A low quote and a nice sample aren't enough when foreign exchange and a customs entry are on the line. Here are seven checkpoints that predict whether an overseas knit factory will actually work for a Nigerian brand.
Anyone can email a good photo and a low price. But as the Nigerian importer, you carry the foreign exchange, the lead time and the compliance risk — so choosing an OEM partner is about far more than the first sample. Run these seven checkpoints before you commit a bulk PO, and you'll filter out most of the trouble before it reaches the port.
Ask what machines actually run the floor and at what gauge. Flat-knit on Shima Seiki and Stoll, gauges from 3 to 14GG, WHOLEGARMENT capability — these decide what you can produce. Get specifics, not "we make everything."
Does the sample match your tech pack to the measurement, or just "look about right"? Sampling discipline at the start predicts bulk accuracy later. Insist on a proper round before any bulk commitment.
Nigeria works in English — so should your factory. A partner who reads your spec, grading and care label in English without a translation layer makes fewer costly mistakes. This is a real advantage, not a nicety.
Look for inspection at three points: incoming yarn (IQC), in-process on the line (IPQC) and outgoing finished goods (OQC). A factory that only checks at the end is shipping you its mistakes.
Can they document where the yarn comes from and show the certificates behind their claims? Traceable sourcing protects your brand and your buyers — vague answers here are a warning sign.
Can they break the quote into yarn, knitting, finishing and trims — or do they only offer one bundled DDP number that hides the unit price? You can't manage a cost you can't see.
Have they shipped to brands like yours and to your region before, or will you be the training run? Ask, and talk to a reference if you can.
Two things sit on the Nigerian side of the deal that a factory abroad won't handle for you. First, SON standards and labelling: regulated products need a SONCAP certificate and must meet SON requirements, so confirm early whether your specific knitwear lines are caught and what the label must show. Second — and this is the big one — confirm your landed duty with a licensed Nigerian customs agent before you order. Get the HS code, the ECOWAS CET rate, the levies and VAT pinned down on your real CIF Lagos value. Duty is the same whoever you buy from, but it's a large number, and you want it modelled before, not discovered after.
Walk carefully when a supplier can't name its machines, skips a proper sampling round, gets vague on yarn sourcing or certificates, hides the unit price behind a single bundled number, or has never shipped to a brand like yours. What good looks like is the opposite: a direct line to the people who run the machines, samples that hit your spec, traceable yarn, a clear cost breakdown, and honest answers about where they win and where China is the better call. You shouldn't have to take any of it on faith — ask for the documents and the floor.
Send your styles and your questions. You'll deal directly with a Gaziantep flat-knit factory — real machines, English-language specs, traceable yarns and a clear quote — and we'll tell you honestly which pieces suit us and which don't.