10 Fashion Supply Business Success Stories [2024]
Stepping into the fashion world can be more than just a dream—consider starting a fashion supply business. This venture centers on providing raw materials like fabrics, buttons, zippers, and threads to designers and manufacturers.
The appeal lies in its fundamental role within the fashion industry, making it a consistent and reliable market. Your job will involve sourcing high-quality materials, negotiating prices, and establishing relationships with designers who need your supplies to bring their visions to life.
It's not just about selling fabric; it's about understanding trends, assuring quality, and maintaining a well-organized inventory. By offering a dependable service, you can become an essential partner for fashion creators.
Launching a fashion supply business could be your ticket into the heart of fashion, allowing you to support and influence the creation of every garment. It's a unique space that combines practicality with creativity, ensuring a steady demand for what you offer.
In this list, you'll find real-world fashion supply business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a fashion supply business that makes money.
1. Dexpel ($1.44M/year)
In 2009, Sarim, a programmer and digital marketing expert, started Dexpel with a budget of $2,000 and a small A3 printer, laminator, and cutting system. Frustrated with the limited customization options available when shopping for apparel and merchandise, Sarim researched manufacturing processes and discovered that he could create these items in-house. With the introduction of an online customizer, Dexpel became the first company in Pakistan to offer this feature, leading to rapid growth and expansion into a full-fledged facility with over 30 employees. Their revenue has grown from $2,000 per month to $165,000 per year, but Sarim measures success by the team and product line growth.
How much money it makes: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 10
Dexpel, a Pakistani custom print store, grew from a budget of $2,000 for just a few vinyl customization products to over 200+ unique products and $165,000/year in revenue, by prioritizing online sales and developing in-house technology for order fulfillment.
2. The Design Cart ($1.44M/year)
Apaar, the founder of The Design Cart, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the procurement challenges faced by fashion designers in India. He personally spoke to over 800 designers and identified the need for a tech-enabled solution. After building a website and cataloging thousands of products, he launched the online B2B sourcing portal, which has now serviced over 20,000 designers and achieved a monthly turnover of $80k.
How much money it makes: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
How many people on the team: 25
The founder of The Design Cart, an Indian online B2B sourcing portal for the fashion industry, shares how he turned his weekend gig into an EBITA positive business, servicing over 20,000 unique designers and brands globally and achieving a monthly turnover of over $80k until COVID-19 hit, by relentlessly running behind supply and demand, optimizing his online marketing strategy and keeping costs low for sustainable profits.
3. Lucasgift ($1.2M/year)
After moving to the U.S., Taha's father started sewing leather items to make ends meet. In 2017, they opened an Etsy shop selling personalized leather keychains, which quickly grew to a $100k/mo business.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $70K
How many people on the team: 7
Discover how a mechanical engineering major and his dad scaled a personalized gift business to $100k/mo revenue mainly through selling personalized leather keychains with over 10,000 reviews and a 4.9-star rating, proving the power of differentiation and pricing strategies in a competitive market.
4. Bryden Apparel ($888K/year)
Donovan, the founder of Bryden, had always been intrigued by e-commerce, starting his own t-shirt brand in 2009. After gaining experience in the fashion industry and learning the intricacies of sourcing and manufacturing, he decided to start Bryden in 2015, offering a one-stop service for fashion brands to create and manufacture their products with low minimum order quantities. With an average monthly revenue of $74,000 and customers in over 20 countries, Bryden is helping small to medium-sized fashion businesses compete with larger brands.
How much money it makes: $888K/year
How many people on the team: 3
Bryden is a clothing manufacturing agency that offers an end-to-end service to fashion brands all over the world, serving customers in over 20 countries and bringing in an average monthly revenue of $74,000 within just a few years of launching.
5. Leze Apparel Inc. ($540K/year)
out of debt. In just 6 months, we have managed to turn our business around and are projected to generate 3 times more revenue than in 2019. We have experienced steady growth at a rate of 30% every month and have successfully attracted a community of women who resonate with our mission of comfortable and sustainable workwear.
