As much as having a vision to launch a fashion line is great, it is important to know how the process works. The two options that brands have a tendency of opting for are private label clothing and custom manufacturing. Has its own benefits but none of them is not without its drawbacks; therefore the right one depends on the brand’s strategy, financial capabilities, and goals. In this article, you will discover the primary differences between private label clothing and custom manufacturing and why the choice of one or another approach is perfect for creating, let’s say, a specific custom jean jacket or some other specific product.
Private Label Clothing
Private label apparel products on the other hand are produced by a contractor and are branded as that of another company. In this process the manufacturer does most of the production as it comes with a range of clothing items that you can add your label, logo or even minor alterations to the color and style. This option ourselves for businesses who would like to enter the market fast without much investment on establishment costs. In a nutshell, private label clothing means that brands are able to concentrate much more on promotion as opposed to manufacturing.
For example, if you are preparing to start a collection of custom jean jackets, cooperating with wholesale private label clothing suppliers lets you pick up ready-made jacket models. After this, you can insert your branding; they offer color schemes; and in some cases, you are allowed to adjust the design a little bit. The main advantage of this approach is its time-saving – you will spend less time on design and manufacturing and more time on sales promotion of your products.
This method is also suited for scalability because private label manufacturers usually have the capital and capability to make large orders of garment. With growth in your brand, your orders can also increase and you do not have to worry about tackling production processes. However, it is noteworthy that in private label clothing, the potential of creative development and distinction from other products is rather low.
Cost Differences and Production Speed
This all brings us to the point which is comparison of the cost of private label clothing and custom manufacturing. On average, the prices of several private label clothes are more affordable because lots of manufacturers will be creating clothing items in large quantities. School uniform business is an added advantage when dealing with a wholesale private label clothing supplier since they have templates and products ready for change. This makes the per unit cost even more affordable especially if you are ordering in large quantities. For the brands that are not very large, it is a huge advantage, they can quickly get into this segment without too much expenditure.
However, custom manufacturing is associated with other costs which have to be incurred at the beginning of the manufacturing process. Additional costs involved with making a jean jacket from raw material include product development cost, cost of fabrics and the cost of having the jacket patterned. But this comes at a much higher cost, which is interrogated by the fact that the artist has total freedom and the product is exclusive.
Private label clothing suppliers also have the advantage of producing the clothes faster as they must already have some designs and materials ready. That is, if for instance your product requires a hurry in launching, be it for seasonal business, a wholesale private label clothing supplier can be more helpful as compared to a custom manufacturer. Custom manufacturing on the other hand takes more time because of the design approval time.
Design Control and Customization
In this aspect of design control, custom manufacturing is seen to be better placed. When manufacturing products from scratch, it is entirely under the maker’s discretion when it comes to decisions about fabrics and even decorative hardware such as buttons, zippers, and stitches to be used. It is useful especially for brands that would like to create limited products with variations. For example if one is creating a bespoke jean jacket with an elaborate embroidery or a fashion that is unique, then a custom manufacturing ensures that one is able to create the fashion as a dream.
Private label clothing entails lesser design freedom as compared to branded clothes. In most cases, two elements of a graphic product are modifiable: color and position of the garment logo and other minor details While the design of the garment is fixed by the manufacturer. This may not be very suitable if one wants to launch unique designs, but it is very suitable for brands that wish to launch products in the market sooner rather than later.
Adaptability and Expansion of Your Brand
Growth requires scaling your brand, and although private label clothing and custom manufacturing are dissimilar, they both have value. Private label clothing is known to be a highly scalable industry, thus it is quite easy for a brand to increase or even decrease its production capacity depending on the market factors. This is because manufacturers engaged in the wholesale private label clothing suppliers already have systematized to a certain extent. For instance, let us assume that your custom jean jacket has been a favorite among your customers; private label suppliers can easily scale up in order to make more units to satisfy the public’s appetite.
Custom manufacturing on the other hand allows for flexibility in product differentiation, that is variety. Custom manufacturing scales face more challenges but it gives more opportunities for having differences and to introduce new products into the market. But customization through acquired scale means that it needs proper planning and it takes a lot of investment.
Conclusion
To start and sustain a clothing brand company it is very important to distinguish between private label clothing and custom manufacturing. If you’re in search of an inexpensive and quick way to get your clothing line up and running with as little design input as possible, wholesale private label clothing may be for you. On the flip side, if you have a strong desire to own the product that is produced and are ready to spend a lot of money as well as time to create this product, then you should consider custom manufacturing.
Whether it be a custom jean jacket or another product, the decision to go private label versus custom manufacturing comes down to your business objectives, the amount of capital you’re willing to spend, and the involved design differentiation. Each approach is special in its own right but knowing which method to use will help your brand to sustain itself in the long run.
