Making money by "re-branding" clothing...?
Discussion
Just out of idle curiosity really...
I was chatting to a friend of a friend the other day, and they are currently making (apparently...) good money by importing and "re-branding" clothing items and also, I think, watches. But it sounded to me to be either too simplistic to make sense, or, possibly dodgy?
The way I understood it, he is buying items like shirts, jackets, etc. in bulk (and cheap) and then simply having his logo stitched on, printed on etc. and selling them on, online mostly as if they are a premium brand.
First of all it sounds dodgy to me (although he claimed that his sources and suppliers sell in bulk for exactly this purpose) and are people really stupid enough to pay £99 for a £10 fleece, just because it has an odd, Scandinavian sounding name stitched onto it that means nothing!?
If it's not dodgy / illegal from what he claims to be earning, I wish I'd thought of it...
If he's using his own brand, that he's likely doing what every other seller does...buys the 'raw material' cheap from China/Thailand.
If he is buying 100 for £1 t-shirts, and removing the cheap label and putting a premium label on and selling that as this premium label, then that is both fraud (against the consumer) and counterfeiting (against the premium brand).
If he's buying cheap materials and putting a brand on there that is owned by someone else, then that is counterfeiting (i.e. buying £1 t-shirts and putting Gucci logos on them) - and can infringe on trademark, copyright, patent.
If he is buying 100 for £1 t-shirts, and removing the cheap label and putting a premium label on and selling that as this premium label, then that is both fraud (against the consumer) and counterfeiting (against the premium brand).
If he's buying cheap materials and putting a brand on there that is owned by someone else, then that is counterfeiting (i.e. buying £1 t-shirts and putting Gucci logos on them) - and can infringe on trademark, copyright, patent.
mmm-five said:
If he's using his own brand, that he's likely doing what every other seller does...buys the 'raw material' cheap from China/Thailand.
If he is buying 100 for £1 t-shirts, and removing the cheap label and putting a premium label on and selling that as this premium label, then that is both fraud (against the consumer) and counterfeiting (against the premium brand).
If he's buying cheap materials and putting a brand on there that is owned by someone else, then that is counterfeiting (i.e. buying £1 t-shirts and putting Gucci logos on them) - and can infringe on trademark, copyright, patent.
Option A I think, although (and this might be wrong) I think he takes off the label of the cheap ones he buys in bulk and then puts one of his expensive sounding brand labels on and multiplies the price tag... If he is buying 100 for £1 t-shirts, and removing the cheap label and putting a premium label on and selling that as this premium label, then that is both fraud (against the consumer) and counterfeiting (against the premium brand).
If he's buying cheap materials and putting a brand on there that is owned by someone else, then that is counterfeiting (i.e. buying £1 t-shirts and putting Gucci logos on them) - and can infringe on trademark, copyright, patent.
If you can invent a premium brand and get people to buy it with no brand recognition or little marketing you've got it made 
Get on with it, thats pretty much how all brands/fashion works...except they spend millions on marketing to try to make it appeal to people who are willing to a premium for it.....
Could be beginners luck for your mate, could be the start of something big. Ive never heard of many of the brands that youngsters pay a premium for, no harm in inventing some more and giving it a try. At worse you end up with a load of cheap clothing you have to sell off .....cheap
Get on with it, thats pretty much how all brands/fashion works...except they spend millions on marketing to try to make it appeal to people who are willing to a premium for it.....
Could be beginners luck for your mate, could be the start of something big. Ive never heard of many of the brands that youngsters pay a premium for, no harm in inventing some more and giving it a try. At worse you end up with a load of cheap clothing you have to sell off .....cheap
Sterillium said:
Just out of idle curiosity really...
I was chatting to a friend of a friend the other day, and they are currently making (apparently...) good money by importing and "re-branding" clothing items and also, I think, watches. But it sounded to me to be either too simplistic to make sense, or, possibly dodgy?
The way I understood it, he is buying items like shirts, jackets, etc. in bulk (and cheap) and then simply having his logo stitched on, printed on etc. and selling them on, online mostly as if they are a premium brand.
First of all it sounds dodgy to me (although he claimed that his sources and suppliers sell in bulk for exactly this purpose) and are people really stupid enough to pay £99 for a £10 fleece, just because it has an odd, Scandinavian sounding name stitched onto it that means nothing!?
If it's not dodgy / illegal from what he claims to be earning, I wish I'd thought of it...
If it is dodgy or illegal there are many thousands of brands worldwide that are in trouble. Providing there is no deception going on it isn't a problem, which generally means the manufacturer needs to be in on it.I was chatting to a friend of a friend the other day, and they are currently making (apparently...) good money by importing and "re-branding" clothing items and also, I think, watches. But it sounded to me to be either too simplistic to make sense, or, possibly dodgy?
The way I understood it, he is buying items like shirts, jackets, etc. in bulk (and cheap) and then simply having his logo stitched on, printed on etc. and selling them on, online mostly as if they are a premium brand.
First of all it sounds dodgy to me (although he claimed that his sources and suppliers sell in bulk for exactly this purpose) and are people really stupid enough to pay £99 for a £10 fleece, just because it has an odd, Scandinavian sounding name stitched onto it that means nothing!?
If it's not dodgy / illegal from what he claims to be earning, I wish I'd thought of it...
In the motor industry badge engineering is a variant of what you are describing.
An aside, Scott Alexander, much beloved of this site, was allegedly buying whey protein and unofficially re-branding it as his own.
This is very very common, however you don’t need to even import or buy in bulk these days.
I worked with a brand that bought from Manchester and Leicester, relabelled / labelled the clothing and just sold on Amazon. Absolute minimal outlay on clothing and overhead leaving every penny to be spent on the brand and as it was sold via Amazon it had a built in level of buyer assurance from day 1.
Another example is influencer rebranding, the blogger / influencer reserves the items they will be promoting as their own brand and promotes it knowing Leicester can label and ship in days.
I worked with a brand that bought from Manchester and Leicester, relabelled / labelled the clothing and just sold on Amazon. Absolute minimal outlay on clothing and overhead leaving every penny to be spent on the brand and as it was sold via Amazon it had a built in level of buyer assurance from day 1.
Another example is influencer rebranding, the blogger / influencer reserves the items they will be promoting as their own brand and promotes it knowing Leicester can label and ship in days.
I don't keep up with fast fashion because I don't use Instagram in that way. But the stories you hear.... The mind boggles
My brother in law seeks watches for £125. Cost is £5 delivered from China. Minimum order quantity 5000 pieces
My friend's wife is involved in fashion. She buys Zara denim jackets when they are super marked down in the sale. They then get shipped to Pakistan where labels are removed and sequins are added and everything shipped back. Selling for £250+. The mind boggles.
My brother in law seeks watches for £125. Cost is £5 delivered from China. Minimum order quantity 5000 pieces
My friend's wife is involved in fashion. She buys Zara denim jackets when they are super marked down in the sale. They then get shipped to Pakistan where labels are removed and sequins are added and everything shipped back. Selling for £250+. The mind boggles.
StevieBee said:
For the ultimate example of this, have a look at the Protein Powder market.
The price people pay for what is effectively a waste by-product of the cheese making industry beggars belief and is rooted - in the main - by the branding and marketing.
Waste product or not it’s still a product. If people want or need a high protein diet then it’s a decent option. The price people pay for what is effectively a waste by-product of the cheese making industry beggars belief and is rooted - in the main - by the branding and marketing.
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