How to start a wholesale fashion company

May 21, 2017

I recently interviewed Andrew Ok from Tutu Fashion which is a company that specializes in women’s wholesale clothing. I asked Andrew about the challenges of his wholesale fashion business, and what is most exciting about it. Enjoy the interview.

1. Tell me about your business?

We are a Los Angles based wholesale manufacturer, focused on women’s fashions. We have 20 years experience in designing and manufacturing high-quality fashion clothing. We identify trends in global markets and produce tops, skirts, dresses and pants to bring low cost “high fashion” to our customers in response to the consumer’s demands.

The majority of our products are made in the USA. We pride ourselves on sourcing our own fabrics, trim, accessories, and other details to ensure the highest quality products. We strive for our products to be dependable for the end consumer to help drive repeat business for you, our retailer. We are continuously bringing new fabrics and new designs to keep what you offer the consumer fresh and relevant.

2. How did you get started?

We use to own a couple of retail stores before we started an actual wholesale store. We wanted items that were made in the US instead of being exported and items that had fine quality with great detail. We wanted to control our own inventory for our own store then decided to make the items ourselves from the fabric to sewing, we wanted to do it all. Then we branched into the wholesale side.

3. What is the most exciting part about your business?

The most exciting part is the process is deciding what product to make. We can decide from a simple top, dress, skirt, a plus size shirt, and plus size dress. After choosing a type, we choose a design with our designer. After a type and design, we then get to choose the fabric. After the fabric, we decide on a quantity and make the item from scratch. A fun process from the beginning.

4. What is the most challenging part of your business?

The most challenging part of the business is competing with other vendors. With so much competition and price wars, we do the best we can in price but can’t compete with imported items from china or Mexico. We do our best to make the price as fair as possible but still have to make a profit. We stride and pride in our quality of the items and believe you get what you pay for.

5. What’s your long-term vision and goal?

Our long-term goal is to get every household at least one item from our store. From wholesale and slowly expanding to retail, we want this to be a household brand.

Sounds crazy but we believe with our products and customer service, we will achieve this.