Christmas and End of Year Peak Trading Plan 2026
v1.0
Purpose. The operating plan for the November and December peak, covering forecast demand, stock, staffing, production, deliveries and safety for the busiest eight weeks of the year.
1.Forecast
Sales in the eight weeks to 24 December 2026 are forecast at 2.3 times the average trading week, driven by corporate Christmas orders, end of year events, weddings and gift sales. Peak production days are Friday 4 December, Friday 11 December, Friday 18 December and Wednesday 23 December. Stock volumes will reach 18,000 stems a week.
2.Product range
The Christmas range must be finalised by 2 October 2026 and photographed for the online store by 16 October. The range comprises wreaths, table centrepieces, native Christmas bunches, gift bouquets in three price points and a corporate gift box. Stock for wreath bases and props must be ordered by 9 October.
3.Staffing
Sixteen casual designers, drivers and shop assistants will be recruited by 30 October and inducted in the week beginning 2 November. Every casual must complete the safety induction, tool safety training and the stock freshness briefing before their first shift. Rosters for December will be published by 20 November.
4.Production
The Cremorne workroom moves to two production shifts from 30 November: six in the morning to two in the afternoon and two in the afternoon to ten at night. Corporate orders will be produced the day before delivery. Wreath production will start 16 November using the events team benches.
5.Deliveries
Two additional vans will be hired from 30 November to 24 December and courier capacity booked for the peak Fridays. Delivery cut-off for same day orders moves to eleven in the morning. Every run must be entered in the Delivery Run Sheet and drivers must take the required breaks regardless of volume.
6.Safety and fatigue
No worker will be rostered more than ten hours in a shift or six days in a row. A toolbox talk on fatigue, cuts and manual handling will be held at each site in the week beginning 23 November. Extra anti-fatigue mats and cut-resistant gloves will be issued. Incident reports will be reviewed daily by the General Manager during peak.
7.Review
A peak review meeting will be held on 15 January 2027 using sales, wastage, delivery performance, incident and customer feedback data from the systems.