Roger Chafe sees a lot of familiar faces when he goes to work. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, William L. Chafe, and his father, William L. Jr. — Roger Chafe is a third-generation manager of William L. Chafe and Son Ltd. men’s clothing store on Water Street in downtown St. John’s. He’s been working at the store since childhood, and still sees many of the same people shopping in the store today that he saw as a kid.

I’ve got men coming in here who tell me they’ve never shopped anywhere else,” Chafe tells The Independent. “They bought suits from my grandfather … we’ve got a dedicated clientele.

“Most of our customers, we know them by name, so it’s more personalized. They appreciate that.”

William L. Chafe opened in 1929. In the beginning customers came in, picked out a material they liked, had their measurements taken and a suit was made. The outfit was manufactured right in the store, as a team of up to 30 women took care of the tailoring.

While the approach was popular with customers, it was phased out over the years until the store stopped the process altogether in 1975.

“These factories in Montreal were starting to stock suits, so made-to-measure was starting to become less popular,” says Chafe. “Made-to-measure is labour intensive … so it became easier for us to have suits in stock. Gradually it became less made-to-measure and more in stock.”

The end of the made-to-measure era is one of the biggest changes the store has faced (excluding a fire three years ago), but Chafe says the actual products sold have also been tweaked. In the store’s early days, the only clothing for sale was suits. But now customers can find everything from leather jackets to corduroy pants.

“When they started off it was just suits. You’d buy a suit and get two pairs of pants with it,” Chafe explains.

“Now we do casual wear, your suits, your tuxedos … We sell everything for men except for jeans.”

When William L. Chafe opened in 1929 such stores were customary in St. John’s. But 77 years later, the city and surrounding area is littered with shopping malls and big-box stores that offer virtually every brand name known to the clothing industry, providing steep competition for private downtown businesses.

“Every four or five months another mall is opening, another strip mall is opening, and these big-box stores are obviously taking a toll on the traffic that is coming downtown,” says Chafe.

Perhaps the biggest advantage the big box stores have is their ability to offer customers acres of free parking, he says.

“Downtown has different challenges. Parking is one of them,” he says. “And I hear it every day. Customers coming in cursing and swearing, they can’t get a parking spot or they come down … and they get a ticket.

“It’s a pain and I know. I get thousands of dollars in parking tickets myself, and I pay for three parking spots across the street. It’s a big obstacle.”

But overcoming obstacles is nothing new to the owners of William L. Chafe. Just three years ago a fire gutted the business. Chafe rebuilt in the same location, although this time around he purchased the neighbouring building, knocked down the wall separating the two structures and expanded the store. He then renovated the excess room upstairs into apartments for rent.

“We were just trying to make the best of a bad situation,” Chafe says.

The added size of the store’s showroom was good for business, and no doubt helps Chafe fend off the advances of the ever-expanding, big-box store market in St. John’s. Another way the store remains successful is by securing contracts with the RNC, Metrobus and private businesses to produce employee uniforms.

“I just finished taking measurement for the RNC for a new pea coat I designed,” Chafe says. “We provide uniforms for security guards, bus drivers, cops …”

Chafe adds the main reason the store has remained successful in a time when many private businesses face tough times is the fact it’s a family run operation. His mother Winnie, father William and sister Heather all join him in working in the store, each developing relationships with the loyal customers who have been coming through the doors for years. Together, Chafe says they work to ensure the business will be around for future generations.

“We have a good following that keeps up going,” says Chafe. “We’re small, and it’s only family. We keep our expenses low.”

By Darcy Macrae (St. John's)
The Independent
Sunday, February 19, 2006