Looking to start small clothing production in Bali...help!

[Kris_Jen]

Hi there,

My sister and I have started our own small business in the UK making and selling womenswear clothing. Currently we are sourcing fabric in London and personally producing the small amounts here too. We are looking into moving the production and fabric sourcing to Bali. We are both available to fly to Bali very soon to speak to the right people and try and make this work.

We need a factory or seamstresses that can work with us. Any contacts that people know of would be such a great help. We want to set up as many meetings as possible and also hear from people that have gone through this process themselves.

* Is fabric sourcing difficult over there, are there fabric suppliers or do the markets provide enough variety to use?
* We were also very keen to look into screen and digital printing onto fabrics to make our product more unique. Does anyone have any contacts of people who can help us?
* Is it recommended to use an agent over there to help with factory contacts and advice?
* How realistic is it for us to bring one or two garments with us (including patterns) and see a sample from different factories over the course of a week?
* Is the shipping process fairly straightforward? What are the basic different options in time/method/price.


As I said, any helpful tips or advice will be appreciated.
Thanks again!

Kris & Jenna

 

[ferdie]

It depends on the items that you need

If you are looking for mass product factories, it is better to go directly to Bandung or Surabaya or Jakarta since Bali is only a display of Indonesia's products.
Since they are made in large scales, it would cut the price a lot and you would have a lot of options for your business
FYI, it might be cheaper for you to buy items in China and have them shipped the whole thing to your home country, I met a local here who buys their product finished from China and sells them in their boutique and the profit is great.:applause:

However if you are looking for customized items for customized order and the quantity is not large, you can find locals here that might do the work that you need

 

[Kris_Jen]

It depends on the items that you need

If you are looking for mass product factories, it is better to go directly to Bandung or Surabaya or Jakarta since Bali is only a display of Indonesia's products.
Since they are made in large scales, it would cut the price a lot and you would have a lot of options for your business
FYI, it might be cheaper for you to buy items in China and have them shipped the whole thing to your home country, I met a local here who buys their product finished from China and sells them in their boutique and the profit is great.:applause:

However if you are looking for customized items for customized order and the quantity is not large, you can find locals here that might do the work that you need

Hi Ferdie,

Thanks for your reply.
We will be working on a much smaller scale to start with. Thats why the sound of Bali production was appealing to us. We have designs and patterns already in place and would hope to set up production and source fabrics in Bali. We will be over in Bali next week for 10 days. Any pointers or people to speak to would be really helpful. Also still wondering if an agent is necessary?

 

[ferdie]

Maybe it will be more helpful if you could specify what items that you need, because you haven't told everyone your line of products yet.

Or maybe a picture or two of what you are selling now?
I think it won't reveal your design and can point everyone to a more specific people

 

[kayoticlaudia]

Hi Kris and Jenna,
I've just PM'd you.....

 

[SHoggard]

What do you consider 'small'

Ferdie is right Bali isn't a center of production - on what do you base your location requirement? That
1. Bali is a nice place to visit to QC production now and again?
2. Or that it has a reputation for quality product at reasonable price.

If you're asking this question on a froum like Balipod, it suggests you haven't built a relationship with anyone in any country other then the UK yet.
If the answer is 1 then take ferdie's advice seriously, look at Surabaya for production - Bali is a very short budget air flight away.

Or you could always follow the Primart road to Bangladesh & have your reputation totally screwed

 

[Kris_Jen]

What do you consider 'small'

Ferdie is right Bali isn't a center of production - on what do you base your location requirement? That
1. Bali is a nice place to visit to QC production now and again?
2. Or that it has a reputation for quality product at reasonable price.

If you're asking this question on a froum like Balipod, it suggests you haven't built a relationship with anyone in any country other then the UK yet.
If the answer is 1 then take ferdie's advice seriously, look at Surabaya for production - Bali is a very short budget air flight away.

Or you could always follow the Primart road to Bangladesh & have your reputation totally screwed

Hi Shoggard,

Right now we consider 'small' to be 40/50 pcs total per collection over 5 styles. We realize that there are other places to produce in Indonesia which would work out cheaper, but right now we're looking in Bali for the reason you gave on point 2. We've heard there are skilled seamstresses in Bali who can provide the kind of quality product we are looking to produce for a good price. Right now we are not interested in going into larger scaled factories and bigger countries. Its not our way and as you said we dont want a screwed reputation. The product type is a womenswear line, lightweight fabrics, easy fit.

Again if anyone has any contacts for factories that could deal with an order like this then please let us know.

 

[summerwood]

have a few local contacts that can help

Hi Shoggard,

Right now we consider 'small' to be 40/50 pcs total per collection over 5 styles. We realize that there are other places to produce in Indonesia which would work out cheaper, but right now we're looking in Bali for the reason you gave on point 2. We've heard there are skilled seamstresses in Bali who can provide the kind of quality product we are looking to produce for a good price. Right now we are not interested in going into larger scaled factories and bigger countries. Its not our way and as you said we dont want a screwed reputation. The product type is a womenswear line, lightweight fabrics, easy fit.

Again if anyone has any contacts for factories that could deal with an order like this then please let us know.

I'm not in Bali now but, but wife to use to provide this type of service. We can but you in contact with some people in the Legion area that can help. If want their contact info email me northbali(at)ymail.com or PM me.

Good luck.

