Men's, Women's, Kids': Planning a Winter Glove Assortment

The hardest part of a winter glove order isn't choosing styles — it's the split. Order too many kids' pairs for an office-district store and you'll donate them in April. Here's a practical way to think about it.

Read your traffic, not the catalog

Start from who walks in. A store near schools and residential streets sells kids' gloves weekly; a downtown location may sell almost none. Transit-adjacent stores skew adult replacement purchases. If you're genuinely unsure, a starting split of roughly half men's/unisex, a third women's, and the remainder kids' fits many mixed-traffic stores — then let the first reorder correct it.

Where each segment differs

• Men's/unisex: black, black, and black. Function-first; one-size stretch knit moves fastest. Go deepest here.

• Women's: colour and softness matter — fleece and lined styles with a couple of non-black options. Slightly higher price tolerance.

• Kids': bright colours, smaller price points, and parents buy multiples because kids lose gloves constantly. Magic-stretch styles remove sizing pain.

The lost-glove economy

Remember that gloves are the most frequently re-bought winter item — losses drive purchases all season. That favours stocking dependable basics deep over stocking many styles shallow: the replacement buyer wants "the same thing again, cheap and now."

Reorder inside the season

Whatever split you choose, the first three weeks of real cold will grade it. With Toronto stock a correction arrives in days, so treat the opening order as a hypothesis, not a commitment for the whole winter.

Frequently asked questions

How should I split a glove order between men's, women's, and kids'?

Read your traffic first. For mixed-traffic stores, roughly half men's/unisex, a third women's, and the remainder kids' is a workable start — then let the first in-season reorder correct the split.

Why do gloves get re-bought more than other winter items?

Losses. Gloves are the most frequently lost winter accessory, which drives replacement purchases all season — and favours deep stock of dependable basics over many shallow styles. Reorder proven styles by Item Code from the catalog.