USA or Europe for fulfilling a small clothing brand first launch?
Hi everyone,
I’m preparing to launch a small e-commerce clothing brand and would appreciate advice from people who have experience selling apparel internationally.
My company is registered in the United States, but I currently live in France. Due to my visa situation, I’m unable to operate the business from France or ship orders directly from here.
For the initial launch, I’ll have a limited quantity of products available. The goal is to test the market before investing in larger inventory volumes. I expect that the products could appeal to customers in both the US and Europe, although I suspect Europe may be the stronger market. At this stage, I don’t have enough reliable data to know for sure.
For a small first launch like this, would it generally make more sense to:
• Store inventory and fulfill orders from the US
• Store inventory and fulfill orders from Europe
• Use another approach until demand is more established
I’m also trying to understand how factors such as shipping costs, delivery times, customs, VAT, returns, and inventory distribution should influence the decision.
Because I currently live in France, I would somewhat prefer working with a fulfillment partner in Europe so I could occasionally visit the facility if needed. However, I only want to do that if it makes practical and financial sense for the business.
For those who started with limited apparel inventory, what fulfillment setup did you use, and what would you do differently now? Are there particular fulfillment companies or types of providers that are willing to work with small startups and low initial order volumes?
I’m primarily looking for advice on the strategy and overall experience, not direct sales pitches.
Thanks in advance for any insight.