Sportswear and fitness clothing is a type of clothing product which requires expertise from its manufacturers. They involve stretchy and breathable fabrics which are hard to select the right one for and the seamstresses have to be well adept in dealing with this type of fabrics for sewing. In this article, let us learn the pros and cons of cooperating with an overseas sportswear or fitness clothing manufacturer for your project. Should you change your actual supplier or are you still looking for a better sportswear manufacturer？It is not a tough task at all as long as you know what you are looking for and what is a quality sports clothing manufacturer.
Pros and Cons: Domestic Sportswear Manufacturers vs Overseas Sportswear Manufacturers
According to Statista, the Global Apparel market was worth approximately USD$1.3 trillion back in 2015. Now in the end of 2020, the market has reached USD$1.5 trillion. This suggests that the sportswear market is currently growing. As an entrepreneur, you stand a chance of marking good profit if you invest in the sportswear industry.Entrepreneurs need great suppliers to stay in business. I’ve done our research to determine which is better for small businesses in the USA when a domestic sportswear manufacturer compared with an overseas sportswear manufacturer.
Domestic Sportswear Manufacturers
We live in a world where buyers are becoming increasingly conscious about the working standards and the material quality of the clothes they’re buying.
When it comes to domestic sportswear manufacturers, you’re more likely to get higher quality products with regulated labor standards.
But they’ll come at a cost – it’ll be more expensive to source your products from domestic sportswear manufacturers.
If you’re going to pay the extra fees to use domestic sportswear manufacturers, it’s a great idea to emphasize the fact that you’re working with local industries in your marketing material. This can really help to strengthen your brand image with buyers who are conscious about these kinds of topics.
Another great benefit to working with domestic sportswear manufacturers are the shipping times. Shipping is going to be much faster than if you were working with sportswear manufacturers from overseas.
It’s also typically cheaper than it is when you work with overseas manufacturers.
But one major downside when working with domestic sportswear manufacturers is that there’s generally a much smaller choice of products when compared to manufacturers from overseas.
This might not be an issue for you if you’re looking to manufacture generic products. But if you’re looking for something more niche, you might find that overseas suppliers are the better option.
The Advantages
· Higher manufacturing quality – In the US, the quality expectations are higher. Also, US-based manufacturers are more reliable.
· Higher labor Standards – Basically, working conditions, wages, and even worker rights are much better in the United States when compared to other countries.
· Easy and efficient communication – Communication with suppliers are much easier. In most cases, you won’t have to deal with time zone issues and cultural conflicts.
· Similar time zones and holiday schedule – This makes things for entrepreneurs much easier. Entrepreneurs won’t have to deal with delays.
· USA-manufactured products are easier to market and brand – Branding and marketing goods manufactured in the United States is much easier when compared to goods manufactured in other countries. The better marketability and brandability could be associated with people believing that US-made goods have better quality.
· Cheaper shipping rates and faster shipping times – This means that you get to fulfill all the orders made by your customers more quickly. Also, with lower shipping rates, you get a better profit margin.
· You won’t have to deal with tariffs and duties – Both tariffs and duties eat into your profit margin.
· Higher payment security – This reduces the risk of losing your money after paying for your inventory.
· Intellectual property right protection – This ensures that your symbols, names, images, or even artistic works are safe.
The Disadvantages
· Higher manufacturing costs – This means that the products you are sourcing from the US manufacturers may be more expensive.
· The choice of potential factories is smaller – The US does not have a large number of manufacturers.
· Smaller product choice – Very few of the products being sold in the US are manufactured in the country.
Overseas Sportswear Manufacturers
There are plenty of overseas sportswear manufacturers that can help you create products for your business, often at a much lower cost than a domestic manufacturer.
The most common overseas sportswear manufacturers include China, India, Taiwan, and a host of other Asian countries.
For many years, sportswear manufacturers from China have been the most popular, with companies that produce all types of sportswear for dropshipping and resale easily found online.
It’s important to note that the quality of the products from an overseas sportswear manufacturer might not be as high as domestic. And, keep in mind that the working conditions in these factories might be unregulated.
Another potential downside is that you’ll likely experience longer shipping times for your products. Plus, shipping costs are usually more expensive in comparison to domestic manufacturers.
Conclusion
If you are looking to produce only 50 items, for example, factories will not touch you unless you pay 100 USD per item. The factories will not make profit so makes no sense to produce only 50 items. The main point of manufacturing is to get a low unit cost for high quality garments. If you are ordering under 500 pieces, you can try middlemen from alibaba selling wholesale, but this will be without your brand and 90% of the time low quality fabric and hit and miss with the trustworthiness of the seller. Most sellers in Alibaba are middlemen that open a new company each year. My advice is to be careful and do your homework. In regards to high quality fabric and neat stitching in volume over 500, try some manufacturer proven to own a real factory such as Berunwear Sportswear, they are known for the best quality finished garments.