Company Profile
House of Lola is a Swedish fashion brand known for producing women’s clothing that offers value for money. It is important for the customer that the product range is made from high-quality yarns, properly constructed, and aesthetically sewn, while also being affordably priced. In 2023—several months before the described event—House of Lola was acquired by another Swedish company, The Shirt Factory, due to financial difficulties.
Challenge – new knitwear manufacturer
In May 2023, we contacted House of Lola to discuss potential future collaboration in the production of knitwear. It turned out that due to the recent acquisition and the new brand owner, the company was urgently looking for suppliers with production capabilities for the Autumn-Winter 2023 season. The original suppliers, due to potentially short lead times for production, were unable to fulfill the order.
Actions taken during the purchasing and production process
House of Lola quickly provided us with a mood board for the fall collection. We first agreed to check if we had any basic white-label models in our collection that would fit the client’s concept—this would save time on creating and approving prototypes, allowing us to move straight to the production stage.
We paid particular attention to selecting the right yarns. They needed to match the budget, fit the product’s character, and be easily available in the desired colors.
The choice fell on a very classic crew-neck sweater and a medium-thickness cardigan (7G gauge) in a pearl stitch, made from 100% cotton. We had very similar models in our white-label offer, so we only produced Pre-Production Samples (PPS) in the colors requested by the client to confirm the production.
We planned a joint work schedule that included stages such as order confirmation, sending graphic files for accessories, yarn delivery, knitting commencement, completion of the knitting phase, accessory delivery (labels, quality labels, tags, packaging, buttons), garment assembly, quality control, and packaging.
The client received updates at key stages of production, enabling them to continuously monitor whether the work was progressing according to the agreement.
Result – the success of collaboration
House of Lola was able to supplement the knitwear portion of its assortment with sweaters made in our facility within the expected timeframe, allowing them to generate revenue from this product range. The risk was a significant loss of revenue in the Autumn-Winter season for this key product due to its unavailability.
Conclusions – what determined the success:
The efficient handling of this order was possible thanks to:
o Rapid communication at the start—quickly understanding needs and expectations
o Preparing an offer of models and yarns that met expectations
o A transparent action schedule, giving both parties clarity on how the process would unfold
o Close collaboration during the order phase, with ongoing communication
The example of House of Lola shows that in crisis situations, proper management and flexibility can lead to success and long-term business relationships.
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