Meet the man behind Modi kurta

As one enters the Jade Blue store in Banjara Hills, the first thing one notices is the calm atmosphere. The salespersons do not rush and are not in your face but would rather let you soak in the ambience and let you pick what you want. “Customer satisfaction was the first priority right from the day we started in 1981 in a 250 sft shop in Ahmedabad. They will remain so,” says Jitendra Chauhan in a yellow shirt and a Black Modi jacket at his store.

How have Hyderabadis taken to the Modi kurta and jacket, we ask. “Hyderabad has a special place in our hearts. The store in Hyderabad is the largest in the country and the people have taken to the Modi kurta and jackets like a rage. The sales have gone up 200 times in the last three years.”

Born into a tailor family, the graduate in psychology knew it was personal attention and detailing that would take him far. It does not come as a surprise that Jade Blue is probably the only store in the country that uses computer-aided design in clothing. Customer’s measurements are taken and fed into the system for personalized styling. All masters undergo training at Ahmedabad before they start work at the stores.

When Gujarat is mentioned, Jade Blue comes to mind. How does it feel?

Thanks to Modi ji, the Modi Kurta and jacket now have become a style statement and Jade Blue too has become a household name. It feels good that when one talks about Gujarat they also think of Jade Blue. During the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, NRIs took to the Modi kurta and Jacket like never before and we were the only retail outlet. That shows our popularity. Now the time has come to go international.

Since how long is the association with PM Modi?

Our association with Modi ji goes back to the year 1987. What is striking is the fact that he has never changed his clothing but recently has taken to wearing more colours.

From a 250-sft shop to 19 stores in 16 cities, it has been a long journey. What next?

The time has come for us to go international. We are getting many offers from Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, America and other parts of the world. Blue Jade brand came into existence in 1995 with our flagship store on CG Road in Ahmedabad. Before that we had a tailoring shop Supreemo.

Is it true that it took six months to decide on the name ‘Jade Blue’?

The who’s who of Ahmedabad, from realtors, advocates, doctors, businesspersons all were our clients and we wanted a name that would do justice. The leading design director, Subrata Bhowmick gave the name and it fit to the T. Jade is a precious stone as are our customers and Blue is synonymous with our clients who are all up there top of the ladder in society. In addition, the first letters of my brother’s name Bipin and mine Jitendra makes Jade Blue perfect.

Jade Blue comes up with social message hoardings. Tell us about it

We make sure that saving the environment, age-old values, fatherly care, mother’s love and universal brotherhood are still as important as they were in the past. Every year on June 5 on World Environment Day, we give away saplings to all our customers and also supply at prominent parks in all the cities where we have our stores. We also celebrate Fathers and Mothers Day. On Dusshera, which is also the anniversary day of Jade Blue, we conduct blood donation camps in association with Red Cross.

By:TP Venu