Combatant Gentlemen opens its doors to their first-ever flagship store in Santa Monica, CA. Kevin Campos and Vishaal Melwani discuss who the Combatant Gentlemen are and why keeping an affordable price point was key to allow millennial men the opportunity to own an affordable suit and accessories.

Customers want quality suits but they’re also looking for the shirts, shoes, and accessories to complete their head-to-toe looks.

Interview

Why open your first-ever retail store in Santa Monica as opposed to New York City?

“Los Angeles is an interesting market and it happens to be in our backyard. As a fashion tech startup, we’re always challenging ourselves to push the envelope, and our retail strategy is no different. The goal is to roll out stores throughout the country, and setting up our first shop in Santa Monica allows us to test the waters using the company’s direct resources available here—everything from our homegrown technology and marketing to operations and production.” -Kevin Campos, Chief Retail Officer (CRO)

Who is your client?

“The millennial male, between ages 18 and 35, but we have a heavy concentration of guys in their early-to-mid-20s. They’re college grads starting and scaling their careers, and we even have a lot of guys getting married or starting families. Our customer needs and wants quality clothes without breaking the bank. That’s where Combat Gent come in.” -Vishaal Melwani, CEO, Creative Director and Co-Founder

You have amazing price points. Was this purposely done?

“Absolutely. It’s something we’ve emphasized from the beginning and the reason why our customers keep coming back. They’ve grown to expect high quality from us, and they know we can offer that, and more, without costing them an arm or leg. We believe in making menswear accessible and aspirational. A high price tag isn’t necessarily synonymous with great quality.” -Vishaal Melwani, CEO, Creative Director and Co-Founder

What have you learned today as a brand that you wish you knew when you first started?

“If there’s one thing I wish I’d known when we started Combat Gent, it’d be understanding the sheer magnitude of scale and how to react efficiently. Before we launched, my Co-Founders [Mohit Melwani, CPO, and Scott Raio, CTO] and I were so passionate about creating and selling something we believed in. We were excited with the simple idea that people might actually buy our products. But it wasn’t until we hit scale that we really had to look beyond sales. It’s a good problem to have, of course, and we’ve grown a lot as a company. We’re learning every day, and we’re lucky to have developed a technology that helps us solve these problems head-on.” -Vishaal Melwani, CEO, Creative Director and Co-Founder

“Suiting remains the core of Combat Gent, but there was, and still is, a greater need. Customers want quality suits but they’re also looking for the shirts, shoes, and accessories to complete their head-to-toe looks. There’s also the lifestyle component. Every day, we have guys calling in to ask for advice so we created Unhemmed, our own lifestyle vertical. Having that 360-degree experience wasn’t really top-of-mind when we first started, but we’re excited to continually offer that with more range of product and content.” -Kevin Campos, Chief Retail Officer (CRO)

Any future collaborations in the works?

“Stay tuned!” -Vishaal Melwani, CEO, Creative Director and Co-Founder

Do you plan to open in other markets in the U.S.?

“Definitely. We’re using homegrown data and technology to make informed decisions on where to set up shop. Santa Monica will help us better understand our offline strategy. A lot of our guys helm from Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York City, so those markets are on our radar as well. Exciting times ahead for Combat Gent.” – Vishaal Melwani, CEO, Creative Director and Co-Founder

Website: combatgent.com
Instagram: @combatgent
Twitter: @CombatGent
Facebook: Combatant Gentlemen

About Combatant Gentlemen

Founded in 2012 by a third-generation tailor, Combatant Gentlemen, or Combat Gent, is one of the world’s first design-to-delivery menswear brands offering premium yet affordable essentials such as suits, shirts, outerwear, denim, accessories, and shoes. Unlike other retailers that outsource their production and rely on middlemen, Combat Gent develops its entire line, from concept to point-of-sale, through a homegrown tech system built ground-up. By controlling the entire product lifecycle, Combat Gent forgoes traditional designer markups and offers high-quality menswear at affordable, approachable prices. The company has been named one of “America’s Most Promising Companies” by Forbes and has attracted investment from industry heavyweights including Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos) and Brian Spaly (CEO of Trunk Club).