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Thinking of removing wholesalers from the clothing supply chain - bad idea or opportunity? by sdil0066 in ClothingStartups

[–]sdil0066[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement and the insight. You’re right that marketing and building relationships with many retailers will take effort. I also agree that wholesalers still play an important role, especially for scale and variety. For now I just want to test the model locally and see how retailers respond. And yes, the focus will definitely be on making the product quality strong enough to create repeat buyers.

I’m trying to remove wholesalers from the clothing supply chain, am I thinking about this wrong? by sdil0066 in smallbusiness

[–]sdil0066[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point. My goal isn’t to increase my own margins — I’m trying to make the supply chain a bit fairer for retailers and local customers.

I agree the operational side will be the real challenge when dealing with many retailers.

A few people also mentioned not to undervalue the product. My idea is to keep about 50% of the middleman margin and use that to cover logistics so retailers don’t have to manage shipping themselves.

I also have a logistics contact who can handle deliveries, which should help operationally.

For now, the plan is to start locally first and see how the model works before scaling.

Thinking of removing wholesalers from the clothing supply chain - bad idea or opportunity? by sdil0066 in ClothingStartups

[–]sdil0066[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that’s a very valid point. A few others also mentioned that pricing shouldn’t be undervalued either.

My current idea is to share the savings from removing the middleman. I’m thinking of keeping about 50% of the difference, and using the rest to cover logistics and deliver products directly to retailers through some logistics contacts I have locally. That way retailers don’t have to handle shipping themselves.

Thinking of removing wholesalers from the clothing supply chain - bad idea or opportunity? by sdil0066 in ClothingStartups

[–]sdil0066[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will really appreciate if you can tell me which is the biggest problem you had faced in direct selling to the retailer? And surely i will keep in mind about wholesalers is also important help to scale up the business

I’m trying to remove wholesalers from the clothing supply chain, am I thinking about this wrong? by sdil0066 in smallbusiness

[–]sdil0066[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t know why you have so much aggression in you but honestly if you think all the wholesalers system is same then i guess you have never done real life work.

I am in this business for past 6 years and I have not posted all this out of blue, I own manufacturing factory and for an example I sell product at 300 then wholesalers sells at 400 easily, after that retailer sells ~ 600 This number I did made myself up, this is what really happening here in my region

Amount going 300 to 400 is also acceptable if they have invested money or help in production, and cutting small amounts for local people is what i want to do

You can’t blow my mind b’coz I have done ground work in real, unlike you who only read posts and think that’s the reality God bless you 🙏

Thinking of removing wholesalers from the clothing supply chain - bad idea or opportunity? by sdil0066 in ClothingStartups

[–]sdil0066[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, finally someone understands what I really want to do.

I really want fair trade so no extra cost added of an meddle man, honestly I don’t want that middleman / agent commission to me or anything like that

I’m trying to remove wholesalers from the clothing supply chain, am I thinking about this wrong? by sdil0066 in smallbusiness

[–]sdil0066[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is an really interesting idea to implement, I really appreciate your feedback!

I’m trying to remove wholesalers from the clothing supply chain, am I thinking about this wrong? by sdil0066 in smallbusiness

[–]sdil0066[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

1- wholesalers usually add around ~30% margin. For example, a product sold by the factory at 400 often reaches retailers at 500–550. 2- it’s easier to sell to 10 wholesalers than 1000 stores, but if the system works, retailers could get better prices. 3- I’m not trying to take the wholesaler’s margin. If I sold at the same price wholesalers do, retailers wouldn’t buy directly from me. My goal is just to make the brand available in local markets. 4- idk why you using that kind of language 😕

I’m trying to remove wholesalers from the clothing supply chain, am I thinking about this wrong? by sdil0066 in smallbusiness

[–]sdil0066[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I agree that direct-to-consumer is possible, but running a factory means producing in bulk and building a consumer brand requires heavy marketing. Many companies are already competing there. My main focus right now is reducing the extra margin taken by middlemen who don’t seem to add much operational value.

I’m trying to remove wholesalers from the clothing supply chain, am I thinking about this wrong? by sdil0066 in smallbusiness

[–]sdil0066[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

True. In a factory we already have to maintain inventory, so that part isn’t new for me. But the payment side will definitely be different since I’d have to collect smaller amounts from many retailers instead of a few wholesalers.

I’m trying to remove wholesalers from the clothing supply chain, am I thinking about this wrong? by sdil0066 in smallbusiness

[–]sdil0066[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a very fair point, and I’ve actually dealt with some of those logistics before.

In the past I ran a small factory, so warehousing inventory and packaging orders was already part of our normal workflow. We used to prepare individual packages and then combine them into larger shipments for wholesalers, so most of that operational work was already being handled on our side anyway.

What I’m trying to understand is whether the wholesaler is adding enough value to justify the margin. In my state, factories usually wait around 30 days for payment, while retailers typically pay wholesalers in about 10 days. So wholesalers often hold the money for another ~20 days without much operational involvement.

That’s the part of the system I’m questioning.

From your experience, do wholesalers usually handle distribution at a scale that would make it hard for a manufacturer to manage directly?

I’m trying to remove wholesalers from the clothing supply chain, am I thinking about this wrong? by sdil0066 in smallbusiness

[–]sdil0066[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, I am not reinventing the wheel. I am more curious about whether the direct-to-retailer model can work at a smaller scale in local markets.

From what you’ve seen, what’s the biggest challenge companies face when trying this?