Typical costs

There are principally 2 costs to creating sportswear.

1. COG’s (Cost of Goods)
2. Design, Sampling, Production Management, Sales and Marketing

COST OF GOODS:

The (COG’s) will depend on the design, quantity, location of production and specification and we need to discuss this in much more detail before we start the process, so we make sure the fabrics, factory, features, and components are designed or selected to hit your price point and your target market. It’s a bit like designing a house, without understanding the budget and customer, you will end up with an amazing design that you can’t afford to build or isn’t exactly what you were looking for.

It’s very hard to give an accurate estimation of the COG’s without running over the brief in fine detail, however there is a simple formula below that gives you an idea. Working back from your target RRP is how the industry works so you need to have a good idea of where your brand sits in the market and what price points each style will retail for-:

The below COGs are based on Far East production, using performance locally fabrics.

1. Work out your RRP (Recommended retail price)
2. Divide this by 4 and this will give you an estimated ex works price from the factory.
3. Add on shipping and duty to get the goods into your country.

If you are looking for European production, then use the following-:

1. Work out your RRP
2. Divide this by 2.65 and this will give you an estimated ex works price from the factory.
3. Add on shipping and duty to get this into your country. If we source the fabrics and components from the EU, then the duty should be zero rated.

Once you have launched and gain some sales traction, you can slowly increase the volume you order from the factory which will intern improve your margins.

DESIGN, SAMPLING, PRODUCTION MANAGEMNT, SALES & MARKETING:

The quotation below for our services is based on creating a typical activewear line and is there to give you some guidance of the expected costs. Obviously, we will tailor the quote based on your project and the styles you want to develop, with more complex styles increasing our fees and simpler style reducing our fees.

I like to compare us to an architect that manages the building of your brand. We act very similar to an architect to make sure the design and specification of the build meet your requirements and the builder follows the detailed specification to make sure the quality and performance is where it needs to be. You should never rely on a factory to make specification decisions on your product, just like you wouldn’t rely on a builder to choose your front door, light fittings, or choice of kitchen.

The quotation below is per style/product, and we suggest you look to launch with a minimum of 6 styles. If you are a Start-up, you need to make sure you look credible and anything less that 6 styles probably won’t convince consumers to trust your brand. You also need to make sure you offer choice and the ability for your customers to come back and buy more and spread the word to their friends and family.

Most of our start-up’s clients launch with a minimum of 6 styles but have a further 3-4 styles that have been designed with full tech packs and fabrics sourced so they are ready for sample development and then production much faster. This way brands can drop these styles shortly after their brand launch to keep the website fresh and customers engaged.

There are several stages to the process of designing and developing sportswear and I have quoted for each stage so you not only understand the process better, but you may have some of these stages already covered, in which case you don’t pay for service you don’t need. For instance, some of our clients require us to manage all the stages, however some clients just want us to manage the design and tech packs and then they project manage the sampling and production themselves. The choice is yours based on your budget, time and management requirements.

LOGO DESIGN (if required)

You may already have a brand logo and if so, we will need a vector formatted Ai or PDF version. You should make sure the logo is bold, easy to read and try to avoid fine detail as this restricts how we can apply the logo to apparel. If you don’t have a logo, then note the quote below.

• To design a wordmark and icon logo and provide a coloured version of this logo.

£875 (providing you have already sourced a suitable name).

£1,450 if you would like us to propose a suitable brand name.

PRODUCT DESIGN – Stage 1

Hopefully, you have some ideas, sketches, links to products and brands you like. You may already have very detailed CAD designs that we might be able to use, however if you don’t, you need to make sure the designs not only look great, but answer the brief in terms of function, performance, cost and manufacture. It’s therefore important the designs are created by a designer that take all of these aspects into consideration and also understands which factory will be producing the range so they don’t design construction methods that are too expensive or won’t be possible in terms of skill base or MOQ’s. All factories will need a very detailed CAD design which then forms part of the detailed tech pack (stage 3 below).

• To design the trims required for the range – care prints, labels, cords, buttons, zip pulls etc
• To agree the look and features of each piece in detail.
• To create a distinct brand language for the product if required. (Brand language is used to make sure the styles work as a range and people could potentially recognise your brand without looking at the logo)
• To create any prints, appliques etc.
• To create a colour palette for the range
• To create design sheets for the above range with detailed CADS to show clear detail with scaled close ups on any specific required areas of construction
• To present the designs and make any changes required.

Cost per design £850

3D DESIGN RENDERING– Stage 2 (NOT ESSENTIAL)

3D Design isn’t essential; however, 3D does have several benefits. You can use the 3D designs to represent your product far more accurately to obtain investment, show the factory the style in terms of fit, drape and in 3 dimensions. Many brands are now using 3D to take wholesale or pre orders prior to launch. 3D designs also generate initial patterns that can be shared with a factory as a baseline for them to finalise their patterns for the 1st samples, potentially reducing the need for several prototypes. Here is a link for more information on the benefits of 3D.

