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I swear you are reading my mind..
For the last few weeks I’ve been doodling a new range aimed at the surfer teens. Its far more detailed work so price wise will be up there. I’ve wanted to do this for sometime, as that high fashion side I find very exciting. Plus if I can get in on the teen action it would be great, that’s a whole new exciting market. They are more prone to change there look every few months. Not like my current client base which are set in there ways. Which means, I would have to be on my toes with design and color. but that is the side of my Business that I really love.

I also like the idea of a basic range, I'll ponder on that..

thanks

Hi, I'm new to this forum, so I'm a bit behind in the discussion around Ruff Times. I am really sorry that are in such a difficult predicament and I look forward to finding out how you manage to solve the problem. I would like to suggest that you can still deliver a local is lekker product using cheaper imported fabrics, because you are adding local value - especially if you incorporate some local materials (beading, trims, etc. Perhaps the wholly local products can be offered at a higher price to one sector of your market alongside the less costly items. The cheaper garments could also help you to broaden your market base

Hi thanks for the input

I am considering all my options at the moment. The one thing my Mom and I are adamant about is that what ever we do our quality can't suffer at all. We actually produce the materials we use from spun cotton. Cotton prices around the world are up. I haven’t actually been able to source anything cheaper. As once I add transport costs and duties well it's about the same

But I have made some head way in other areas namely zips buttons etc. Negotiating better prices as I was advised worked wonders. Getting there

Just need more customers, which is what I'm working on now.

Good heavens it’s two years ago I posted this thread!

A little up date on how things have turned out!

The kick in the butt did wonders…
I looked very hard at the numbers and my decision was risky but an absolute necessity.
Sales had dropped to the point were we would not have survived. So my mom and I after muuuuch discussion increased or price! Not just a little mind you we jumped it 40%
I was terrified.. to put it mildly. The reasoning behind the decision was; we are a luxury item in truth. An Item basically, home made, cotton, 100% South African is not a Big Mac burger! We that is, my Mom and I are very proud of our product and we put a lot of effort in to each garment. If we wanted to be ‘that’ then we would have to sell ‘that’. (don’t know if that makes sense!?)
A 40% jump is enough to make all our clients sit up and take notice, and they did. I had an inflow of e-mails and phone calls all telling me I was nuts and they would find another supplier… At the same time on the advice gleaned here I had started marketing via facebook and also walking around town finding shops that suited our style. We picked up three new clients that way. One from my walk about and two via the book of faces. As they were unaware of the radical price jump they had no problem with it! The next two months were seriously hard… we tightened the belt as hard as we could. Streamlined production to the point of insanity and worked our butts off.
I am happy to say that all our previous clients have returned in fact with in 8 months everyone except one was back ordering. The last one called me this past march for an order.
I still have a lot to learn but I have learnt that bad times are times of great personal growth and a great way to really learn how business works and what you really want out of it! Yes money is the reason we work! But it’s not the reason we have our own business. I love seeing my designs being warn by someone it’s thrilling in a very personal way.

Great to hear that your risky decision worked out well for you!