Why is dry denim so expensive...

[eastcoastrider27]

when a considerable portion of the manufacturing process is not needed? (sand blasting, sanding, enzyme washing, regular washing, etc.)

It seems that if the denim doesn't go through all these extra processes the price wouldn't be as high for dry denim.

I know APC is relatively inexpensive, but companies like Nudie, for example, sell dry denim for upwards of $250.

NyM...

[ringring]

Like you say, there are plenty of examples of inexpensive dry denim (Uniqlo, Levis shrink-to-fit non selvedge, etc).

I think there are a few reasons that can contribute to the price of dry denim including:

Selvedge - many dry denims are selvedge. This means that the fabric consumption for a pair of jeans is about double that of wide-loom denim.

Quantity - Dry denim is a very niche market. Quantities sold are relatively small, so you don't have the economies of scale that is afforded to high volume washed jeans. Many brands that specialise in dry denim jeans are very small niche brands, so that don't even have the buying power of say, Gap/Uniqlo to force the prices down.

After that you have to factor in place of manufacture (made in Japan is more expensive than made in China, made in Italy is more expensive than made in Turkey etc) and the quality of the denim itself. Some dry denims are artisan made, eg the thick warp denims by Burgus, Samurai, Sugarcane, Indigo Farm etc, and will cost more than mass produced denim.

Sometimes to detailing is expensive. eg hidden rivets, the use of multiple thickness and coloured threads, hand felling (like on Sugarcane Hawaii's) etc.

Then there's retail margins. Uniqlo, Gap and APC sell to their own shops, so there's a whole strata of middlemen (agent+ to a certain extent, retailer) cut out.

After all that, the brands just have to pitch the price at where they think they can sell. If they can get away with higher margins then good for them.

[eastcoastrider27]

Makes sense.

I know higher price doesn't necessarily translate to higher quality, but is it safe to assume that Nudie is better than APC in terms of indigo and denim quality.

I know both make quality selvage, but Nudie is made in Italy (I think, maybe I'm wrong), as opposed to APC which is made in Macua?

NyM...

[horriblyjollyjinx]

Quote:

Makes sense.

I know higher price doesn't necessarily translate to higher quality, but is it safe to assume that Nudie is better than APC in terms of indigo and denim quality.

I know both make quality selvage, but Nudie is made in Italy (I think, maybe I'm wrong), as opposed to APC which is made in Macua?

--- Original message by eastcoastrider27 on Aug 24, 2005 08:18 AM

No. Remember, you're paying for having the Nudies imported, you don't do that with APC's, the price is the same no matter where you are.

tally-hoo

[por que]

well put ringring. That pretty much sums it up

[ringring]

I forgot to add a couple of other factors that influence price:

Physical location of brand versus location of production. This may add costs for transportation (for example, Nudie may have to transport Japanese denim to Italy to be sewn into jeans, and then transport the jeans to Sweden and then distribute them worldwide).

As well as the actual transport costs, which can be quite low, there's the cost of import taxes, quotas etc.

Moving goods from country to country will mean that there will be currency differences too. eg A weak dollar will mean imported jeans will appear expensive.

[hifashion]

i wonder what manufacturers would do a quantity of less than 300

[ringring]

Quote:

i wonder what manufacturers would do a quantity of less than 300

--- Original message by hifashion on Aug 24, 2005 08:34 AM

Small ones.

Unless you're a big company like Uniqlo, where suppliers would be willing to make the occaisional small volume order because other high volume orders more than balance the books.

I'd imagine for most big jeans makers, 300 pieces wouldn't probably make it out of the sample room and onto the main production lines.

Either way, low quanties = expensive.

[UnhappySupremeCustomer]

Edited by UnhappySupremeCustomer on Aug 24, 2005 at 08:58 AM

[Geowu]

Quote: I know both make quality selvage, but Nudie is made in Italy (I think, maybe I'm wrong), as opposed to APC which is made in Macua?

Both Nudie and APC have their denim made in Japan. APC then finishes it in Macau, Tunisia, or Japan, depending on the retailing place. Nudie then finishes it in Italy (I guess), then moves it to Sweden, and then to a greedy North America distributor, which ends up costing much more.