Case studies
How we work with clothing brands: real factory cases
First-hand accounts of production runs with our clients: what they needed, where it went wrong, what we changed and what we learned about working across cultures.
Every case is anonymised: we name the country, the garments and the kind of buyer, never the brand.


Nigeria · Shirts
A Nigerian shirt buyer: 200 pieces per style, every quarter
A buyer from Nigeria found us through an Alibaba inquiry in 2024. Since then they have ordered shirts every quarter, about 200 pieces per style — and when they visited the factory, we spent a day with them in Guangzhou’s Zhongda fabric market.

Canada · Smart-casual shirts and trousers — between casual and formal
From 30-Piece Styles to 10,000-Piece Seasonal Orders
A Canadian smart-casual brand that started at 30 pieces per design — and whose first samples were rejected because we measured the same size chart differently. The fix became our standard for every small-run order, and that brand now orders about 10,000 pieces at a time across 40–50 styles, twice a year.
FAQ
Questions about these cases
Why don't the case studies name the brands?
Every case is anonymised. We name the country, the garments and the kind of buyer, never the brand, so what our clients share with us stays with us.
What kind of buyers do you work with?
From new brands placing their first small runs to wholesale buyers who reorder every quarter, in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. Buyers from all four regions have visited the factory in Dongguan.
How do I start a project like these?
Send a tech pack, a sketch or a reference sample with the quantity per style/colour. We reply within 5 hours, and samples take 8–15 days.
Want your production run to go like this — or better?
Send your tech pack, target quantity and delivery country. We will tell you honestly what we would do differently for your order.