 

[narobbo]

Hi Kris and Jen,
I am interested to know how you got on with your enquiry. I too am looking to move my small business to Bali. Any information would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Alana

 

[Jack Rossi]

Hi Shoggard,

Right now we consider 'small' to be 40/50 pcs total per collection over 5 styles.

40/50 pcs over 5 styles? thats mean you will have about 10 pcs for each style? that a number so small you just need to find 1 (!) decent artisan and some good fabric. what do you need a factory for? most of the clothing factories don't even take mixed orders if the total is less than 1000pcs.

 

[Caseyjaye]

Hi there,

My sister and I have started our own small business in the UK making and selling womenswear clothing. Currently we are sourcing fabric in London and personally producing the small amounts here too. We are looking into moving the production and fabric sourcing to Bali. We are both available to fly to Bali very soon to speak to the right people and try and make this work.

We need a factory or seamstresses that can work with us. Any contacts that people know of would be such a great help. We want to set up as many meetings as possible and also hear from people that have gone through this process themselves.

* Is fabric sourcing difficult over there, are there fabric suppliers or do the markets provide enough variety to use?
* We were also very keen to look into screen and digital printing onto fabrics to make our product more unique. Does anyone have any contacts of people who can help us?
* Is it recommended to use an agent over there to help with factory contacts and advice?
* How realistic is it for us to bring one or two garments with us (including patterns) and see a sample from different factories over the course of a week?
* Is the shipping process fairly straightforward? What are the basic different options in time/method/price.

H
As I said, any helpful tips or advice will be appreciated.
Thanks again!

Kris & Jenna

Hi kris & Jenna

Just wanted to see how you went on your trip to Bali? I have all the same questions and concerns and finding it so hard to get anyone's help!
I am heading to Bali in December but I have two small children so really wanted to have some direction and potentially something lined up before we arrived.
Any help would I would be so greatful!

Thanks
Casey

 

[Markit]

I have to agree it is very hard to get other people's help - especially when you don't ASK FOR IT!!? What with this being your first and only posting here....

But using the kiddies as bait is bound to work.

Have a day
Markit

 

[Caseyjaye]

I have to agree it is very hard to get other people's help - especially when you don't ASK FOR IT!!? What with this being your first and only posting here....

But using the kiddies as bait is bound to work.

Have a day
Markit

Sorry if I offended you in anyway Markit. Obviously I have been doing my research and emailing prospects. Yes, this is my first post on the forum as I was hoping someone might be helpful with some direction or share their experience.
My kids are not bait, it's simply the reality of the situation. If you do not want to help me that is fine but no need to be nasty!

You have a good day.

 

[spicyayam]

My wife got some shorts made for me and the tailor charged 50K for his work. She supplied the material. He came to our house to take my measurements and I was pretty impressed with the quality. I hate shopping for clothes, so it solves that problem for me. I have no idea if he takes large orders, but if you want just a few things made he could be ideal.

 

[SHoggard]

If you've done your research, then you'll have seen this:

It depends on the items that you need

If you are looking for mass product factories, it is better to go directly to Bandung or Surabaya or Jakarta since Bali is only a display of Indonesia's products.
Since they are made in large scales, it would cut the price a lot and you would have a lot of options for your business
FYI, it might be cheaper for you to buy items in China and have them shipped the whole thing to your home country, I met a local here who buys their product finished from China and sells them in their boutique and the profit is great.:applause:

However if you are looking for customized items for customized order and the quantity is not large, you can find locals here that might do the work that you need

no matter how often people ask the same questions, and how MUCH they WANT Bali to be the source of their cheap imported product... it just isn't (as a regular here discovered, lost a bundle, & now is inundated with requests for advice from people who want to re-live his costly experience - true, C***nM*n?)
Take a detour on your holiday away from the beach... go to Bandung or Surabaya or Jakarta... hint they're still in Indonesia

 

[spicyayam]

If you've done your research, then you'll have seen this:

no matter how often people ask the same questions, and how MUCH they WANT Bali to be the source of their cheap imported product... it just isn't (as a regular here discovered, lost a bundle, & now is inundated with requests for advice from people who want to re-live his costly experience - true, C***nM*n?)
Take a detour on your holiday away from the beach... go to Bandung or Surabaya or Jakarta... hint they're still in Indonesia

That seems to be the reality, but few people will to accept. It reminds me that a few years ago someone in the US contacted me about buying copy paper in Indonesia for export. It sounded easy enough and my brother inlaw in Bandung visited some companies. It was impossible however to get a good price to make it worth doing, so gave up pretty quickly.

 

[SHoggard]

Maybe a thread "Sourcing Products from Bali" might be needed

 

[spicyayam]

Maybe a thread "Sourcing Products from Bali" might be needed

But who is going to share the contacts they took the time to build up? If someone finds a good/cheap supplier, I doubt they would share it on a public forum, unless of course they worked for that company and were trying to drum up business. There are a few companies like "sourcing Bali" that have built businesses doing just this. I think you either need to spend a lot of time here making your own contacts or paying someone for their time/experience.

 

[augusta]

dear kris & jenna, i have a small garment manufacture in Bali and i think i can help you about this. would you PM me where i can contact you? thanks before

regards,
Augusta

 

[StormWyness]

Hi Augusta, I'm new to this forum so am unable to PM you. But I am looking for a manufacturer in bali - could you please give me your email address. Many thanks