You’ve probably noticed by now: over the last few months, some of our best-selling essentials in certain sizes and colours have been MIA. As a young, rapidly growing company trying our best to avoid overproduction, we've faced some logistical hiccups this year – but for a good reason. Curious why some of your favourite pieces were out of stock? Find it out in this article. And the good news upfront: we’re working really hard to restock them, and most of them are already back!
The Last Six Months
A wild ride – that's how we would describe the last six months at SANVT. It’s been a mix of surprise, excitement, as well as a few "how do we handle this?" moments. We're delighted by the rapid development of our activity, yet at the same time, the last six months have presented us with some major challenges. The rapid growth we have experienced this year has far exceeded our expectations. It has brought a ton of new experiences and lessons to learn along the way.
Awarded Best T-Shirt by Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine
You might’ve caught this in our newsletter, but our iconic white T-shirt (the very first product that put SANVT on the map) was crowned best t-shirt by Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine this spring. Yup, the Perfect T-Shirt scored a perfect 10/10, taking the top spot out of 21 shirts tested for both men and women. That was a such a pleasant surprise, and an acknowledgement of the quality we put in our craft at SANVT. The demand spike though, well, that hit us like a freight train! Let’s put it this way: our year’s gone better than we could have ever dreamt – seriously, not even in our wildest “what if” scenarios. But with great success comes great... logistical struggles! Suddenly, we were facing pressing new challenges on both the production and distribution fronts.
You can read more about the success story and rise of our perfect t-shirt here.
Demand: Sky-High, Stock: Not So Much
You know how they say supply should follow demand? But when the demand takes off at light speed, it’s not easy to keep up. To be fully transparent: SANVT's sudden success meant that many of our bestselling essentials were temporarily sold out. On the one hand, this is a dream for any young brand. On the other hand, it’s a logistical nightmare. As we are still a small team with limited resources and capacity, the surge in demand was uniquely challenging.
The reason behind this is that our collection consists of around 1500 (!) different items due to the many size variations and colour options. And although we always endeavour to keep all our items available all year round, it has been almost impossible in recent months. The combination of increased demand and the variety of our items has made it unfeasible for us to always have all sizes in all colours in stock this year. The remaining stock of our Perfect T-shirt in white, for example, was completely sold out within just 24 hours of the SZ report! As a result, our stock levels hit rock bottom in the summer of this year. Compared to our highest stock level at the beginning of 2024, we only had just over half of the Perfect T-shirts in stock in August, i.e. 55%. We are now slowly recovering to 67% compared to January this year.
Low point in summer. Slow recovery of stocks.
Back in Stock
The good news? Post-summer production has us restocking shelves like mad. Over 80% of our essentials are now back in stock. Our top-sellers – like the Perfect T-Shirt and our whole sweatshirt collection – are now available in almost all sizes, thanks to better stock management. And don’t worry, despite the challenges, we’re still delivering the high-quality, sustainable products you know and love.
Want more numbers? No problem. Let’s take the Perfect T-Shirt as an example: back in August, only 40% of the sizes and colours were available. This means that over half of our stock was no longer available in the summer and was therefore “Out of Stock” (OOS). Now? Our stock is currently back at over 84%.
Even Better News: Our stock is now better distributed, with 81% of our collection (sizes and colours) back in action.
Handmade essentials require care and time
Insights from our Boxershorts factory in Guimarães, Portugal. Modern Craftsmanship meets Innovation.
Since SANVT was founded 6 years ago, our aim has been to offer our customers high-quality clothing at affordable prices. We produce our collection in collaboration with small, family-run factories and ateliers within the EU. All partners share our understanding of great quality, high labor standards and fair wages. One of our biggest quality features of our clothing (besides the high-quality materials) is the production of our essentials. Our entire collection is made by hand by experienced artisans. An activity that requires time and care. In the event of a sudden increase in demand, the required workforce in the factories must be taken into account accordingly. We are very proud of our long-standing relationships with our factories. Short lines of communication have enabled us to replenish our stocks faster than expected.
Want to get to know our factories? Learn more about them here.
A Huge Thanks
Last but not least, a massive thank you for your patience and understanding during this phase of growth. And even more importantly, thank you for your loyalty and support – because, honestly, without you, SANVT wouldn’t be where we are today. Our goal remains the same: to bring you premium products and excellent service at an affordable, just price. We are honoured and humbled by the recognition SANVT received this year. It's a testament to the efforts we've made over the past few years to bring you real, tangible, and sustainable quality. We will continue to do our very best, and learn together, to bring you the best sustainable essentials.
Cheers from Munich,
Benjamin
Co-founder of SANVT