Everybody has either met or heard of Bobby. He’s unquestionably Bangkok’s best known and friendliest tailor. Some expats even refer to him most affectionately as ‘Bobby Taylor.’ But few know the man behind the beard and the turban. In this BigChilli profile, Bobby—born Suwanpal Singh Gulati—talks about himself and his family business, now in its 52nd year
Interview by Colin Hastings
Interview by Colin Hastings
| I was born in Ubon Ratchathani, northeast Thailand, in 1965. My grandfather moved there from Punjab, India, in the early 1950s and opened a shop selling imported fabrics. During the Vietnam War, Ubon airport was used as a base for US military operations, which resulted in a huge influx of American air force and other personnel into what had always been a quiet and remote region of Thailand. The thousands of GIs stationed in Ubon were in the market for clothes – shirts and suits. Back then, the town had only one Chinese tailor who neither spoke English, nor did he understand the needs of these western customers. Inevitably, the fittings were poor and the finished product often disappointing. My father, who worked at the family shop, had a good command of the language so many Americans asked him to translate their requirements into Thai. A business opportunity obviously presented itself, so the family fabric shop soon took on an additional role – a tailor shop. To advertise the new service, my father placed one small mannequin in the shop window. On his return from India, Grandfather Gulati was not pleased with this new development and made his objections clear. Eventually, he too saw the business opportunities and agreed to a name change for the shop to ‘Raja’s Wolf Pack Tailors.’ (The airbase at Ubon had been nicknamed ‘Home of the Wolf Pack’ by the GIs). |  |
My father is the oldest of eight siblings. In the late1970s, the family relocated to Bangkok on the invitation of a friend and officer attached to JUSMAG (Joint US Military Advisory Group). We opened our first shop here in the early 1980s on land that’s occupied today by the Landmark Hotel. We relocated to Nana Plaza on a 30-year lease, but when the new owners of the building quadrupled the rent, we moved to our present location on Sukhumvit between Soi 6 and 8.
For my early education I was sent to Mussoorie in northern India to attend a Catholic boarding school, St George’s, run by the Irish Brothers. It was very disciplined and the education was tough, but we students learned a lot. Later I attended Assumption University in Bangkok, where I graduated Summa Cum Laude in Business Administration. So I am a Sikh raised in a Buddhist country and educated at a Catholic boarding school.
My wife, a Sikh who was born and raised in Bangkok, and I are blessed with three wonderful children. The eldest is a girl who works as a full-time speech therapist. She recently helped out at Operation Smile, a charity we support. My son studied in the US and has now joined the family business, and my youngest daughter is an international student.
I work mostly in the shop from 10.30 am to 8.30 pm Monday to Saturday, On Sunday morning my family attends the Sikh temple in Pahurat, the textile market area of Bangkok.
My father is up at 5.30 am every day for his daily walk around Benjasiri Park. Being the eldest, he didn’t attend high school as he had to look after his siblings. He’s 72 and still very strong. We close the shop for a week during Songkran, and that’s when we take our vacations. We also close on government holidays. I feel very guilty if I take any more time off.
For my early education I was sent to Mussoorie in northern India to attend a Catholic boarding school, St George’s, run by the Irish Brothers. It was very disciplined and the education was tough, but we students learned a lot. Later I attended Assumption University in Bangkok, where I graduated Summa Cum Laude in Business Administration. So I am a Sikh raised in a Buddhist country and educated at a Catholic boarding school.
My wife, a Sikh who was born and raised in Bangkok, and I are blessed with three wonderful children. The eldest is a girl who works as a full-time speech therapist. She recently helped out at Operation Smile, a charity we support. My son studied in the US and has now joined the family business, and my youngest daughter is an international student.
I work mostly in the shop from 10.30 am to 8.30 pm Monday to Saturday, On Sunday morning my family attends the Sikh temple in Pahurat, the textile market area of Bangkok.
My father is up at 5.30 am every day for his daily walk around Benjasiri Park. Being the eldest, he didn’t attend high school as he had to look after his siblings. He’s 72 and still very strong. We close the shop for a week during Songkran, and that’s when we take our vacations. We also close on government holidays. I feel very guilty if I take any more time off.
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I see myself as a Thai – I read and write Thai fluently. In fact, I am more Thai than I look. People who know me see me as a Thai, while those who don’t know me see me differently. Buddhism and Sikhism are very similar, so with me you get two-in-one. In honour of the late King, I currently wear a black turban. At other times, it is usually dark maroon. But a turban can be any colour.
Marrying someone with the same cultural background and values allows us to teach our kids about our upbringing, who we are and what we believe in. What is most important in Sikhism is community service, Seva, meaning selfless service.. Every Sikh temple has a free community kitchen which serves free food to anyone of any religion. At the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, the holiest of all Sikh temples, as many as 100,000 people receive free food every day. Selfless service is very important to Sikhs. As a community, we work together very closely, raising money and awareness for causes and helping each other.
Charity is important to us and we are very committed to the American Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Adopt a School Program’, where we raise a million baht every year through our annual golf tournament, which has funded 14 schools, a library and eight water tanks. The next tournament will be held on February 8, 2017, the 25th anniversary of Raja’s Fashions Annual Charity Golf Tournament! Join us.
As for business, in the future we expect more online business for Raja’s. We have a huge data base, and get a lot of online referrals. The key to our success is high quality fabrics from Italy, UK, China, Japan and other sources, good fittings and good service. Our customers include expats as well as tourists from the UK, Australia and the US. Most come for our shirts and suits. A tailor-made suit starts from 10,000 baht upwards. We always try to keep up with current trends in fashion to learn and grow our knowledge to serve our customers to our best abilities.
Marrying someone with the same cultural background and values allows us to teach our kids about our upbringing, who we are and what we believe in. What is most important in Sikhism is community service, Seva, meaning selfless service.. Every Sikh temple has a free community kitchen which serves free food to anyone of any religion. At the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, the holiest of all Sikh temples, as many as 100,000 people receive free food every day. Selfless service is very important to Sikhs. As a community, we work together very closely, raising money and awareness for causes and helping each other.
Charity is important to us and we are very committed to the American Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Adopt a School Program’, where we raise a million baht every year through our annual golf tournament, which has funded 14 schools, a library and eight water tanks. The next tournament will be held on February 8, 2017, the 25th anniversary of Raja’s Fashions Annual Charity Golf Tournament! Join us.
As for business, in the future we expect more online business for Raja’s. We have a huge data base, and get a lot of online referrals. The key to our success is high quality fabrics from Italy, UK, China, Japan and other sources, good fittings and good service. Our customers include expats as well as tourists from the UK, Australia and the US. Most come for our shirts and suits. A tailor-made suit starts from 10,000 baht upwards. We always try to keep up with current trends in fashion to learn and grow our knowledge to serve our customers to our best abilities.
