Global partners in private label production for fashion and retail; from concept CAD to carrier bag, in five decades and counting.
The Promise
Concept → DeliveryWe partner with brands to bring ideas to life through a full private-label service; from concept and design development through to sourcing, sampling, production and delivery. A three-act process built around your brand's handwriting, price point and customer.
Design.
In-house concept, mood, CAD, tech-pack and pattern; built by a 25-strong design team across menswear, womenswear and kidswear.
Source.
Fabric, trim and finishing sourced through six core production hubs and a trusted global supply network; with full traceability.
Deliver.
Production, QA and door-to-door global logistics, served by five strategic distribution hubs across the UK, EU, North America and the GCC.
Design, sourcing & delivery.
Beyond our own portfolio, we provide design, manufacturing and supply-chain capability to some of the world's most recognised retailers and emerging brands.
Three acts.
Design.
In-house concept, mood, CAD, tech-pack and pattern; built by a 25-strong design team across menswear, womenswear and kidswear. Trend research, range architecture, fit and approval.
Source.
Fabric, trim and finishing sourced through six core production hubs (UK, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China) and a trusted global supply network; with full traceability.
Deliver.
Production, QA and door-to-door global logistics, served by five strategic distribution centres across the UK, EU, North America and the GCC. In-stock dispatch in 3–5 working days.
Beyond production.
Your product sampled, shot and delivered to launch — in one engagement, with one supplier. Our in-house photography studio and content team work in parallel with the production floor, so your assets land the moment your product does.
Photography studio.
A dedicated in-house studio with infinity cove, professional lighting and a trusted casting network. Flat-lay, on-model, on-figure and video — shot as your samples arrive, not weeks after bulk ships.
Content as a service.
Ongoing content programmes for retailers who need volume output. Web-ready assets, lookbooks, social-first video and platform-optimised formats for the channels you sell on — Amazon, Shopify, TikTok, meta properties and more.
One supplier from brief to bulk to launch imagery. Fewer handoffs, faster go-to-market.
Client testimonials.
Most of our private label and manufacturing partnerships are run under strict confidentiality; the buyer wants the product, not the supply chain story.
The two programmes shared in detail below have been agreed for public presentation with our partners. The remainder remain in confidence and are introduced on a named basis through commercial conversations.
French Connection.
British fashion house, 50+ markets. A key strategic partner since 2015: multi-category private label, twelve-week lead time.
My Protein.
Performance apparel manufacturing partnership: 70+ markets, multi-year, dedicated capacity.
In confidence.
Department-store private label, contemporary e-tailer own brands, premium streetwear manufacturing, sports performance, lounge & sleep, hospitality merchandise.
Most of our partner programmes are run in confidence. The two named above have been agreed for public presentation. The remainder are introduced on a named basis through commercial conversation.
French Connection.
French Connection is a British fashion house founded in 1972, operating across retail, wholesale and e-commerce in 50+ markets.
French Connection came to us in early 2015 with a brief to source their core programmes at target margin without compromising the brand's design integrity or quality. We have grown this partnership into becoming a key strategic partner to the brand, supporting growth into other categories and confidently delivering season after season.
"Whispering Smith has been a key strategic partner in helping us scale and grow FC globally."
My Protein.
MyProtein is one of the world's largest online sports nutrition brands, operating in 70+ markets from its Manchester headquarters.
Apparel was the natural next step for a performance-led brand, but it sat outside the team's core expertise. We now design, manufacture and deliver MyProtein's activewear programme at global e-commerce scale, giving them category expansion without the operational build.
"Whispering Smith are the only manufacturing partner who has matched our pace as we've scaled. Speed without quality drift is rare."
In confidence.
Ten Further ProgrammesThe following programmes are introduced on a named basis only, under NDA, in commercial conversation. They span department-store private label, contemporary e-commerce own brands, sports performance, lounge & sleep, and F&B branded merchandise.
Womenswear private label across five categories. Three-year programme. Repeating.
Own-brand capsule programme; twelve-week-cycle drops. Active in pilot.
Manufacturing partnership for heavyweight knit. Dedicated capacity model.
Cycling and recovery technical kit. Multi-year programme. Expanding.
Branded merchandise programme for limited-run hospitality apparel and accessories.
Private label sleepwear and loungewear; year-round programme.
Why programmes stay.
Operational BenchmarksProgrammes don't end here by accident.
The average Whispering Smith partner relationship runs at 4.2 years. Three of our current programmes have run continuously for over seven years; our longest has run for eleven. We have not lost a partner programme in three years.
This isn't because we're irreplaceable. It's because we operate against published service standards that buyers actively track. Below are the operational metrics we publish to every partner monthly.
On-time-in-full delivery on programme orders, trailing 12 months.
Pre-shipment AQL standard across all programme runs.
Standard brief-to-bulk lead time for new programmes.
Customer returns rate attributable to manufacturing defect.
Discuss a programme.
A short, NDA-bound first conversation is how every Whispering Smith programme starts. Tell us what you are building. We will respond within two working days with a named programme lead.
A global footprint
Six hubs · 5 distribution centresCategory expertise
Nine product categoriesTrusted partners
Fashion & RetailTrusted by some of the most recognised names in fashion retail to design, source and deliver across all levels of the market.
We are trusted partners in uniform and branded merchandise across food & beverage, wellness, retail and hospitality; bringing the same private-label rigour to non-fashion sectors.
Beverage
Wellness
Hospitality
The distribution network
730,000 sq ft combinedFive strategic distribution centres, anchored by our 500,000 sq ft Manchester warehouse; sized to serve local markets with global speed.
Family led. Globally trusted.
Since 1967, we have been committed to transparent, ethical supply chains built on rigorous compliance standards and regular independent audits. We work in line with the ETI Base Code, upholding high standards of worker welfare, responsible practice and supply-chain transparency across our trusted partners.
Ethical trade audited, member, and verified supply chain.
Business Social Compliance Initiative member.
Global Organic Textile Standard certified production.
Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code aligned.
Let's build your next collection.
A short brief is all we need to start. Our private label team will respond within two business days.
Start A Private Label Project →