A budding fashion designer who has worked with fabrics before could open up a new line of clothing by making garments from real animal skins. These garments are popular among both men and women and even children.
Fashion consciousness has made leather an extremely specialized high-fashion material that needs skilled professionals to create quality garments from it.
As an entrepreneur who wants to start a business selling luxury goods, you need to be aware of the differences between high-end and low-end markets.
Read: What are some profitable leather business ideas?
According to Council for Leather Exports, India’s leather garments industry produces approximately 16 million pieces of leather garments each year.
Leather Garment Manufacturing Business Plan
To get started running a clothing manufacturing business, here are the basics you need to know.
1. Create a Leather Garment Making Business Plan
You should make a detailed plan for your clothing business. What kind of leather garments you will go to manufacture? Where you will be selling them? Will you do contract work or will you develop your own line?
First calculate the total startup cost by adding up the costs for machinery, staffing, raw material, and advertising expenses. Then determine your mission statement and set goals.
2. Legal Formalities
As a start-up, you will need to determine which type of business entity would be most suitable for you. Each region has different laws regarding the formation of companies. Consult an experienced lawyer and choose the best one that fits your needs.
You must also check if there are any licenses and permits required before starting up a business related to making and selling handcrafted products out of cowhide.
3. Manufacturing Process – Equipment and Raw Materials
To produce high-quality finished products, you’ll need to use expensive equipment, which may be difficult to obtain. Upgrade your equipment to improve its performance.
You will need fusing equipment, steam finishing solutions, detector needles, cutter blades, transfer printers, shirts, sewing equipment, and some extra tools.
The main raw materials for making leather garments include high-quality leather, buttons, frogs, hook and eye fasteners, snap fasteners, zips, elastic bands, etc.
4. Hiring Manpower
It’s important to design the product, but it’s even more important to hire someone who knows their craft well. You’re going to be providing them with patterns, instructions, etc., so they need to know exactly what they’re doing.
5. Promotion of Leather Garment Making Business
To get started, create promotional materials like visiting cards, catalogs, etc. to contact your local retailers with a competitive business offer, and set up an online presence.
Start an informational website for your handmade goods business. Attend local trade shows and fair events. Also, set up an online ordering system from your website.
Leather garments also have an export opportunity. Major importers include the United States, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan.
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