Hewitt & May
68 DIVERSE SUPPLIER
Hewitt & May
a
Shirts with personality
From city slickers to shirt makers, engage meets one of the men behind the luxurious Hewitt and May brand, who actually likes to shop
Naresh Maharaj is a young Indian, born, raised and educated in East London, with plans to dress the world.
As a software developer working in the city, Naresh and a colleague were becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of quality and improper fit of formal shirts for work and the hiked prices of ones that were suitable, but boring.
After three years of intensive research, tests of quality fabrics, trials and talks with private investors, their company, Hewitt and May shirtmakers, began trading in December 2006. From an office in London’ s Docklands, Naresh manages the UK operations and his colleague oversees the business in Europe.
Naresh said,“ Although we had no experience of fashion design or tailoring between us, we were determined to make the perfect classical shirts at an accessible price. We wanted to create sophisticated shirts that resonate with people’ s emotions and allow them to have an individual style.
“ We actually feel we are ahead of the rest in terms of our designs, colours, fabric construction and our attention to detail. I guess we are a little naughty. We do as we feel as we are not caught up with the status quo.”
The company’ s Classic V1 semi-fitted shirt, made from fabric milled in Italy and designed in London has already proved popular with city workers such as lawyers, bankers and media players in the UK and customers as far afield as Belgium, Bangladesh, China and Japan.
Hewitt and May are now working on the Classic V4, a casual shirt for men as well as an Innocence range for ladies. The company also sells cufflinks and ties, as they want to offer a complete colour combination for their customers. Their future plans include creating the brand further over the course of the years and opening exclusive stores in London and Europe.
Naresh enjoys the creativity and excitement in putting together the new ranges. The main obstacle he found in setting up the business was cashflow and time, though he always switches off from work mode when he goes home to his wife and twoyear-old son. Well, almost. He confesses that when he goes shopping with his wife, he cannot help but be analytical about the clothes on sale and finds it easier to shop on his own.
When asked on what tips he would give other business start-ups, Naresh said,“ I believe seeking business advice from agencies can slow you down and only help to make you feel secure. It is best to find support from people who are already actively in business, if they can spare the time. It is essential to do a lot of your own research and networking, to follow intuition and go for it.” Visit www. hewittandmayshirtmakers. co. uk engage | uk ISSUE FIVE 2007