How to plan the festive season if you sell leather goods

Leather goods sit in two useful places. They are gifts for family and colleagues, and they are things people buy before a trip. That gives you more than one reason to plan ahead. This is a working-backwards checklist, without guessing at dates, since festival dates move every year. Look at the calendar for the year you are in and count back from there.

Pick your anchor dates

Open a calendar and mark the gifting festivals and travel windows that matter to your customers. For each, write the last day you want the parcel to reach them. Then subtract your own production or sourcing time, your packing time, and a buffer for delivery. That final date is your "stock ready" deadline. Do this once, on paper, and everything else follows. The post on festive season selling for small brands gives a general calendar method.

Eight to six weeks before

• Decide which pieces you will push and which you will hold back. Wallets, card holders, belts and small bags are easier gifts than large statement bags.
• Order raw leather, hardware and packaging early. Suppliers get slower when everyone is buying.
• Test any new colour on a small batch before committing to a large one.

Six to four weeks before

• Finish the production run for your hero items and check each piece in daylight.
• Shoot or reshoot photos using a steady set of angles as in photographing leather goods.
• Prepare a gifting-friendly option, such as a dust bag or a small box with a note card. Decide whether you will charge for it or include it.
• Write or refresh descriptions with exact size, material and care notes.

Four to two weeks before

• Upload new products and variants. If your store offers variants, set one for each colour or size so customers choose cleanly. See product variants.
• Count your stock and fix the numbers in your admin, so you do not oversell.
• Plan any offer. A small coupon or a bundle, such as a wallet plus belt, often works better than a deep discount that eats your margin. Work out the maths first.
• Pack a few trial parcels and check how they hold up, using packing leather goods safely.

The last two weeks

• Announce clearly the last date to order for delivery before each occasion. State it on the store and in your posts, without stretching it. Late delivery in the gifting season is a bigger problem than a lost sale.
• Pack in batches. Prepare packaging and notes ahead so each order takes minutes.
• Keep your support replies fast. Gift buyers often write to ask whether a parcel will arrive on time. Share the tracking link as soon as it exists.

After the season

Write down what sold, what did not, and what questions came in. Note which colours ran out first and which stayed on the shelf. Thank repeat buyers personally, because someone who gave your wallet as a gift may come back for themselves.

Finally, remember that rushed work shows on leather. A missed stitch or a scuffed corner is far worse in a gift. Allow time for checking, and be willing to stop taking orders once you reach what you can pack with care.