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$65 is a lot more reasonable that $155 and I'd buy twice as many at that price ;)
Etsy comes close but a startup that focused on a niche and curating quality could be a fun and profitable challenge.
So they've described how American Apparel makes their $45 polo shirts. But they haven't described how $30 of materials becomes worth $155.
In clothing there is a standard wholesale markup, which is 2.0-2.5 of manf costs, and a standard retail markup which is again 2.2-2.5 of wholesale cost. This means that they are selling it to the retailers at around 60 bucks or so, and then the retailer is selling it for 155. The 30 dollars provides money for rent, warehousing, salary etc for the brand/wholeseller. For the retailer it does the same. Retailers also se…
Fine, but they're shipping them out of their living-room.
The article would have been greatly improved if it gave a typical breakdown for those prices as well.
So they've described how American Apparel makes their $45 polo shirts. But they haven't described how $30 of materials becomes worth $155.
In clothing there is a standard wholesale markup, which is 2.0-2.5 of manf costs, and a standard retail markup which is again 2.2-2.5 of wholesale cost. This means that they are selling it to the retailers at around 60 bucks or so, and then the retailer is selling it for 155. The 30 dollars provides money for rent, warehousing, salary etc for the brand/wholeseller. For the retailer it does the same. Retailers also se…
I used to work in a clothing store and the markups on clothing, especially more fashionable items, never ceases to amaze me. Unfortunately, this article didn't really get into most of it. They explained why the shirt cost $29 to make as opposed to $1-2 for a cheap shirt from China. What I find fascinating, is how we get from $29 to $155 at the store, or $2 to $30 for a cheaper shirt. The vast majority of the cost of…
The hardest thing is logistics: delivering product orders on time as a small brand which outsources manufacturing is really hard. Big retailers, like Nordstrom or Macy's will give you a window of a week (maximum) and will not accept your orders if it goes over. Conversely, they also have set packaging and other compliance related requirements which will increase the cost / item. In particular they have these ERP syst…
This sounds interesting, can you shine some more light on it?
Solving the "direct from wholesaler" for American made goods is a monster opportunity. $65 is a lot more reasonable that $155 and I'd buy twice as many at that price ;) Etsy comes close but a startup that focused on a niche and curating quality could be a fun and profitable challenge.
I have a few Polo (Ralph Lauren) shirts that i wear that I bought in the very late 90s. I'm not saying that the 300+% markup is valid, but I've worn a shirt in three different decades.
1) they use top-loading washing machines
2) they use dryers
or even worse washing-drying combinated.
While I don't doubt that Polo chooses good cloth, it's standard here in Uruguay for clothes to last that long. I've inherited a lot of clothes from my father, and have tons of clothes to give away that are in reasonably good condition.
The reason is that they've been either hand-washed, or washed in a front-loading machine at a low temperature, and then dried in a clothesline (I've never owned a clothes dryer).
For example, this article claims that clothes washed on a front-loading washing machine last longer:
http://www.networx.com/article/choosing-a-washing-machine-to...
Edit: U$ 500 for the cheapest front-loaders? I bought mine for U$ 200 (not in the U.S. obviously, but with the humungous Uruguayan import taxes).
I have a few Polo (Ralph Lauren) shirts that i wear that I bought in the very late 90s. I'm not saying that the 300+% markup is valid, but I've worn a shirt in three different decades.
When shopping for a washing machine, I found some articles that claimed that the reason that Americans buy so many clothes and find that they don't last as much as the rest of the world, is because: 1) they use top-loading washing machines 2) they use dryers or even worse washing-drying combinated. While I don't doubt that Polo chooses good cloth, it's standard here in Uruguay for clothes to last that long. I've inhe…
If you hand wash and line dry, suppose that's 5 minutes of labor per wearing. If you wear the shirt every week for 10 years, that's 43 hours of labor on washing for 10 years worth of shirt. It would only take 25 hours of labor (compare to 48) to buy a new shirt every 2 years.
And this also assumes your time is equally valuable to the time of the guy making the shirt - I consider my time to be worth far more than $5-15/day.
Another one on $550 chinos: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/fashion/29ROW.html
Also, anyone else find this "killer app" notion in clothing to be funny? It's like Bonobos claiming they've solved the "saggy butt problem" with a "curved waistband." Genius!