Geoff Krasnov offers apparel/clothing/garment manufacturing and sourcing news.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

New CAD Technology at Style Source!!

We are pleased to announce that we are beginning the transition from an older Lectra CAD system to state of the art Tukatech pattern making and marking. In the month of July we will be converting all style files and conducting training and implimentation. We have hired a new pattern maker, Rose Bradshaw Northrop, to work in our Wilmington NC facility. Rose has extensive industry experience, formerly working for L.L.Bean Kids in technical design. Although the transition period in July may cause some delays in pattern making and sampling the long term gains will allow us to improve development response time. The demand for USA made short run private label apparel manufacuring appears to be on the upswing, as the advantages of lower minimums and faster lead times remain strong rationale. Don't forget the added advantages of our private label service for pre-made branded apparel for rounding out your offerings!

Monday, June 18, 2007

Apparel Start Up Companies Proliferating

Considering the onslaught of imports and the declining margins due to price pressures and cost increases one would think that the number of people considering starting a new apparel line would be dwindeling. If it is we sure haven't noticed! We maintain an average of 8-12 new start up inquiries a week. Many merely have an inkling of an idea and have no idea where to begin. They visit our website long enough to get our phone number and call to ask "what is it your company does"? They have done no market research, have no business plan, and cannot tell a knit from a woven. This extreme is balanced by those that call with a good understanding of the business, either through research or experience. If you are considering starting a line our website offers a wealth of information to help you get started, and the resource page is especially helpfull for links to associated and relevant websites. We urge you to closely examine the competition from the standpoints of where their line is produced, their retail price points, the channel of distribution they are in, and how your product will differentiate itself enough to draw consumers attention.