Wholesale Shirt Suppliers: When Cheap Isn’t Always Better

Wholesale shirt suppliers can really help boost a retailer‘s margin but the cheaper the starting point the more unlikely this will be the case.

A shirt may seem pretty uncomplicated to buy.

The style and sizing appears simple, and there are many suppliers with similar styles.

The real test comes when you‘ve finally sold to your customers:

What is fine in the supplier’s showroom may no longer feel so good after washing. What sat right on the model may not necessarily sit right on your customer. And a cheap shirt which cannot be reordered consistently can soon turn into a problem when it begins to sell.

A Low Wholesale Price Doesn’t Guarantee a Good Margin

The purchase price is just one component.

Would seem to be an improvement until the ‘cheaper‘has a higher yield, arrives with variable sizing or takes shape after a number of washes.

It‘s not the absolute cost of the shirt that is the interesting piece of information.

It is the amount it sells at, indicating the selling price. It is the cost of where selling is done.

Can all influence the retailer‘s final margin, including quality, consistent supply, satisfied customer and replenishment.

The Shirt Has to Feel Right Before It Sells

Often, customers will see a shirt on the rack before they decide to put it on.

They feel the fabric.

They consider how heavy it is.

The ‘feel of the material’ is assessed by testing its softness or rigidity.

These factors can make a product seem cheap or well worth the purchase;

So the type of fabric used is also important beyond aesthetic considerations.

Troll two shirts that look virtually indistinguishable in a picture, but when you get them in your hands they are worlds apart.

To the wholesale buyer that difference can be hard to determine simply by looking at a catalogue.

Fit Can Make the Same Shirt Look Like Two Different Products

A Shirts measurement and silhouette, can alter the way customers view the whole product.

A loose shirt will give an entirely different look to a tight one.

A big cut is for a different customer than a tight fit.

Alterations to the size and fit of the shoulder, sleeve and body length and width can all contribute, even the tiniest alteration can have an impact on the final result.

This is why the retailer must go further than comparing just the simplistic S, M, L and XL tags of a supplier.

The actual measurements of the garment are more useful when considering whether a shirt will fit the customer base you are selling to.

What Happens After the First Wash?

A new shirt can come all looking great.

What is more interesting is what happens next.

What about the fact: Does it shrink?

The fabric does to a certain extent. The fabric does not stretch too much when the fabric stretches to about 58cm.

Is the color changing?

Is the surface increasing in roughness?

Is the condition of the collar unchanged?

The issues can hide when just taking a peek.

For items that customers are potentially going to be wearing multiple times, performance after washing can be just as important as the state of the piece when it reaches the customer.

This can help identify those variations, before ordering more samples.

The Best Supplier Is the One You Can Reorder From

A as a good problem to have. Customer can be tricky. Good problem to have.

What do you need? More of it.

Then it is the supplier who weighs more.

Can you obtain the same fabric?

Color Is the colors the same?

Are measurements reliable?

Is it possible to refresh the requested sizes?

How long will the next lot take?

A retailer is willing to accept the higher costs of a supplier, if the relationship will assist in making successful goods easily available.

You are potentially making less money by ‘cutting costs’ of say a Chinese manufacturer who cannot custom par produce a best selling item.

When Ready-Made Shirts Stop Being Enough

Wholesaling works great if you are sampling items or building inventory fast.

Successful products, though, will lead to new ideas.

A retailer might prefer variation.

A brand might even want to associate itself with a particular color.

A company‘s need for custom clothing might be.

There comes a point where Buying a Shirt is not the only way anymore.

The product per se may be incorporated within the brand.

From Wholesale Shirts to Your Own Product

That‘s where green manufacturing begins to make sense.

Apart from being pre-existing, a brand can design a shirt fitting in with its specific needs.

That could involve altering the design pattern, choosing another suitable fabric, manipulating sizing or design, branding the item or creating an entirely new design.

At JiuvelWear, clothing brands produce OEM, ODM, private label, and custom apparel.

For each project, we are able to assist with fabric sourcing, sample development, custom labels and packaging, as well as bulk production.

Retailers may initially buy wholesale shirts just to get a feel of the best-selling design.

At a later date, the same company may choose to create its own version:

The Cheapest Shirt Isn’t Always the Cheapest Product

Buying in bulk is not a box that is simply and solely about securing the most favorable unit price.

A good shirt has to look right, feel right, fit the customer, retain its form after normal wear and tear and be available in the shop when the customer comes back

The supplier is important because we have to gather all of those things back to.

It may be nothing to save some cents off the first order if the solution results in not being able to sell the product or having it requested again.

The best deal will be the shirt that guarantees the retailer has a good product and a supplier who can be relied upon.