
After the holiday season ends, many shop owners breathe a sigh of relief, but for retail buyers like John Frechette — owner of gift stores MADE and Mountain Dandy in Jackson Hole, Wyoming — it’s time to get busy restocking empty shelves and to prepare for the Valentine’s Day rush and beyond. Because retail stores need to be stocked weeks, if not months, ahead of holidays and new seasons, and since wholesale orders have longer lead times, retail buyers tend to shop on a very different calendar than other shoppers.
Over the past five years, John has built a loyal customer base, comprised of Jackson Hole locals and visitors who love Made for its constantly-changing selection of fun, functional and handmade gifts. In May of 2014, John expanded to a second store, Mountain Dandy, with a focus on high-quality, handmade home and lifestyle items for men. “You’d be surprised by how many grooming products men buy,” he says. From the early days of his business, John has used Etsy to find unique products to fill his shelves. “If you go to trade shows, you’re getting one particular perspective of what’s ‘on trend’ and what’s out there,” he says. “But I like to curate my own.”
Running two successful stores and an outpost in a nearby hotel, John has developed a purchasing schedule to help keep his stores fully stocked and keep shoppers happy. “I love when our customers come in and say, ‘You always have new things!’ says John. "So I’m always busy looking for items I think they’ll love, ahead of different points in the year.”
Read on to learn more about the buying calendar for retail businesses and how you can prepare for those key buying periods.

Key Buying Periods in a Retailer’s Calendar Year
January: At the beginning of the year, many retail buyers start preparing for Valentine’s day (if they haven’t already) by stocking their shelves with items likely to perform well with Valentine’s shoppers. “On New Year’s Day, I’m placing orders for the jewelry and cards I want in by February 1,” says John.
Early Spring: John’s next biggest purchasing period is from mid-March to early April, when he looks for gifts for “moms, dads and grads.” He tries to group purchases for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduation season together, since he typically buys in small quantities for each of these holidays. “This helps me meet some order minimums I might not otherwise be able to,” John explains.
Late Spring: By the beginning of May, many independent retail buyers like John get busy ordering products for the summer. They focus their search on seasonal goods that celebrate the outdoors, beautiful weather, and, in some cases, the tourism that comes with the warmer months. An outdoorsy destination like Jackson Hole attracts tourists nearly year round, so John tends to restock periodically throughout the summer months for warm-weather items.
Late Summer/Fall: As with nearly all retail businesses, the months leading up to Christmas are the busiest time for independent boutiques. Wholesale buying for these products may start as early as August, with the bulk of orders placed in September and early October.
Late Fall: Some retailers continue placing holiday orders through the fall months. For example, John places his holiday orders in two stages. “Once I see what sells well from that first round of orders ahead of the holidays, I’ll place re-orders in early November,” he explains. Since winter is a big season for tourism in Jackson Hole, John needs to make sure his shelves are full right after Christmas, too.
How to Be Prepared to Catch a Retailer’s Eye
Keep tabs on the retail calendar. Since retail buyers need to ensure they have inventory available weeks or months ahead of certain holidays and seasons, mark these key periods on your calendar and make sure you’re ready at these times. Julie Ann of Julie Ann Art, a Los Angeles-based designer of greeting cards and stationery, is a favorite of John and many other retailers. With a line of products that centers around gift-giving and holidays, Julie knows she need to be ready with for a rush of wholesale orders a couple months before each of these holidays. “In these busy periods, the Weekly Calendar app is my best friend,” Julie explains.

Offer cohesive seasonal collections early. When a retail buying period is near, be prepared with a robust assortment of holiday and seasonal wholesale goods earlier than you would in your regular Etsy shop. Julie recommends releasing a cohesive set of several products at once. “This way, you can create more hype and be strategic in your marketing plan,” she explains. As with your Etsy shop, using keywords and titles that correspond to holidays and events during the year are a helpful way to get found by wholesale buyers.
Make your lead times clear. Remember that, at certain points in the year, retail buyers may be particularly sensitive to lead times. John, for example, tends to continue making purchases for summer throughout the summer season, with an eye on what sells and what doesn’t. “It’s helpful to know when a seller can ship immediately or within a shorter time frame,” he says. Be sure to have your production times clearly listed in your Policies and even in your item descriptions.
Appeal to last-minute buyers. If you have products that are ready to ship — sometimes referred to as “immediates” in the world of wholesale — be sure to include that information prominently so wholesale buyers can find it. While retailers try to stay organized, like everyone else, they may sometimes find themselves behind.
Stay in touch and follow up after a busy period for your retail buyers. Once a retail buyer has placed an order with you, it’s a good idea to follow up and thank the buyer for choosing your line for that holiday or season, and to inquire about how well those items sold. If the retailer ran out of your items, this will help remind the buyer to reorder, or it may be a reminder to give feedback about what might not have worked as well for this store. This is also a good opportunity to let your stockists know about any new items or designs and why you think these items would be a great fit for an upcoming season or holiday.
Be proactive. If a retailer has ordered from you before, and you think they may want to purchase again, it can be helpful to reach out in advance, before the time they will likely place purchase orders. A big fan of Julie’s products, John says he appreciates hearing from her as he’s gearing up for his Christmas orders. It shows her desire to keep up great communication, and serves as a practical reminder to John that it’s time to place an order.
Do you have experience selling wholesale? Share your tips for planning around the retail calendar in the comments below.
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