Manufacturing?

[GregDougherty]

Hey Guys.

I was wondering, how do people, companies like Isis Dei. Make their Apple Notebook Laptop bags?

They must have their own Manufacturer linked somewhere but how do you find these guys?

I am thinking of starting up my own Laptop Bag line sometime, but just cannot find the company to make the products, never mind find the right deal for me.

Any help?

Thanks, Greg.

 

[Oz Qadir]

Hi Greg,

I think that companies such as Isis Dei have 'design' as their core competency, and would most probably not have their own manufacturing capabilities to produce their products; so they outsource the production to a firm that can make to Isis Dei's specs.

In all honesty, even though designed in the USA, these products are almost certainly manufactured in the Far East (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan...). In order to identify such manufacturers - you could use sites such as Alibaba.com, Made in China.com or other such sites. (I personally am not a big fan of such sites, as the effort needed to establish a relationship with the RIGHT (i.e. reliable, honest, able, etc) manufacturer is considerable. That said, I'm sure it works for some.

Another option is to partner with a sourcing company; they often have a network of manufacturers, and even if they don't - they can find one for you, based on the requirements you set. Some will be able to manage site visits for QA/QC, oversee the production and even the logisitics.

However, not all sourcing companies are equal and I've heard varying opinions about them.

Now, I apologise for the following (blatant) plug! I started up a sourcing company, HQ'd in London, with offices in Hong Kong & China since 2003. We manufacture & source a range of products, and manage every supply chain step (QA/QC, prototype production, payment management, packaging, logistics, UK customs clearance, Duty & VAT settlement, delivery etc) to get those products to you and make sure the final product is exactly as per your specs/designs.

In a nutshell: all the advantages of manufacturing in the Far East, without the pitfalls & disadvantages.

Apologies again for the self-promotion...

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Oz is spot on - manufacturers of this type of item are two a penny in Asia, however, good ones are a bit harder to find.

Isis do look like a marketing/design lead company/brand, and reproducing what they do (not their designs!!!) could be easy, however, like many things, it would cost, as there are minimum order quantities for each design, which would be more in the thousands, rather than hundreds.

The production cost of the sleeves should be circa/sub $5!!

 

[Oz Qadir]

Oz is spot on - manufacturers of this type of item are two a penny in Asia, however, good ones are a bit harder to find.

Isis do look like a marketing/design lead company/brand, and reproducing what they do (not their designs!!!) could be easy, however, like many things, it would cost, as there are minimum order quantities for each design, which would be more in the thousands, rather than hundreds.

The production cost of the sleeves should be circa/sub $5!!

Good comment re: minimum order quanities. This can be a potential show stopper when dealing with Chinese manufacturers as many will have huge production capacity and will not want to get involved in low numbers (especially as these types of products are cheap) and it can be difficult to get them to understand that you're business is just starting up and so there may well be future, larger orders, blah blah blah.

Perhaps one way worth considering (when you're ready) is to start with a very restricted product range - say only 1 or maybe 2 design(s) - and build up a client base for those only; once you have an established client base, you can expand your range gradually (many clients will even offer you feedback in what they would like to have/sell in future versions - always useful info to have). If you start with a restricted range - you'll find it easier to reach a manufacturer's MOQ; and subsequently, get a better unit price.

I'd say, don't worry about manufacturing as this stage - it can be done; as the post above says - manufacturers of these types of products are abundant.

Rather, work on doing your market research well to understand your prospective clients' needs, and then based on that, aim to start with bringing out a SUPERBLY designed, SINGLE product. Then grow - in a controlled manner from there.

PS My one piece of advice for anyone considering starting-up: Keep your own overheads as low as possible from Day 1; lower your break-even point as much as possible.

Don't spend what you ain't got!

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

My great, additional, bit of advice is - 'do not invest money in what you cannot afford to lose'!!

Any new importer should be thinking about how they would be affected if the product doesnt sell - if you cannot afford for it not to fail, think long and hard!