China's National Day holiday (Golden Week) ended last week, and our first shipment since then left for Europe by air: 48 cases, 40 frames per case, 1,920 frames in total - a mixed batch of acetate sunglasses.
This is not a container order. It is a mixed replenishment order of the kind buyers place when shelves need refilling ahead of Black Friday, Christmas and New Year. Air freight costs more than ocean freight, but it buys four to six weeks of shelf time - time that is hard to recover once November starts.
Most shipments going out over the coming weeks will fall into two categories. The first is end-of-year promotional stock: Black Friday, Christmas gifting, New Year travel. The second is early orders for the post-Spring-Festival season, which buyers who plan ahead start placing at this time of year.
For European brands and optical buyers, the deciding factor now is the calendar. Air shipments leaving in October are for November–December sales. Anything going by sea now arrives at the earliest around mid-November - still workable for Christmas, but tight for Black Friday promotions. Spring-season orders have the most room: place them in Q4, production finishes before the Chinese New Year factory shutdown, and goods ship out in late February to March without the holiday rush.
We handle both mixed replenishment batches like this one and full-container programs - a small first drop to test a seasonal style, reorders that follow what sells, and larger seasonal programs. Our production planning is built around how your customers actually buy. If your Q4 promotion or spring campaign still needs a factory slot, send us your target ship window and we will tell you honestly whether it fits.
Leeyewear - eyewear manufacturer China, private label eyewear, OEM/ODM for brands and optical buyers.
