We were lucky to catch up with Rafael Contreras recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rafael thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My father is my hero. He lost his father at 5 years of age. in 1921 right after the end of World War I and right after the end of the Spanish revolution.He was the fourth of five siblings.. My grandmother having lost the sole provider for the family and the fact that in that era the financial nets that we take for granted did not exist, was forced to make hard decisions . She kept the two girls with her. The two eldest boys were sent to live with two different relatives. My father at five years of age was sent to an orphanage full time. He lived and went to school there with total strangers orphans and special situations children.. My father told me stories of how tough the school was..Besides math,literature,history and science he learned music and soccer. He equated his fifth grade education of 1921 to 1926 as a high school education today. My father learned real discipline. He learned to never feel sorry for himself.
The circumstances that came wrapped in his father’s untimely death forged my father to become the man he became. A husband,a father, a great provider, teacher,mentor,protector and dispenser of great wisdom,perseverance and encouragement.
My father’s perspective and strong mindset influenced me tremendously. I always have a positive mindset. Whenever anything may go wrong in business or in life I always have a solution flowing through my head. I see opportunities where others may see failure.. When others may give up I keep going. I learned never to cede territory. I may lose ground but I will never give it up without a fight.Today by the grace of God I am 70 and I willingly work harder than ever in my life. I work out harder than ever in my life.My father ingrained this into me ,not so much by talking about it but by me observing his life’s decisions to whatever life threw at him until his death at 91 years of age. Today I strive to do life and business at the same level that my father joyfully did. until his very last breath..

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born in Havana, Cuba in 1952. Lived there until the scourge of communism/socialism destroyed private enterprise and freedom. My father brought us to Miami, Florida in 1960. We started over. We proudly and gratefully became American citizens when I was 17 years old.

I got into the clothing manufacturing business because that’s what I saw my father do in Havana,Cuba and then in the USA with D’Gala during the 1960’s through 1979.. My father always wanted me to work with him. I only came on board after I experienced first having a boss that was not my father. I did that . I was at work on time and I gave my best to my employer.. My father was a demanding boss and this is what makes a boss great when he demands the best out of you. My father started me from the bottom up. I swept floors. I put finished merchandise in stock. I took inventory. I delivered orders to the local merchants. Later my father had me work the shipping department. Here I double checked the orders to make sure they were accurate then I packaged them for UPS to pick up or to take in the van to the post office.. Needless to say my father was hard on me..He built discipline into me to the point that today I love and thrive on self discipline.. In 1979 my father decided to sell D’Gala to his business partner. Since they had decided to go their different ways I advised my father that it would be best for him to sell,and start with good working capital and establish D’Accord Shirts & Guayaberas.. So we made it happen. My father and I established D’Accord in 1980.I gave it the name. The Honda Accord was very popular at that time and it had a nice ring to it plus it means ok in French. The logo was D’Accord,In accord with the times. My father had me get all the permits required by the city and the county to establish your business.. So I experienced starting a business from scratch.. I got to see it be born,just as my father experienced in Havana, Cuba and later here in the USA. D’accord has been in business since 1980. This is over 42 years experience plus my father’s experience with D’Gala of 16 years, his business in Cuba that lasted 23 years until socialism confiscated it.So collectively my father and I brought 80 years worth of men’s apparel manufacturing. We saw fashions come and go. We saw fashions return and other never given a second chance.. No matter the trends,D’Accord always keeps high quality as a constant requirement. We love and respect our customers and our goal continues to be to manufacture elegant, comfortable ,bold styles that our customers clamor for. Hand in hand with quality are timely deliveries. All of our casual shirts, retro shirts,Cuban style shirts are manufactured in the USA with pride.So important to manufacture in the USA today..
What sets us aside from others is that our customers come first. We are ready ,willing and able to make special custom cuttings and styles for our customers. We are prepared to do any amount orders,from very small to really big..
Our customers love the weight of our history from my father at the beginning to me right now.They really gravitate to legacy business. Another thing that sets us aside from others is that when our customers call or write us ,I take care of them personally .They always get the answer to their questions immediately..
I am most proud of that our brand D’Accord is trans generational and trans racial. .Our shirts and guayaberas are worn by grandfathers,fathers and sons. This is one huge factor that keeps pur brand strong and fresh. And I have found that all races love our shirts. Our shirts have that all American look and this is loved globally.
Our customer throughout the years know that we at D’Accord always come through. Without a doubt we fulfill our promises.. And this is what I would like our new potential customers to know. You can confide in D’Accord.
Our D’Accord shirts and our guayaberas are recognized as the best fitting on the planet.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Reputation is built by your words and your actions. Throughout the decades our words have coincided with our actions.Trustworthiness is earned . When you earn your customers trust you are able to sell items sight unseen because they trust you .They know that whatever styles I recommend will absolutely sell. Some customers tell us that I choose styles better than they do.. I guess this is the law of reciprocity..

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When the china virus hit us we had to pivot. Employees quit to be with family..So I found myself loading up my truck with the 80 pound fabric rolls to take to the cutting room at our production location..This is definitely hard work but I took it as a hard workout good for me. And I am enjoying lifting 15 or 30 rolls up the stairs and delivering them to our cutters.. And by the grace of God I am doing this at 70 years old and I am not giving up territory.. I am able to do this thanks to the champion mindset my father taught me by words and by action..Glory to God.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.daccordshirts.com
• Instagram: daccordshirts
• Facebook: [email protected]
• Linkedin: [email protected]
• Twitter: [email protected]
• Youtube: [email protected]
• Yelp: [email protected]

Image Credits
Lourdes Urbina