Textile Insight

34 • Textile Insight ~ March/April 2019 textileinsight.com OUT OF CONTEXT SMALL SEWN GOODS ENTREPRENEURS struggle to make the jump from the small scale cut and sew scene to larger numbers and bulk production. They start their journey wanting to appeal to a distinct community or collective with product that is unusual or different in some hopefully memorable way. Small brands compete by category; they must be the best at something, or come from somewhere, solve a new or old problem, perhaps embody an idea or belief. Although the origin of a small brand's product line might be singular enthusiasm, the product genesis will follow the same rules that apply to all sewn goods manufacturing; you can only vary a product's form, fabric and color within the boundaries of your supply chain. This is where the trouble starts. Most small- scale sewn goods brands begin by selling a few dozen of their beloved creations to their friends, fans and followers. When they source the materials needed to accomplish this, they turn to a layer of "jobbers," which are companies that sell short yardage fabric and trims to the general public. These fabric vendors sell textiles from many different sources; first and second quality goods, mill and manufacturing overruns, custom orders, etc. It is from this relatively rich assortment that the entrepreneur's creative itch gets scratched and the small brands' product can differentiate itself with great fabric and plenty of color. For the lucky few, demand grows and the market begs for more examples of the small brand's version of new and better. Production numbers outstrip the expensive "let's get it where we can" sourcing philosophy and the brand is forced to look for wholesale materials upstream with textile mills, converters and agents. As you might have already guessed, the brands can't meet the minimum order quantities. American fabric suppliers are all over the map regarding how they approach supplying the small batch market. The business-as-usual yardages they ask for range from "a lot" to "ridiculous" and in their defense these numbers are really more a function of mechanics and physics than sales planning. Many of the moderate sized players, including the traders that bring in fabrics from overseas, also sell textiles one roll at a time while letting their customers choose from a standard color card. Each roll might consist of 50 to 300 yards depending on the weight and type of fabric. The problem is that in this Cotopaxi/ Topo driven world it takes 10 colors to get noticed and sourcing full rolls of fabric by color pushes skyhigh both the total yardage needed for each style and the number of units that will have to be produced in order to use it all up. Throw in using a custom color and the numbers get crazy. It's just not possible in a social media driven market to move enough product fast enough to not get stale. The mills tell me they are not in the business of cutting fabric and selling it by the yard. The jobbers tell me they can't take the risk of custom orders and more stock. The brands, they wander the mercantile landscape and attempt to source, sew and sell their own product. The American textile supply chain is aligned to a retail landscape that is presentation oriented. Its business model is set up for hundreds of brick-and-mortar stores to all have the same 4-way rack holding the same style at the same time. It wants for mass produced fabric and mass consumed color. However, the consumer experience is changing, it is trending toward more of a picture – a post – a landing page experience that shows interesting product being enjoyed by folks just like me. Today's consumer is increasingly socially oriented and not focused on the larger cross-cultural mass market. The American sewn goods industry will flourish when the small brands can leverage their strength in being small, nimble, connected, and colorful. l Disclaimer: Mr. Gray's products compete mostly in the home-made category where they find an audience among more forgiving consumers. The Publisher may not share in his good-nuff views. Small Scale Brands by Kurt Gray The American sewn goods industry will flourish when the small brands can leverage their strength in being small, nimble, connected, and colorful.

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