RESCUING A LUXURY KNITWEAR LAUNCH FROM QUALITY COLLAPSE

Client: Élan Couture, a European luxury fashion brand.

The Challenge: Élan Couture was launching its signature cashmere sweater line with a new, cost-effective supplier. The initial pre-shipment sample was perfect, but when the first mass-production batch of 5,000 units arrived, it was a disaster. Over 40% of the sweaters had inconsistent knitting, misaligned seams, and pilling on low-quality cashmere blend. The brand faced a total loss of €250,000 and a missed crucial holiday season launch.

Hawood's Solution: Hawood was brought in for emergency damage control and to salvage the relationship.

Forensic Supplier Audit: We conducted an unannounced audit of the factory, discovering they were subcontracting the knitting to an unverified, smaller facility with inferior machinery.

Root Cause Analysis & Corrective Action: We identified the root causes: poor raw material blending, uncalibrated knitting machines, and untrained staff on the finishing line.

Salvage Operation & Revised SOP: We worked with the factory to implement a new, rigorous Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), including raw material inspection and in-process quality checks at four critical production stages. We then sorted the existing inventory, saving 2,000 sellable units and negotiating a credit for the rest.

The Result:

€150,000 salvaged from what was a total loss.

A new, Hawood-vetted supplier was sourced for the next season, with quality baked into the contract.

Élan Couture's holiday launch was saved for the following year with a product that matched its luxury positioning.

Client Testimonial: "Hawood didn't just inspect; they diagnosed and cured a fatal flaw in our supply chain. They turned our biggest fear into a managed recovery." - Head of Production, Élan Couture