We’ve actually received a couple of responses today, from the hundreds of emails sent out yesterday. It is actually quite early to expect any kind of response, and whilst we haven’t heard from many retail stores as yet, there have been quite a few lightning-fast replies from manufacturers, particularly in the Asia region.

Back-tracking slightly to yesterday’s research, I did see one jacket example on eBay Canada that I thought could be perfect for this project – at the right price of course! I proceeded to contact the seller directly as well as do some background research on the product, just in case they are resellers and I could contact the source directly. Turns out they are resellers, and the product is manufactured by a Japanese based company. The products they offer look amazing, so I emailed both their headquarters as well as a few of their official distributors from other parts of the world for more information about reselling their product. In the end, we don’t necessarily need to find a product to re-brand specifically – the important thing is that we source a high quality winter jacket that meets our design specifications as well as be competitive on price.

Following on, whilst we haven’t yet received a response from the Japanese based Company that we really liked, several Hong Kong and China based manufacturers have replied to our first round of emails, most of whom have attached excel spreadsheets listing some of their product line as well as their prices based on their individual minimum order quantities (MOQ). Immediately this is opening our eyes to the possibility of manufacturing and branding items ourselves. Whilst certainly a different kettle of fish to distributing an already established brand name and respective lines, the price difference is phenomenal, and we can definitely see ourselves meeting the original price point of less than $50 per piece, delivered.

One thing to remember here is while opportunities will certainly present themselves, it is important to keep the original goal in mind, so you’re not selling your research short and moving on to a different path because of bigger and/or faster money.

Looking at the various product lists, we’re starting to get a feel for general pricing and the fact that most manufacturers have a MOQ of 100, with some even listing 1000 pieces! Of course at this stage we have no idea about the standard of quality, so it’s important to take things slow and iron out all the details before going out to buy those gold shoes I’ve always wanted.

For those suppliers that didn’t have exactly what we are looking for, a reply has been sent with sketches, sample images and a more descriptive detail as to what it is exactly we’re looking for. For those that did include items that better resembled what we’re after, replies have also queried the cost of samples as well as the cost of express-air-freight to us here. We’ve stated several times in the past that ordering samples is imperative, no matter the size of your intended order and this time is no different. Even if the pictures look amazing and the price is half what we would have originally paid, we have no way of knowing until we see samples in the flesh that; i) the company is legitimate and can provide the goods/services they offer, and; ii) the products are exactly those required. Of course the sample cost will be up to twice the standard price, but for such a small quantity it can be expected. It’s really all about balancing risk.

There is a meeting set for tomorrow with the partners to assess our options and talk about whether having the garment manufactured and branded ourselves is the right way to go.

Check-in shortly for the next installment…