Hello and welcome to the new look Pearl Magazine. In the first of our new lineup, we visit an icon of Hong Kong. Like many world-class cities, Hong Kong is a city of a city of migrants, attracting the best and the brightest from around the world to try and make it here. Those that do become known at an international level as they and their brands become icons of the city. Tonight we turn the light on one such icon, Sam’s Tailor, founded by Naraindas Sam Melwani, who made his way over to Hong Kong from India. He started working here in 1952 for someone, for his uncle, which is a mother’s brother. So he had the tailor shop, so he taught him how to do the business. And in ’57 he said to my mother, \”Can we have some money to open the shop?\” She said, \”Yeah, I’ll collect the money for you.\” Then they started opening the shop in ’57, a small shop exactly where he was standing, a quarter of the size. Naraindas’ eldest son, Manu, he was 11 years old when he came to Hong Kong with the rest of the family in 1959. And his father’s shop was where he was educated. I go to school early in the morning and come back and help my father. And did you enjoy it? Well, I have to enjoy because there’s no way to go, you know, I was sitting at home because there was no TV that time, there was no television show. Like other Indian immigrants, his father was a middleman because he was able to speak both English and Cantonese. My father used to buy the material from the Chinese people, and then we used to ask the tailors in Cantonese, because the Europeans used to tell us what they want, so the Chinese couldn’t understand English. So we used to do all the things as middlemen and sourced the proper fabric. The business started with just four tailors and later grew to ten. Across the road there was a barracks, Whitfield Barracks, British Army. They used to come around to our place, one or two soldiers, then the officers. They were very particular, like British soldiers, they need everything perfect to their condition. At some point you apprenticed on Savile Row? The British soldiers, they told me, \”You better go and learn if you want to be in this business. So if you want to be that, go and learn with this Savile Row.\” So I didn’t know, so we wrote letters to some people. They say, \”All right, you can come, but no salary, no wages, and you pay your own wages and everything and eat your own food to be tested.\” I said, \”Okay, if I have to try, I’ll do that.\” When Manu returned to Hong Kong in 1975, the business continued to grow, and by that time Hong Kong became famous for the 24-hour suit. As an international hub, people would come in and out of the city, and with a reputation as Asia’s Savile Row along with access to duty-free fabrics, it made it hard to pass up an opportunity to pick up a bespoke suit. Even James Bond says, \”I know a good tailor in Hong Kong.\” How many tailors does it take to make a 24-hour suit? Three tailors is enough, yeah, because one will make a trouser, one will make a jacket, and one will make a body, see, from that. Does the client have to come in for a fitting in between? Yes, twice. Very important. The business eventually grew to employ 57 tailors, with both Manu and his brother Sham working together. When did your dad buy this shop? 1969. And I guess it hasn’t changed much since then? No, he bought a very small shop, then I bought the next door, I expanded all the way. Okay, so we renovated now because this is 800 square feet. So this is one of your workshops? Yes. And what kind of work gets done here? For men’s suits and ladies’ suits, so we teach them how to do my work all the time. We have about seven workshops, big ones, so we work with them so much. It was in the 1970s that Sam’s Tailor became famous with celebrities. By that time, he was tailoring for royalty, since quite a few worked in the British Army. They were in the British Army, so they were stationed in Hong Kong in the Whitfield Barracks, and they used to come to us. That’s all I know. Manu met the Queen when she visited in 1975. She came twice to Hong Kong, 1975. And she visited you both? No, I visited her on the Britannia, the ship that was docked in here. She was one of many world leaders he tailored for. I notice you have all these photos and some awards here. Can you tell me about these? These are a simple award from the Queen, these are from America, and all the awards for what they did for the people, the service I give to my clients. This is an award from the Queen? Yes, this honor which she gave to me before she passed away. So I was very happy to get the MBE. She called me, \”I’m giving you an award, will you accept it?\” I said, \”Yes, Your Majesty.