We have a simple rule when it comes to production partners:
We want to be their biggest customer.
It sounds a bit odd. But it’s something we’ve learned the hard way.
When we started out 12 years ago, we produced in Ukraine at a Danish-owned factory. They were good, we trusted them, and they trusted us.
But we were a small customer. And when we didn’t deliver the volumes we had promised, they kicked us out.
Fair enough.
After that, we ended up in a much smaller place in Poland. And this still sounds a bit crazy today, but it was basically a bridal sewing shop run by a couple.
They had the right equipment, plotted our patterns, cut everything by hand, and sewed it piece by piece.
And it worked.
For the first time, we experienced what it means to work closely with a supplier who actually adapts to what you’re trying to build.
That’s where it clicked for me:
You don’t want to be a small customer at a big supplier.
Not when you’re doing something non-standard like we are. You want to work with people who are willing to change their processes with you. Who care. Who are flexible.
As we grew, that setup became harder to scale. It was difficult to find enough skilled people, and the ecosystem just wasn’t there. So we started looking elsewhere and ended up in Northern Portugal.
There, everything felt different.
A strong ecosystem around jersey. Small, family-owned suppliers. Deep expertise. And people who were open to working closely with us.
We applied the same principle again: we wanted to be the biggest customer. In one case, we were even the only customer.
And that worked really well.
But even then, we couldn’t fully build the kind of production setup we had in mind. Especially when it came to how we wanted to run things operationally.
So three years ago, we decided to build our own.
Today, SON Supply produces around 55–60% of our volume. And it’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of. Not because we own it. But because it reflects how we think about production. Keep it close. Keep it flexible. Work with people who care. And when possible, be the biggest customer in the room.
— Jess
