How a German Fishing Brand Scaled From 200 to 5,000 Units With DERY's OEM Program

How a German Fishing Brand Scaled From 200 to 5,000 Units With DERY's OEM Program
Client: John
Industry: Fishing Apparel Brand - E-Commerce & RetailProduct Ordered: Custom Long Sleeve UV Fishing Shirts + Sun Protection fishing shirts with mask Order Volume: 200 pcs (Trial) - 1,500 pcs (Season 1) - 5,000 pcs (Season 2)Target Market: Germany, Austria, Switzerland

A Brand Without a Factory
John has launched a consumer-oriented fishing apparel brand and entered the German market John has experience in e-commerce and the leisurefishing industry, but has no experience in clothing manufacturing.'We started by sourcing blank shirts from a European wholesaler and printing our ogo localy." John explains. "That worked for about six monthsThen we hit a wall. The blank suppler changed thei fabric wthout notice. Our customers noticed the quality drop before we did. Meanwhile, oulocal printer couldn't scalewe were paying 9 per shirt in decoration costs alone. Our margins were shrinking every month.'By early 2025, NordAngler faced decision: keep bleeding margin on third party blanks, or find a factory partner for direct OEM production. Theystarted searching for fishing shirt manufacturers online.

We contacted eleven factories across China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh." John recals. "Six never replied. Three sent generic catalogs with prices inbroken English and zero wilingness to discuss custom requirements. One sent samples that looked fne in potos but fet ike sandpaperin person.'The eleventh factory was DERY.
'What stood out immediately was that Junkay asked questions before sending a price list He wanted to know our fabric preferences, our target pricpoint our retail positioning, whether we needed private label packaging. That diagnostic approach was completely different from the other tenfactories."
Within a week, DERY sent three fabric swatches matched to Johns requirements lightweight (140GSM), UPF 50t certified, quick dry. "The swatchesarrived with lab test certificates attached. We didn't have to ask for proof - it came standard.

Starting Small: The 200-Piece Trial
NordAngler placed a cautious fist order: 200 pleces across two stylesthe long sleeve UV fishing shirt and the sun protection fishing shirt with mask. Twocolorways each. Custom woven neck labels wth the NordAngler logo. No other decorationthe brand wanted to test fabric and fit before Investingin full sublimation.

Scaling Up: From Trial to Container Loads
John's Season 2 order, placed four months after the trial, jumped to 1,500 pieces — still modest, but enough to qualify for bulk pricing. They added full sublimation this time: their proprietary "Baltic Camo" pattern, developed in collaboration with DERY's in-house design team.
"Designing a sublimation pattern with a factory 8,000 kilometers away sounds like it should be a nightmare of miscommunication," John says. "It wasn't. DERY sent digital mockups within three days. We marked up changes on a PDF, they revised overnight, we approved the third version. The pre-production sample arrived looking exactly like the mockup."
By Season 3,  was ordering 5,000 pieces, including the newly launched women's line. DERY now warehouses John's branded stock and ships partial containers on demand — a service that eliminated the brand's need for a German 3PL.

What DERY Does Differently
When asked what keeps with John after three seasons, John identified four factors.
1. The fabric is tested, not claimed. Every batch ships with independent UPF 50+ lab reports. For a German brand selling to customers who read technical specs before buying, this documentation is a competitive advantage — not just a compliance checkbox.
2. The design team actually designs. "We sent DERY a photo of a Baltic Sea shoreline at sunrise and said, 'We want a camo that feels like this.' Three days later we had a pattern proof. It was exactly right. We didn't have to explain it twice."
3. Communication is single-threaded. One account manager, one WhatsApp thread, one email chain. John never got passed between departments or had to re-explain their requirements to a new person.
4. Scaling doesn't mean quality dips. The 5,000th shirt in their latest order feels the same as the first shirt in their trial order. "Consistency at scale — that's the hardest thing in apparel manufacturing. DERY has it."

NordAngler's Advice for Fishing Brands Considering OEM
Asked what they'd tell another fishing brand owner evaluating DERY, Lena offered this:
"Order the fabric swatch book first. It costs nothing and tells you more than ten emails. If the fabrics match what you're looking for, place a trial order of 100-200 pieces. Don't wait until you 'feel ready' to do OEM — the sooner you start, the sooner you stop paying middleman margins on someone else's blanks. We wasted two years buying wholesale blanks. That's two years of margin we'll never get back."

Start Your OEM Journey With DERY
DERY has been manufacturing sun-protective fishing apparel for 26 years. We work with brands of all sizes — from first-season startups ordering 100 pieces to established distributors ordering 5,000 pieces per season.
What you get:
• UPF 50+ tested fabrics with independent lab certification
• In-house design team for custom patterns and branding
• Single point of contact from inquiry to delivery
• MOQ starting at 100 pieces per design

Contact Junkay Lee
📧 junkaylee@derysport.com
📱 +86 13902424682 (WhatsApp)
🌐 www.derysport.com
Or submit the inquiry form on this page — tell us your quantity, style preferences, and target market. We'll respond with fabric options and a quote within 12 business hours.