\” So I went in 2023, and Prince William gave me the medal, awarded the MBE, the Medal of the British Empire. That’s a big deal. Yes, it’s a very big honor for Hong Kong people, the good tailoring, good workmanship. Were you surprised to receive it? Yes, I was surprised after 40 years. And you keep it up here? Well, it’s a secret, it’s a memory for me to keep it not in the shop downstairs, but this is my office where I do my work. He does, however, keep some photos of celebrities in his shop for clients to enjoy, everyone from heads of state to actors, pop stars, and sports celebrities dating back to the 1960s. It’s in the fitting rooms what we keep it for customers to come and see. So I can see you’ve got Boris Johnson here? Yes, he’s my old customer. He was a Daily Telegraph reporter before, then he comes every year to see me, and he calls me up every time. I’ve been to see him in London this time. Prince Edward? Yes, he’s my favorite customer. And Desmond Tutu, Karl Lagerfeld, George Bush, they’re all your favorite customers. Neil Jensen, a long-time client of Sam’s Tailor, says despite success and fame, Manu is extremely low-key. Manu’s never changed. He always stands in the same place. He’ll watch who comes in. He rarely speaks; if he does, it’s worth listening to. Sometimes he smiles. I think he smiled at me at least once. He once told me that I looked good and I’d lost weight, and I’ve never forgotten it. The rest of the time he’s just very serene, he doesn’t say anything, keeps his opinions to himself, and he’s just so understated. He says that when he first moved to Hong Kong 19 years ago, he tried a few different tailors before finally choosing to stick with Sam’s. Trust. It’s just trust. It’s trusting that they will look after not just you, but the people that you send here. So I always know that if I say to somebody, \”Go to Sam’s Tailor,\” I don’t need to check up, I don’t need to say anything. I know they’ll be looked after and I know that they’ll be happy. Manu says that simply providing good service to his customers is a key ingredient to his success. You are so low-key? Yes, you have to be low-key. You’re a tailor, your job is tailor. You’re making clothes for people, you listen to people what they want, make them happy. Once you make them happy, they’ll come to you. After Manu’s father passed away in 2002, Manu, who had been working with his brother until then, said his son decided to join the business after finishing his law degree in the U.S. He made up his mind, said, \”Can I come back and join your business?\” I said, \”Are you sure? Are you ready for that? It’s a very tough business.\” He said, \”Let me try.\” So he’s tried it now for 20 years already with me. I used to walk in here as a child and the shop would just be full. It was amazing, virtually every other day there was a celebrity in here. It could have been Boris Becker or John McEnroe, I’m serious, or Stefan Edberg. I loved tennis as a kid. So I was very, very enamored with my father’s business, especially the clientele. In 1985 I think we met George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley when Wham! were in town. In ’88 or ’89 I met the Pet Shop Boys and I went to their concert back to back. So it was really ingrained in me that my father’s business was a hotbed of activity, so I decided from a very young age that I’d be a part of this business. Growing up among celebrities, Roshan says he wasn’t starstruck, since it was just a part of his life. He says the person he is in awe of is his father. I’m inspired by my father’s achievements. To tell you the truth, he is such an enigmatic man, it’s just incredible. Year after year he adds this massive ornament onto his legacy, this year being the MBE, it’s just insane. He’s knighted by the King of Belgium, he’s got multiple awards from the Hong Kong government, he’s worked with three U.S. presidents. It’s just incredible, his list of achievements. So if I’m starstruck by anybody, to tell you the truth, it’s by my father. The thing I get from my father is sheer hard work. He’s 75 years old and he puts in six and a half days a week, never misses a shift. While Manu and Roshan handle the front of house and more creative side of the business, Manu’s brother handles the back office. He has to see all the accounts and everything, I just leave it to him. Whenever I used to make money, I invested in properties which my brother took care of, 13 properties I have. So owning your properties is what helped you survive? Much better to survive, and we receive a lot to live on, and we receive a lot of money on these. He says he kept his tailors employed during this period. My own workers, they were very loyal to me, and still they are working with me, some of them been with me for 50 years. So I’m so happy and I’m very loyal to them. When I had a good time, I used to make money from them, so now I have to give back to them. Manu is optimistic that the city and his business will get back to normal. The business will get better after March or April when the China border opens. I enjoyed my Hong Kong life very well, and when visitors come back, we know what to do and how to do it.