I had another meeting today with a manufacturer that supposedly specialized in men’s jackets and dress shirts. I bussed it down south to a town called Jiaxing about an hour south of Shanghai on a recommendation from a former colleague of mine that I check out the production lines of a factory of a personal friend of his. I hoped to utilize my friend’s guanxi (the Chinese term for personal relationship) so I happily agreed to the meeting.

So, I arrive at the factory and walk into a huge showroom filled with women’s garments and accessories: fur boas, leather tote bags, silk scarves and the like. "This is all nice stuff, but where is your suit production happening," I asked? Turned out that the factory my friend’s friend operates only makes women’s clothing. Not only that, but they couldn’t come close to providing the kind of custom production for individual orders that we’re looking to do and that I was told could be met. It was a complete waste of time and money! A tough day for DressMonkey no doubt.