Lead Times Clothing Brands Should Plan For
By The Velocity Wear Team
Production takes 10-15 working days from the moment artwork is approved, with delivery on top. A brand should therefore work backwards from the launch date: a week for transit, three calendar weeks for the build, a week for approval, and two more if a sample is involved. Six to eight weeks from decision to stock in hand is a realistic plan; four is a rush.
How long from approved artwork to stock in hand?
Fifteen working days is three clear calendar weeks, and it is the number to plan against rather than the ten at the bottom of the range. Transit is separate: delivery runs to the UK, USA and Europe, and the leg matters. A brand shipping into a different market from where it sells should add the customs and onward delivery time on top of the courier's own estimate.
Private label work sits inside that window rather than after it, but it has to be specified before the build starts. Woven neck labels, tear-out labels and swing tags are produced alongside the garments, so a brand that decides on labels in week two of production has changed the order rather than added to it. The clothing brands page sets out the options, and the wholesale range shows what can share a booking.
Where does a drop date usually slip?
Before production, almost every time. Artwork arrives in the wrong format, a colour is still being argued over, or the founder keeps adjusting the graphic by small amounts. None of that is factory time, and none of it is visible in a lead time quote, which is why a drop that was supposed to take three weeks takes seven.
The second slip is running designs in series instead of parallel. If a drop has a tee, a hoodie and a cap, approving them on three different dates means three build cycles that finish on three different dates. Approve them together and they move together. Building that discipline into a calendar is the subject of building a launch calendar that does not slip.
How much buffer should a brand hold before launch?
Two weeks between the expected arrival and the announced launch date. That covers a courier delay, a customs hold, a quality check that finds something, or simply the photography and listing work that always takes longer than planned. Brands that announce a date the week stock is due are the ones posting apologies.
Use the buffer productively rather than sitting on it. Shoot the product, write the listings and set up the emails while the order is in production, so the arrival of boxes is the last step rather than the first. Cross-border timing and duties are covered in shipping custom apparel to the UK and USA.
What does a workable drop calendar look like?
Eight weeks out, finalise the designs and request a sample. Six weeks out, review the sample and approve artwork; production starts and the 10-15 working day clock begins. Three weeks out, stock ships. Two weeks out, stock lands and the photography is already done. Launch week, you are selling rather than chasing.
Repeat drops compress that considerably, because the artwork exists, the sample has been approved and the label work is already made. A brand on its third run of a proven design is largely waiting on production and transit, which is the main practical argument for reordering a winner rather than constantly launching new pieces.
Announce the date only once stock is in the building. A launch moved forward is a marketing decision; a launch moved backwards is an apology to everyone who set a reminder. Holding the announcement until the boxes have been counted costs nothing and removes the single most avoidable way a first drop damages its own credibility. If a date has to be shared before then, share the month rather than the day and firm it up once the courier has handed over.
