How much do you charge for your services ?
EO earns its money by adding a fixed percentage to a product’s direct cost. The percentage rate is proportional to the quantity being produced, decreasing as that quantity increases. Our percentage also varies with the amount of our services you require — see below. Let us quote you a price on your next project: we’re confident we’ll cost you less than if you do it yourself.
What are the typical lead times for your projects ?
Because each of our projects is highly customized, ‘typical’ is a word rarely heard at EO, especially when discussing lead times. Two factors — both highly variable — seem to influence the timeline more than any others: 1.) the length of time it takes to complete the apparel design phase of the project; and 2.) the length of time it takes to procure all the necessary materials. We do however offer these general planning guidelines: once the apparel design is complete, allow eight weeks to procure all materials. Once materials are on-site, allow another eight weeks to assemble your products. Then add transit time: just a few days if we’ve produced in the US; between 21-40 days if we’re shipping to the US from Asia. If you’re really interested in timeline planning, contact us for more details and a handy timeline calculator: we eat this stuff for lunch.
What if I just need some — but not all — of EO’s services ? Does EO offer an ala carte menu ?
Well, sort of. If you've already got patterns made, have figured out all the materials, and just need production management, we’re not going to charge for design work. Usually however our customers wish to avoid the hassle that comes from trying to split key functions — such as pattern making, sample making, materials planning and sourcing — between themselves and us, and come to value the complete package we provide. Because we’re so busy keeping these customers happy, we cannot offer design-only services at this time.
What is EO’s “sweet spot” product-wise ?
What sort of products do you do best ?
The ‘outdoors’ in our name isn’t an accident. We learned this business creating and manufacturing function-driven complex outerwear and base layer designs using the best woven and knit technical fabrics. That’s still our forte, but we’ve evolved over the years, applying the same thoughtful approach to categories beyond outdoor apparel, such as active sportswear, golf, cycling and even uniforms for government agencies.
