role?

Look at it this way. Between myself, my parents and grandfathers, who were both professional tailors, fashion has been a part of my family for a long time. Three generations to be exact. It’s been weaved into the family fabric, and it goes without saying that my parents and grandparents represent the foundation of this enterprise.

I learned a ton. I was exposed to the craft of tailoring early on. Being around them all the time, I was able to quickly grasp the basics. My attention to detail sharpened and I began noticing the most subtle details that go unnoticed to most.

Fast forward to today, these are now just some of the essential skills required to do what I do. If hindsight was 20/20, I would have gone straight into the world of luxury fashion but as we all know, the journey is more important than the final destination.

My parents are people of principle. They are people of their word, and they’ve taught me and my brother to be the same way. In other words, I’ve been taught to care about the end result as much as the process—which means when I am serving a client, what they get out of the experience matters more than what I get from it. I believe this is the true essence of what it means to deliver a quality experience, product and service. As we scale, we will continue to remain steadfast to this level of service, and always operate this way.

Any lessons from your previous professional life in real estate that have helped you as a CEO?

Yes, absolutely. A few things in fact. First, detail is everything—take your time to understand what it is that you are dealing with or working on, and don’t rush it.  I will never rush a client, even if it means we need to spend an extra hour together.

Second, deliver what you promise, and never underdeliver—this one is critical to me, and it’s what I believe really has us stand out and apart from our competition.

Third, and we touched on it earlier, your word is everything. If you said you can do it, do it. If you cannot, then don’t commit to it just for the sake of a sale or relationship. This is what will help differentiate you from others down the road.

What advice do you have for others considering changing industries and starting their own business?

A career change can be a daunting endeavor, especially if you are well established in your current career like I was. I had invested a great deal of time to get where I was and to suddenly turn away from it seemed a bit crazy. Nonetheless, it’s doable and making this decision can be an extremely empowering one once you step through that door.

For myself, the desire for change was simply something I could not ignore any longer. I got to the point where I was 100 percent certain I needed to make a career change, and I think this is important for people who are flirting with the idea of changing industries or starting a business. Being absolutely certain that it is what you want to do before you take that leap is the most crucial component.

But you can’t just step out into the world and expect things to fall into place for you. You need to have a plan. This means getting clear on your new venture and ensuring it’s solid. You need to walk before you run when starting your own business, and in some cases, you might even need to learn how to crawl before you can walk, let alone run.

I believe the lack of preparation in this early stage is a major contributing factor to entrepreneurs failing to get their businesses off the ground. I put together an extensive business plan for us at The Sartorial Shop, which allowed for a much smoother transition and the ability to absorb potential pitfalls and hurdles all new businesses may endure at the beginning.

It can be challenging to change your career but nothing good ever comes easy—like they say, no risk, no reward!