There are principally 2 costs to creating sportswear.

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

COG's (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 local 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. Duty and Shipping varies depending on which country the goods are being imported into.

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

1. Work out your RRP (Recommended retail price)
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. Note - If we source the fabrics and components from the EU, then the duty should be zero rated. Duty and Shipping varies depending on which country the goods are being imported into.

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

 

DESIGN, SAMPLING, PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT, 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 (factory) 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) Stage 1

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 word mark 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 2

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.

Designs should be created by someone who considers all relevant factors and knows which factory will produce the range, ensuring construction methods are feasible and cost-effective given the factory's skills and minimum order requirements.  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. These items are designed to scale.
• To agree the look and features of each piece in detail with the client.
• 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, embroideries, appliques if required.
• To create a colour palette for the range.
• To create B&W detailed CAD of each design to show style lines and construction.
• To create coloured CAD versions of each style so you can see the style in colour.
• To create an overview of the entire collection in colour.
• To present the designs and make any changes required.
• To create virtual ai generated 3D renders of each design.

2D Design including 1X ai 3D visuals - Cost per design £890

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 choose your kitchen or floor tiles.

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.

(Note-: if 2 or more style use the same fabric, you only pay 1 fee)

Cost per style £285

TECH PACK – Stage 4

All quality factories require a very detailed tech pack. This stipulates to the factory the size, fit, grade, 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 are basically leaving these decisions to the factory who usually take the easiest or most convenient route for them. 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 chosen 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 have built up since 1997. We work with over 50 high quality factories in China, Vietnam and Europe and select the most suitable factory based on the style, price, skill, technology and quantity.

Costs £379 per factory

SAMPLE DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT – Stage 6

Samples need to be managed, processed and then fitted and critiqued. This process goes for prototype samples, size set and Pre Production samples. 

Trims, Lab Dips and Components need to be approved too. 

Final shipment samples need to be approved before shipping can be released and organised.

The process of sample development and production management needs to run smoothly and efficiently to maintain the factories engagement.

• To submit the Tech Packs for each style to the relevant factories and liaise regarding 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 (if required)

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.

You might have this covered in house, however if you need to outsource this, then we would love to build you an amazing website.

It's important the website is built correctly so it not only functions, but is visible to google and other search engines. Simply loading your photos and content to a shopify theme won't cut it.

• 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 (if required)

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.

You might want to manage this service in house but if you need to outsource this, it's important the social media pages are set up as business accounts and link to the website correctly.

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. £175 per social platform 

DIGITAL MARKETING (if required)

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

Digital Marketing is a key strategy to make sure you have eyes on your brand. You might have an expert you can lean on here, but if you need to outsource this, make sure the agency understand sportswear and your niche, and uses keywords that work for your audience and budget.

• 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.

Our Terms and Conditions can be found HERE

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.

Ask an Expert allows you to take advantage of Stuart's 31 years of sportswear design, sourcing and brand start-up experience in an easily accessible format.

Stuart established Blue Associates Sportswear in 1997 and has consulted to 500+ sports brands with his focus on small brands and start-ups since 2008. His clients are based all over the world and generally have limited knowledge of the activewear industry and have never launched a brand or business before.

Sound like you? Then book a session and ask those questions you need answers to.

If you would like a more accurate quote, please download the Project brief and complete this in detail and then email Stuart@blue-associates.co.uk who will reply within 48hours.

If your budget doesn't align to our fees above and you are willing to self manage the sample development and production, then check out our downloadable Tech Packs that you can use to send to your factory.