• To Create 3D versions of the range so you can use for detailed presentations or pre order sales.

Cost per style £450

FABRIC AND TRIM SOURCING – Stage 3

It’s imperative all the trims, components and fabrics are sourced and managed by the brand. You shouldn’t leave the fabrics and trims to be selected by the factory, in the same way you wouldn’t trust a builder to select your kitchen. By nominating the exact fabric, trims and components, you are in full control of the performance, quality and price of these items and can also guarantee that any repeat orders don’t differ in terms of quality and performance.

Cost per style. £275

TECH PACK – Stage 4

All factories require a very detailed tech pack. This stipulates to the factory the size, method of construction, placements of trims, prints, appliques, sources for fabrics and all trims/components. If you don’t have a full tech pack, you basically leave these decisions to the factory who usually take the easiest or most convenient route. Think of the factory as a builder of your house. You wouldn’t let them select the quality of the tiles, kitchen, windows, or taps. The tech pack needs to consider the ability of the selected factories capabilities/skill base and critically cost too.

• To create detailed specifications for the factories including graded size chart.
• To nominate suppliers to the factory for all fabrics, trims and components.
• To create a BOM for the factory to follow.
• To provide a “Point of Measurement chart” for the factory to follow.
• To highlight any specific manufacturing or stitching methods.
• To Create scaled diagrams of all prints, embroideries and trims as required.

Cost per tech pack £595

FIND A FACTORY – Stage 5

We select the most suitable factory from our database of trusted suppliers. We work with over 40 factories in China, Vietnam and Europe and select the most suitable factory based on the style, price, skill and technology and quantity.

Costs £379 per factory

SAMPLE DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION MANAGEMNT – Stage 6

The samples need to be processed, fitted, critiqued. Lab dips, strike offs need to be approved and critiqued to get all components and samples to a state where you are ready to sign off in terms of fit, function, fabric, construction, performance, and cost.

• To submit the Tech Packs for each style to the relevant factories and liaise with regard to details.
• To develop the product through a series of 2 prototypes samples.
• To obtain an estimated quote for bulk production
• To manage the fitting of each piece and update the specification.
• To manage all lab dips and strike offs for fabrications, samples and bulk production.
• To critique each style further to each sample being submitted by each supplier. To grade the size specification further to the latest sample
• To approve jumping size set samples, lab dips, packaging and strike offs prior to bulk production starting.
• To manage the bulk production process including sealing samples and pre-production approval

Cost per design £1,750.00 +10% on the FOB costs for orders over £50K and +12.5% for orders under £50K. (The FOB cost is the cost from the factory for the finished goods and not the landed cost.

WEBSITE

You will need a professional website that will promote and represent your brand for both the launch and the years ahead. It’s therefore important to create a website that is long lasting and can cope with traffic and high-resolution photographs and film.

• To create a suitable website with the pages listed below on a suitable platform such as WordPress or Shopify as required

Professional website with following 9 pages.

1. Homepage
2. About us
3. Shop Pages
4. Blog Page
5. Contact us
6. T&C
7. Shipping & Return
8. Privacy Policy
9. Subscription Page

Costs. £5,480

BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA SET UP

Social media has a huge effect on the credibility of your brand but can also be used as a direct sales tool. It’s important to create a business platform on social channels and then link any channels suitable to the website to help manage the sales and stock.

1. Set up a maximum of 3 social media pages as agreed with the client.
2. To secure the social media handle as available.
3. To set up the page with logo and description of the company.
4. A business page will be set up where available rather than a personal page.
5. To link your store to the social platforms where suitable so you can start to sell products on these platforms

Costs. £250 per social platform

DIGITAL MARKETING

Based on your budget, we can offer different paid marketing strategies to grow your customer base.

• The agreed monthly advertising budget will be split between the agreed advertising platforms.
• An initial advertising testing period of 6 weeks where adverts will be tested with a small advertising budget allocated against each to determine the best ROI.
• The agreed monthly advertising budget will then be applied to adverts showing the best ROI from then on, with monthly adjustments to adverts to optimise the budget as required.

Cost £685 per month management fee of advertising budget plus 3.75% of sales generated per month decreasing to 3% when sales per month generated exceed £20,000 and then reducing to 2.5% when sales per month generated exceed £50,000.

Expenses will be charged at cost inc. courier, import duty, sample costs, tooling for embroideries, trims and prints, photos & travel if required.

Sample charges vary depending on which country/factory produce the garments and the complexities of the garment. Note that mots EU factories charge a development fee on top of the sample fee that is refunded depending on the bulk order volume you place.

Our terms are 65% deposit that will be required at the start of each stage, and you only commit to one stage at a time so to get started we would require the deposit for the 1st stage only.

If you would like to organise a 1:1 call with Stuart (CEO) to discuss the project and ask any questions, please click here to arrange a suitable time.

If you would like a more accurate quote, please download the Project brief and complete this in detail and then email [email protected] who will reply within 48hours.