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about cost of bra production
So I recently bought a 32F - La Isla » High Impact Underwire Level 4 (A200). It's an exact copy of the Panache Sport Sports Bra (5021). (As a note, I would normally never support a ripoff, but I just don't have the money and I needed a sports bra. I understand as well other people in that position. and I certainly have given Panache a lot of monetary support, lol). Everything seems the same, just the logo says "La Isla" in place of Panache. I've seen articles lately about the ins and outs of the costs of lingerie production and gained an understanding for why lingerie costs a lot. So my question is--what allows an exact copy to be reproduced at about 1/3 of the price? I haven't seen a Panache Sport irl, so is the fabric different? Normally my first guess would be "produced in a foreign factory," but Panache already manufactures in China, etc. Can it be assumed their laborers are paid less? Is there another factor I'm missing? and can Panache sue? Is their design legally protected?
Filed under Bras ups and downs
5 comments
As far a pricing goes, it does not reflect the costs of making a product or the quality of the product necessarily. A product's price contains a lot of other costs as well (marketing, CEO's salary ;-), but more than anything pricing is all about strategy.
That is, at the bottom of the market, the prices will be closer to the production costs as there is not much margin for profit. People buying these products just want to pay the absolute least amount of money possible for the product.
More high end brands will be able to put a higher price on their products, as their brand adds additional value. The people buying these brands are willing to pay a bit more for marginally better quality products.
Factories often produce the same stuff for different brands that use a different pricing strategy. I don't know if this is the case here, but the main difference between the Panache bras and your La Isla bra may just be strategy.
ps: on your question about the legal side of this, 2 things can be considered illegal as far as I know:
1: a true knock off that looks like the real deal (brand logo and all) but isn't brand issued. This isn't the case with your bra, because it clearly has a different brand name.
2: an exact copy that is issued under another brand's name. This is a more tricky situation, especially in fashion, because what constitutes an exact copy? The general rule (I think) is that at least 5 things need to be different for a design not to be considered an exact copy.
This is what brands like Zara and H&M do all the time: they look at the new designs coming out from high end brands, they quickly copy them and make some little changes in the design (obviously they use cheaper fabrics, change a seam here, remove a detail there, add a zipper there, change the shape of a collar slightly, done!). This is not illegal, but it's a bit of a grey area obviously.
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