Hey guys, I'm new here and I'm looking for some Ecommerce/apparel business startup advice.
A family member of mine has a startup in another country that has done pretty well and has grown from a basic t shirt printing business to owning his own factory and operating full time with 26 employees. The factory now creates heavy duty tactical apparel, backpacks, jackets, gillie suits, hats, gloves, bulletproof vests (no ceramic inserts or Kevlar, just the vest), and other various accessories. The quality of the work and the products is superb and everything comes in several different colors- black, grey, camo, olive, and tan. The company has been growing steadily but operates out of a brick and mortar store and does limited advertisements. The products are offered online but there is no active online marketing.
With that said, I would like to bring the products to the US as I am the only one in the family that can speak English fluently. The problem is that many of the patterns we use could have a potential to violate trademarks which hasn't really been an issue outside of the US. Everything would have to be translated and rebranded for the US line of apparel and it seems that it would all have to be marketed and sold online.
I personally have 0 experience with apparel and e-commerce but I'm willing to learn. I've already started building a new website in English (Thanks Wix) and importing the products with translated watermarks, titles, descriptions, etc. It still seems like it could be just a huge waste of time if it doesn't catch any traction due to cultural indifferences or just a lack of knowledge within the industry. What works in one country may not work in another and apparel is highly selective of location. Could anyone give me some insight or advice on e-commerce or share some similar experiences?
A family member of mine has a startup in another country that has done pretty well and has grown from a basic t shirt printing business to owning his own factory and operating full time with 26 employees. The factory now creates heavy duty tactical apparel, backpacks, jackets, gillie suits, hats, gloves, bulletproof vests (no ceramic inserts or Kevlar, just the vest), and other various accessories. The quality of the work and the products is superb and everything comes in several different colors- black, grey, camo, olive, and tan. The company has been growing steadily but operates out of a brick and mortar store and does limited advertisements. The products are offered online but there is no active online marketing.
With that said, I would like to bring the products to the US as I am the only one in the family that can speak English fluently. The problem is that many of the patterns we use could have a potential to violate trademarks which hasn't really been an issue outside of the US. Everything would have to be translated and rebranded for the US line of apparel and it seems that it would all have to be marketed and sold online.
I personally have 0 experience with apparel and e-commerce but I'm willing to learn. I've already started building a new website in English (Thanks Wix) and importing the products with translated watermarks, titles, descriptions, etc. It still seems like it could be just a huge waste of time if it doesn't catch any traction due to cultural indifferences or just a lack of knowledge within the industry. What works in one country may not work in another and apparel is highly selective of location. Could anyone give me some insight or advice on e-commerce or share some similar experiences?