The Kinus Hashluchim of 5779 was memorable for many reasons. It came on the heels of the deadly shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and it marked the 10th anniversary of the terrorist murder of Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg, devoted Shluchim to Mumbai; And the banquet featured the much-admired philanthropist of the Meromim Foundation, Yitzchak Mirilashvili.
But for Levi and Yossi Chayo, founders of the Bellissimo hat company, that Kinus Hashuchim turned failure into hope and propelled their business to the success that it is today.
Bellissimo was founded to fill a clear void in the Chabad community. The prices of hats from the established brands were constantly going up and it was impossible to find a quality hat at an affordable price. Several people had tried to meet the need by producing cheaper hats while promising top quality. Time and again, their customers were disappointed when their pristine-looking hats began to look disheveled just months into wearing them. The feeling on the street was that any new unproven hat brands were to be avoided at all costs.
The Chayos were determined to do it right. They experimented with different fabrics and styles until they settled on what they considered a quality product at a significantly lower price than the competition. Disappointingly, the take-off was rough. Friends and family were happy to give them a try but the prevailing mood amongst people was that it simply wasn’t worth spending money on someone’s pipe dream; in this case, a start-up hat company. Bellissimo was still only a part-time venture for the Chayos and it seemed that unless something significant took place, it would be time to hang up their hats (literally).
Their breakthrough took place at the resource fair of the 5779 Kinus Hashluchim. As they set up their little booth alongside the other vendors, they were met with looks of surprise from salesmen unaccustomed to seeing a hat store at a pop-up fair. The event began and soon a commotion broke out as word of the affordable hats spread throughout the room. The Chayos sold through months worth of inventory that day. The response they received at the fair encouraged them to push on and today the company has expanded to international markets with frum customers making up only a small fraction of overall sales.
The Chayos never forgot what the Shluchim had done for them and, in 2022, with the business growing and running well, they decided to return the favor. By then, their hats were being produced in Italy from the finest materials and expert craftsmanship. With soaring inflation and increased cost of living, Shluchim would likely think twice before purchasing a new hat for themselves, even if it was badly needed.
“The first idea we landed on was to gift every Shliach with a new, premium quality hat,” said Levi. “The costs would be astronomical – around half a million dollars – so we set out to fundraise the money needed to cover costs.” They quickly discovered that potential donors, while excited by the project, were reluctant to fund it. “I love the idea, but I think that type of money could serve a better purpose elsewhere” was a common refrain they were hearing from people.
“We knew we couldn’t fund it ourselves so we decided to make the hats available to the Shluchim for the lowest possible price to partially cover the cost – $99.” They took out loans for the initial payments to the factories in Italy and the work began.
Soon, thousands of hats began to arrive and the Chayos still had no idea whether Shluchim would be interested in the opportunity or not. Would it be just a few hundred Shluchim over the course of the Kinus or would every Shliach come running to the store straight from registration? Still, they put an efficient system in place, hired 10 full-time employees to be on hand, and promoted it as best as they could.
The response was nothing short of astonishing. The Bellissimo store on Kingston Avenue was packed from morning to night with lines extending onto the street and around the corner. “Our employees were busy non-stop throughout the Kinus but no one complained. We all felt like we were part of something special, something bigger than us.”
In all, over 3500 Shluchim received beautiful new hats. For some, it was their first time buying a new hat in years and it showed in the appreciation they showed to the Chayos. “It was inspiring for us to speak with all of these amazing Shluchim as they came into the store and we feel so privileged to have been able to do this for them.”
The project ballooned into such a huge financial undertaking that even the nominal fee charged to the Shluchim didn’t cover the cost of it all and the remaining balance was covered by the Chayos as tzedakah.
As the upcoming Kinus Hashluchim approaches, Bellissimo looks forward to welcoming the Shluchim again. This year, along with an exclusive discount for the shluchim, they will be offering free steaming and cleaning for any Bellissimo hat purchased in the past. While there, check out some of their latest styles and pick out a quality hat to take back home with you.
Amazing! Kol hakovid 👏