Even at its outset, F21 Red drew concerns about the human cost of its even-cheaper merchandise. "Think about the steps that go into a garment," Allan Ellinger, co-founder and senior managing partner at MMG Advisors, told BuzzFeed News in 2014. There's the sourcing and preparation of the materials, the dyeing and manufacturing of the fabrics, the actual putting-together of the garment, and, finally, the shipment from factory to store floor, he noted. "Think of all the steps that have gone into that garment just to get it to the selling floor...there are people making a profit on every single add-on. Then you bring it to the store and the store's going to make a profit? I'm not quite sure how this works."