How much money it makes: $540K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 0
This case study features LEZE the Label, a sustainable workwear brand that experienced 30% month-over-month growth and eliminated $180,000 in production debt, sharing insights on their crowdfunding strategy, customer-centric approach, and partnerships.
6. Silviano ($240K/year)
Sonal and Nakul Malhotra, with their background in leather manufacturing and fashion, identified a gap in the market for luxury, high-quality leather goods that were also tech-friendly and affordable. They combined their knowledge of craftsmanship, design, and technology to create Silviano, with their flagship product being the Silviano Sleeve, a voice-activated laptop sleeve with wireless charging and global tracking. They successfully launched their product on Indiegogo, raising $35k in just 3 hours, and have plans to expand their product line in the future.
How much money it makes: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $30K
How many people on the team: 4
Silviano Sleeve Co-Founder Sonal Malhotra successfully raised $35k for their world’s first voice-activated luxury leather laptop sleeve through crowdfunding, which was fully funded in less than three hours.
7. White2Label Manufacturing ($72K/year)
Anthony Mellor, the founder of White2Label Manufacturing, came up with the idea for his business while running his previous sportswear brand and experiencing the challenges and risks associated with manufacturing overseas. Through market research and feedback from potential customers, he identified a gap in the market for a sportswear manufacturing wholesaler that offers white label and bespoke services, leading him to launch his new venture. Since its launch in November 2018, White2Label Manufacturing has generated £55,000 in stock sales, providing clients with a more accessible and reliable manufacturing solution.
How much money it makes: $72K/year
How many people on the team: 1
This case study is about a former fitness apparel founder who established a UK-based bespoke and white-label sportswear manufacturing wholesaler, driving £55,000 in revenue through sales up to November 2019, with 300 organic monthly visitors and 35% gross profit margin.
8. KAHINDO ($60K/year)
Kahindo Mateene, Founder and Chief Creative Director of KAHINDO, came up with the idea for her luxury sustainable fashion brand after launching a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014. She repurposed fabric scraps into clutches made by women in her hometown of Goma, Congo. Inspired by her Pan-African upbringing and desire to create positive change through fashion, she rebranded in 2017 and now incorporates original prints and African stories into her designs.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $20K
How many people on the team: 1
KAHINDO is a sustainable women's luxury fashion brand that celebrates African fashion and promotes ethical work practices, with annual sales of $60k and wholesale clients like Rent The Runway.
9. Dolly Thompson Baby Boutique ($15K/year)
Marlene Reid, founder of Dolly Thomson Baby Boutique, was inspired to start her business while working as a Health Visitor and receiving frequent requests from new parents for affordable, high-quality baby clothing. Recognizing a gap in the market, Marlene launched her online store and has seen impressive success, generating $1250 in monthly sales. She hopes to expand her product line and support new mothers in her local community in the future.
How much money it makes: $15K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3.5K
How many people on the team: 1
Dolly Thompson Baby Boutique founder Marlene Reid discusses how she created a one-stop-shop for affordable baby clothing, with the business already seeing $1250 per month in sales since launching earlier this year by establishing an impressive online presence using Google My Business and Shopify, largely through digital and social media marketing.
10. Boystrous ($1.8K/year)
Anastasia Osindero, a designer, launched her menswear brand, Boystrous, during the COVID-19 lockdown in August 2020. Inspired by her partner's desire for a consistent men's clothing store, she created graphic t-shirts using her design skills and printed them at home. With popular designs and the support of influencers such as Josh Denzel, Boystrous quickly gained attention and success.
How much money it makes: $1.8K/year
How much did it cost to start: $126
How many people on the team: 0
Boystrous is a rising menswear brand launched during the pandemic, which commenced with an assortment of graphic t-shirts attracting worldwide influencers and an impressive 90% traffic increase on social media platforms through using a paid advertisement strategy.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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