A Christmas basket that sells before 15 December comes down to three rules: six products, one colour, one ribbon. No more. The basket itself is the seventh product, and the most expensive to fill. Our best customers order their boxes before 15 October and start filling on 1 November. Start in December and you buy what is left.
Work out the packaging first. A 32 cm cardboard basket Market costs EUR 3.25. Three sheets of tissue cost EUR 0.14. A metre of 15 mm ribbon costs EUR 0.10. Total: EUR 3.48 per basket. On a EUR 49 basket that is 7.1 per cent of the price. On EUR 65 it is 5.4 per cent. Below 7 per cent the margin stays healthy.
The rule of six
- Two anchors: a bottle and a box of chocolates. They set the price and the story.
- Two volume products: a bag of biscuits or a jar of jam. They fill without adding cost.
- Two small attentions: a small packet of tea, a card. They make the difference on opening.
- One colour: choose the collection and stay with it. Red Market for the window, gold Night for the corporate gift.
- One ribbon: the same width on every basket. 15 mm for the small ones, 40 mm for the large ones. Two widths on one shelf is one too many.
The three prices
Work with three baskets, not ten. A small one from EUR 25 to 35, a medium from EUR 45 to 55, a large from EUR 65 to 85. Each basket gets its own anchor and its own ribbon width. The small one: a bottle at EUR 9 to 12, a 12-praline box, a bag of biscuits. Packaging EUR 3.48. Retail EUR 29. The medium one: two bottles, a 20-praline box, a jar of jam. Packaging EUR 3.74. Retail EUR 49. The large one: the bamboo basket, two bottles, a board, a praline box. Packaging EUR 5.54. Retail EUR 75.
The calendar that works
- 15 September: you choose the collection and the colour. Last year's stock tells you what sold.
- 15 October: you order boxes and ribbons. At The Depot an order placed before 14:00 leaves the same day and arrives within 48 hours.
- 1 November: you build the first twenty baskets. No more, or half of them block the aisle.
- 15 November: your window is full. The first Saturday of the month is the best day of the month.
- 15 December: you stop building. What is left goes into the end-of-year promotion.
- 20 December before 14:00: the last order you can still receive before Christmas. It reaches you on 22 December.
The mistake everyone makes
The basket is too full. Six products in a 32 cm basket is enough. Stand the most expensive product upright, not flat. Let the tissue rise above the rim: a sheet costs EUR 0.04 and it fills the basket. And write the contents on a card. A basket without a list sells worse than a basket with six lines. The customer reads what they buy, and you justify your price.
Order your first baskets in October. This year's collection is ready and the sleeve stock is 1,240 pieces. Wait until December and you choose from what is left.