Life & Work with Zuri Greer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zuri Greer. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We started Persona Custom Clothiers in 2012. It was a secondary business for myself and my business partner, Derrick Robinson. At the time, both of our primary business endeavors was in the financial industry. However, due to government changes in that Business, slowly but surely, the secondary business became our primary business. Originally the business was a storefront in our hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, but due to that marketplace and the location we had in the city, it was not a good fit. At that point, Robinson relocated to Dallas and set up shop there, and I brought the business to Columbus. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s definitely not been a smooth road. Dealing with finding legitimate suppliers of fabrics and various production factories throughout the world has definitely been a hurdle. But at the end of the day, it’s for the good, we’ve been burned a few times, and that comes with the territory; however, now at 10 years in, we’re pretty settled with our back office, and realistically, there is probably not a supplier or factory in the world that we are not familiar with. The other hurdle or struggle obviously was with the pandemic. All of a sudden, we had to question our business model and our focus. But honestly speaking, The Covid years of 2020 and even 2021 were really good years for the business. One reason for that was a lot of our competitors left the industry. Because our brand was more than just suiting, it was an easy transition for us to be in other spaces like Athletic wear and casual clothing. We always marketed and branded ourselves as a full-service custom Clothier making everything from shoes to fedoras and everything in between. Where a lot of our competitors or other tailors Focus strictly on suits, and since the world wasn’t buying a lot of suits anymore, a lot of them got out of the business. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are a full-service custom, Clothier. We make clothing for both men and women. Primarily our lane is custom tailor suits for business and tuxedos for formal Occasions such as weddings and proms. Our product mix is more than just suiting. We dabble in athletic wear, swimwear, footwear, leather goods, and headwear. We have a several celebrity clients as well as the average joe… Including Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, gospel great Marvin Sapp, and NFLers Cam Jordan and Chris Jones. Our proudest moment to date is probably participating in styling Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. We dressed him for his Heisman awards ceremony and the MVP honors received in 2019. 

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I feel that the current trend of casual clothing, especially for men, will probably continue. However, I feel that more men will start to realize the importance of a having a real wardrobe. A real wardrobe consists of having items prepared for every occasion. Proper preparation for whether it’s business, business casual, casual, formal, or even resort attire. More and more men especially are wanting to construct real wardrobes and are looking for more exclusive attire. 

Pricing:

• On average, guys spend about $1000 with me. That might include a suit a shirt, and a tie just depending on the fabric selected and what they’re wanting to create.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thepersonastore.com/?ref=0wipkevis6i7
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/personacustomclothiers_cbus?igshid=19e3yajcr7mdt
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/PersonaCustomClothiersofColumbus/
• Twitter: @personacbus
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCJqBhNPeo-UW5KibXwms8eQ