Wharton senior Kunal Jain was glad to see a group of students outside Huntsman Hall yesterday handing out lint brushes.
The brushes promoted custom-made suits for Penn students, and Jain, who will work at a consulting firm next year, jumped at the chance to start putting together his professional wardrobe.
Representatives from Semanco -- a Washington-based start-up that provides custom-made clothes to young professionals -- spent all day yesterday in Huntsman Hall measuring students for suits.
The fitters set up shop in the Wharton Forum in Huntsman Hall, armed with tape measures and swatches of Semanco suit fabrics, and tried to sell students the suits in which they may land their first jobs.
The students hawking lint brushes outside the building were part of a team of undergraduates in a marketing club that has been promoting Semanco's products around campus.
The clothing company is sponsoring a competition between students at various schools this spring and will award $2,500 to the student promoters at the college where it makes the most money.
College junior Jonathan Shannon, who was part of the marketing team, said that because the challenge was to develop a------n entire marketing campaign, his team wanted to get as much information as possible out to students.
They found Penn students to model the suits for posters to go up around campus, designed to draw potential buyers to yesterday's fitting. Another fitting will be held today.
Aaron Vandervelde, who graduated from the University of Michigan's business school and started Semanco two years ago, said his organization will also be hosting sales at other universities along the East Coast.
Semanco doesn't make its suits available in stores -- most of its business comes from fittings for corporations or individuals. But Vandervelde said he sees the university market as a growing one.
Jain said yesterday's fitting provided a glimpse of the type of shopping he imagines he will be doing for quite some time.
Vandervelde "was pretty cooperative. He told me how to go about purchasing a suit, what sort of styles people are interested in," Jain said.
Vandervelde said his company occupies a niche because those who are preparing to enter the corporate job market can afford its apparel.
"We saw a need for students to have an opportunity to get outfitted for the business world," he said.
Semanco's suits, which start at about $300, are significantly more affordable than other designers' such as Hickey Freeman, whose suits are also available for custom fitting on Penn's campus.
Second-year Wharton MBA student Ali Satvat is an on-campus representative for Hickey Freeman, and he said the company's suits range from $695 to $895.
Vandervelde said he had contacts in the Hong Kong textile industry before he started Semanco, and therefore knew he could offer clothing at affordable prices without the overhead costs of other suit manufacturers.
Semanco's "prices did seem reasonable and affordable for the material that they were giving," Jain said.
