An exclusive conversation with Kamlesh Sen on ambition, customer trust, family values and building a grooming brand in Udaipur.
What started as a young man’s dream of becoming a good barber has today evolved into a journey of building a trusted grooming brand. For Kamlesh Sen of Champion Hair Salon, the story is not simply about haircuts and grooming. It is about starting with limited resources, earning customer trust, building a strong team and creating a brand that can grow beyond one individual.
Coming from a village to the city, Kamlesh Sen began his journey at a time when social media, artificial intelligence and modern technology were not available to help entrepreneurs build their businesses. What he had was determination, passion and a simple goal to become a good barber and provide every customer with quality service.
Over the years, that ambition developed into a much bigger vision: to make Champion not just a name, but a brand with its own identity.
Q: Take us back to the beginning. How did your journey start?
Kamlesh Sen: For me, everything still feels like a dream. I came to the city from a village, and because of my background, I did not have much knowledge about the business world. I simply had the passion and determination to become a good barber.
At that time, there was no social media or technology like we have today. I did not know exactly how I would achieve my dream. I just knew that I wanted to become good at my work.
In the beginning, my focus was very simple: whenever a customer came to me, I wanted to give him a good haircut and good service.
But gradually, I started understanding something important. Customers were not coming back only because of the service. They were coming back because of the trust they had developed in me.
That was when I realised that I needed to think differently.
The real turning point came when I started thinking, “Champion should not be known only by my name. Champion should become a brand in itself.”
For that, I understood that we needed systems, training, consistency and a strong identity.
From that point onwards, my focus was no longer limited to improving my own skills. Building a team, training staff, maintaining a consistent customer experience and creating an identity that people could remember became equally important.
Today, when I look at Champion, I feel that barbering was the starting point of my journey, but building a brand was its natural next step.
Q: What was the biggest challenge when you started expanding beyond yourself?
Kamlesh Sen: This was probably the most challenging part of the journey.
When you are working in a small setup, you can personally handle every customer. But once you start operating multiple outlets, that becomes impossible.
I strongly believe that a business should be process-dependent, not person-dependent.
That is why we placed a lot of emphasis on training, discipline and customer handling.
The team needs to understand more than just the technical aspects of grooming. They need to understand how to communicate with customers, how to consult with them and how to complete the service properly.
I want every customer to feel:
“Kamlesh may not be personally providing the service, but the Champion feeling is still the same.”
For me, consistency does not mean that every employee has to work in exactly the same way. It means that wherever a customer visits Champion, they should receive the same level of trust, quality, respect and care.
Q: Why Udaipur?
Kamlesh Sen: Udaipur is not just a city or a market for me. It is my home.
This is where my journey began. This is where I learned my work, earned people’s trust and slowly watched my dream turn into reality.
So choosing Udaipur was never simply a business decision for me. It was a decision to build something in my own home.
When you build something for your own city, the feeling is completely different. You are not just growing a business you are growing along with your city.
The people of Udaipur have accepted us not just as a business, but almost like a part of their family. Their trust and love have become one of Champion’s biggest strengths.
And perhaps the most beautiful part of the journey is that today, my entire family is working together in this same city, standing together like a strong wall.
Our roots are the same. Our home is the same. Our city is the same. And our dream is also the same.
So, if someone asks me, “Why Udaipur?”, my simple answer is:
“Because Udaipur is not just where Champion is… Udaipur is where Champion belongs.”
Q: How did the idea of Champion Prime come about?
Kamlesh Sen: Customer expectations have changed with time.
Earlier, visiting a salon was mainly about getting a haircut or basic grooming. Today, customers want something more. They want comfort, personal time and a complete experience.
That thinking led to the concept of Champion Prime.
We asked ourselves: Why should a customer have to visit different places for different grooming needs?
With that thought, we brought together concepts such as the Hair Vault, Groom & Grow Area, Palm & Sole Zone, kids’ section and premium grooming and beauty services as part of one complete experience.
For me, this was not simply about adding more services.
The idea was that when a customer walks into Champion, they should feel that they are not simply visiting a salon they are taking some time out for themselves.
Today, competition is no longer only about who gives the best haircut. It is about the overall experience, the trust you create and, most importantly, how you make the customer feel.
Q: What do you believe has actually built Champion over the years?
Kamlesh Sen: If I had to choose one principle, I would say consistency and unity.
Talent is important. Hard work is important. But in the long term, a business is built through consistency and strong relationships.
Champion’s biggest strength is not just our services or our team. Our biggest strength is our family.
My elder brothers, brothers-in-law, nephews and every member of the family have contributed in their own way.
We are all different. Our responsibilities are different. But our goal for Champion is the same.
I have always believed that a strong wall is never built with just one brick. Every brick has its own importance.
In the same way, every member of my family has played a role in building Champion.
So, if someone asks me what has kept Champion strong over the years, my answer would be:
“Hard work, the support of family, and the strength of moving forward together.”
For me, Champion’s real success is not simply the number of outlets we have.
Real success is that we are working together like a family, growing together like a team and building a strong brand that we hope to take forward to the next generation.
Building More Than a Salon
Kamlesh Sen’s journey represents the story of an entrepreneur who began with a skill, earned trust through his work and gradually transformed that trust into a larger vision.
From a young barber with a dream to a brand builder focused on systems, customer experience and teamwork, his journey reflects one central belief: lasting success is built not by one person alone, but by people working together toward one shared vision.
For Champion Hair Salon, the journey continues to go beyond grooming. It is about creating experiences, building relationships and creating a legacy with family, with the team and with the city that Kamlesh Sen calls home.