Custom fit – locally known as fitting – suits have become increasingly popular not just in music videos but also at formal functions like weddings, introductions, dinners et al and one of the brains behind the astonishing designs is Bright Sserwadda.
Sserwadda was born in December 1992 in family of business people. For example his late father, Dan Sserwadda, had been sewing suits for a living.
“My father died when I was a toddler; so, I didn’t get to see him work but his friends often talked about how great his suits were. So, I guess this thing is in the blood,” he told The Observer.
Sserwadda immediately showed interest in the business as early as primary school. After sitting for his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) at Mbarara Preparatory School, one would say he had already made up his mind to join the suits business commercially.
“But he was too young to make such a decision. So, we had to talk him into joining secondary school although you would clearly see where his passion was, his elder brother Jay Wavamunno recalled.
Sserwadda conceded and joined Masaka Secondary School but every holiday, he would go to his father’s friend’s workshop and learn sewing. In his Senior Four vacation, he made his first suit. He was ready.
BIRTH OF BRYT SUITS
When he put the last point on his Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) exam in 2009, Sserwadda resolved he wasn’t going to join university but was instead going to start sewing suits commercially.
He started a company and called it Bryt Suits – the easiest business brand name for him to create, he said. “I am Bright and I make suits – Bryt Suits, simple!”
However, the dynamics of the business were not as simple especially for a man who started with absolutely zero shillings.
He was fortunate that he still had his late father’s equipment. So, he started sewing for clients and it is from the profit and savings that he generated capital to set up his own shop right in the middle of Mbarara town.
“I didn’t even have a coin when I started. Not a cent! I was sewing from someone’s shop, then I moved to Kampala for a couple of months. When I returned to Mbarara in 2011, I rented my own shop on Grand West arcade and I have never looked back since, he added.
THE PHONE AND BUSINESS
Sserwanda admits he was and still is not a business guru. Aspects like recordkeeping, accounting, inventory and marketing which are vital for business growth are not his areas of strength.
Although he employs four people, they are all directly involved in sewing. Everything else, he handles on his handset.
“This phone can do so much. I balance myself here. I keep my records on it, when I need materials – some which we get from as far as Nairobi and China, I place the orders on my phone and when mobile money came, clients even make their orders and payments here as well. It is my mobile office,” he said.
When it comes to marketing, Sserwadda’s life has been even much revolutionarised by the internet and social media. Now, he shares samples of his work on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram for potential clients to see and order. The results, he says, have been phenomenal.
According to a feature on The Workshop Uganda, a fast-rising online business media enterprise, Sserwadda makes as many as 200 suits a month. The number normally goes higher during peak seasons like the festive season.
SUIT THE BRYT WAY
At La Grande mall in Mbarara town where Bryt Suits is located, suits samples hang beautifully in the shelves. They come with accessories such as gold buttons, bow ties, and shoes.
When this writer walked in, his measurements were taken. After close negotiation, Sserwadda agreed to make the suit at Shs 250,000. If the materials are available, making a suit, he says, takes approximately about seven hours. The process also involves ironing, buttoning, finishing and delivery.
“Our suits range from Shs 200,000 minimum and can go as high as Shs 500,000 depending on what the client wants,” he noted.
Sserwadda believes time is the most important aspect of business; so, he and his team strive to deliver on their work as fast and as precisely as possible.
He is, however, baffled by clients who change goalposts even after placing orders. Not only does this increase the cost of production, it also affects the financial benefits that accrue.
“A client walks in, we take the measurement and he says he wants a fitting suit. When we deliver exactly that, he says, this is too fitting so we have to retouch it all over again. That process is costly,” he added.
But despite the challenges, Sserwadda created designs that have influenced even popular culture and fashion in Uganda.
He has designed top musicians including BET Award winner Eddy Kenzo, Mun G, Aziz Azion, Ray G, Khalifa Aga Naga and has a working relationship with fashonista Brian Ahumuza of Abryanz collection, who doubles as his mentor and role model in the business.
Sserwadda appeals to the youth not to undermine jobs, to be patient, be honest with themselves and get mentors who will drive them to the next level, criticize them where necessary and advise them frequently without judging them.
He, however, remained tightlipped about his future plans but what is without a doubt is that dressing men is not just a business for him. It is a passion, a lifestyle – one that he is not about to stop.
TV West manager Ronald Santana recently took to his Facebook account to express his satisfaction after donning a suit designed by Sserwadda.
“That young man has a gift”, he told The Observer in a phone interview, adding: “I have used his services multiple times and I don’t regret it even once.”
Born and raised in Mbarara, Sserwanda, 25, and four of his siblings were raised mostly by their mother Tushabe Sserwadda, a businesswoman, after their father passed on.
Besides suits, Sserwadda also deals in shirts, belts, leather shoes, trousers and other men-related clothing.
alex.taremwa@yahoo.co.uk
