February 5, 2026 · 6 min read
How to Evaluate a Leather Manufacturer Before You Wire the Deposit
Seven questions that separate serious export manufacturers from trading companies — and the answers you should expect to hear.
Factory or trading company?
The first question is the most important: does the company you're talking to actually own the production floor? Trading companies add margin and remove control. Ask for factory photos and videos with your product on the table, ask who signs the workers' payslips, and ask to video-call from the stitching floor. A real manufacturer says yes in minutes.
The seven questions
One: what leather grade, specifically, and can it be written into the PO? Two: whose zippers and hardware — YKK or unbranded? Three: what are the inline QC gates and what AQL level applies at final inspection? Four: what is the realistic lead time from approved sample, and what happens to the schedule if a hide lot fails inspection? Five: what MOQ applies per colour, not just per style? Six: what export documentation and Incoterms do they routinely handle? Seven: which markets do they already ship to?
A manufacturer that answers all seven without hesitation — with numbers, not adjectives — is a manufacturer that has done this before. These are exactly the questions we enjoy being asked.
Run a paid sample order
Before committing to a container, run a small paid sample or pilot order. It tests the entire pipeline — communication, sampling accuracy, packaging, documentation and logistics — at minimal risk. We structure pilot orders precisely so that new buyers can audit us in the only way that matters: with product in hand.