Wanna Buy A Suit..?

I'm just putting the finishing touches on our next newsletter, and a great memory came back to me, and I thought.. hey, I'm a sharing kind of guy.. The newsletter is on the power of stories in business, so here's my story..

As a kid, my father would only buy his suits from one place, Tom's Place in Kensington Market. If you haven't been there, it is a great clothing store with racks and racks of suits. However, there is one thing missing - labels.

Every suit is essentially blank. You like a suit, the salesperson will quickly tell you the name of the manufacturer usually Armani, Ralph Lauren, etc.. but, you - the customer - have no way of knowing for sure.. But, you believe the story, you WANT to believe the story. I have to believe that the suits actually are made by the designers as billed.. Tom has the trust of many of Toronto's most prominent business people to 'prove' it.

But, there is something powerful about a tiny store in the middle of a crowded fish market that sells fantastic suits at great prices.. something that a huge retailer hasn't challenged for decades.