Ordering Jackets & Outerwear for Christmas
By The Velocity Wear Team
For jackets in hand before Christmas, place the order in October. The build runs 10 to 15 working days from artwork approval, transit is added on top, and approval itself usually takes a week of back and forth. October gives you all three with room to spare. November orders are possible but leave nothing for a reprint, a customs delay or a change of mind.
What is the last safe order date for December?
Take the date the jackets must be with you, not the date of the party or the shop launch, and give yourself a week between the two. From there, subtract the transit estimate for your destination, then 15 working days for production, then five working days for artwork and proofing. On a mid-December deadline that arithmetic lands in the second week of October for most buyers, and earlier for anyone shipping to the USA. Sampling first pushes it earlier again, which is why October rather than November is the honest answer.
Why does October matter more than November?
Because December is not a normal month for freight. Carriers are at their busiest, warehouses are full, and every public holiday takes a working day out of a fifteen working day window. A build that would take three calendar weeks in June can take four across late November and December once the holidays are counted. None of that is unusual and none of it is avoidable, so the only sensible response is to leave the slack at the front. The mechanics of the production window are set out in how long bulk jackets take to make.
What should you order for a Christmas run?
Something people will still wear in February. A padded jacket or a fleece-backed softshell earns its place all winter, where a light coach jacket given out in December sits in a cupboard until spring. If the jackets are a staff gift, embroidery at the chest reads as considered and lasts for years. If they are merchandise, a bolder printed graphic sells better, and you will want the sizes weighted to the middle of the curve so the run clears. The styles are listed on the wholesale jackets range, covering softshell, puffer, coach and varsity.
What if you are already late?
Cut the variables rather than the quantity. One design, one colourway, one decoration, artwork already vector, approval from one named person the same day it arrives. That removes most of the delay that buyers create for themselves, because the production window is fairly fixed and the flexible part sits at the front. Skip sampling only if you have bought the style before, since a rushed sample that arrives after the bulk has to ship helps nobody. The samples page explains the £150 fee and the credit against a bulk order.
How does quantity affect a Christmas order?
Not the schedule, but very much the price. A run of 50 and a run of 400 build in the same window, while the larger one sits several bands further down the discount ladder, reaching up to 35% off the 50-piece figure at the top tier. If you know you will want a second batch in January, ordering it all in October is cheaper and safer than repeating the exercise in the worst month of the year for delivery.
