How Portland Leather Goods did $1M in sales in 20 days on TikTok Shop thanks to an affiliate blitz

The blitz incentivized around 500 creators with cash rewards for those who got the best results. They generated nearly 13 million views across 3,800 videos, which propelled the brand to see its first $100,000 day on the platform. It crossed the $1 million mark in total sales 20 days after starting the blitz.

“On TikTok, people can get on there, and they don’t necessarily need a script. They don’t necessarily need a high production value. We have people in their living rooms holding up bags they’ve had for years and talking about why they love their bags,” Merkley said. “That’s the magic we’re after.”

For Portland Leather Goods, joining TikTok Shop is a way to expand its customer base to a new audience. The company has surpassed $500 million in total revenue over the last seven years and has crossed the $100 million in annual revenue mark for at least two consecutive years. Last year, it expanded its footprint from three to 15 stores and is now at 17 locations. It has also begun selling more products on Amazon.

But its early TikTok Shop successes also indicate how the platform is serving as a growth engine for more established companies. Sales from big-name brands — those with at least $30 million in annual revenue — increased 97% year-over-year on TikTok Shop, the company told Modern Retail earlier this year. 

One reason larger brands like Portland Leather Goods are going in on the platform is the growing opportunity to turn existing fans and creators into affiliates; the number of creators earning commissions through TikTok Shop rose 146% year over year, according to the company.

Succeeding on the platform does require some strategy — like nurturing affiliate relationships and figuring out inventory needs. And the next challenge will be figuring out how to turn those buyers into loyal customers, Merkley said.

But Merkley said the biggest strength of the platform so far is the way TikTok has made it relatively easy for creators to sign up to become affiliates. They can manage their relationships in a central hub that allows them to see sales and figure out earnings. TikTok also offers the Affiliate Content Hub to help creators learn more about techniques and strategies for selling on the platform.

“TikTok did it better than anyone else, making like affiliates a native function of their platform,” he said.

Flooding the algorithm with content

After getting around 500 affiliates signed up, Portland Leather started the blitz to get as many creators posting as many videos as possible. While many already had the product, Merkley said the company would gift affiliates after they signed up and were approved to work with the brand. Then, to encourage posting, it gave $1,000 each to the first 20 people who posted 10 videos that got at least 100 views. It also had a contest for creators who got the highest GMV from their videos, with prizes from $2,000-$10,000 for first, second and third place.

Beyond awards, the company is also nurturing its best affiliate relationships in WhatsApp groups or even one-to-one conversations, Merkley said. It not only promotes the incentives it’s running to keep the brand top of mind, but it’s also asking for feedback and what they can do to “keep them happy,” he said.

“TikTok is about people who genuinely love your brand, and you want to find and recruit those people and then keep them close,” he said. “They’re your biggest advocates. And so, when they give you feedback about what they like or don’t like, take that very seriously.”

Delaney Del Mundo, svp of account strategy for TikTok and Amazon at PLTFRM, said leaning on affiliates is one of the strongest strategies a brand can have when launching on TikTok. Affiliates are driving 75-85% of sales for some brands on TikTok Shop, she said.

But the strategy requires putting out meaningful incentives, whether cash or cash back, to spend at the brand. She said she’s even seen brands offer down payments on homes and Teslas. “Those brands that are established, they have more to give in terms of these incentives. They’re saying, ‘OK, we’re gonna get very creative with our incentives,'” she said.

Del Mundo also recommends aligning it with good deals for the customer, whether that’s a company sale or a co-funded promotion run in partnership with TikTok Shop, where the platform helps cover the discount. Brands can also be featured on TikTok Shop’s “Super Brand Days” service, which helps boost traffic and views alongside promotions.

“Aligning those with your promotional calendar so that the creators have additional incentive that they can lean into for the customer is best, as well,” she said.

Navigating operational challenges

Beyond the marketing strategy, the operational challenges of TikTok can come on quickly. Del Mundo said items that may not pop off on other channels may suddenly become viral in under 48 hours if a video goes viral. She said it can be helpful for brands to think of TikTok and TikTok Shop as a discovery channel, versus something that’s a pure play sales platform.

“Demand becomes even more unpredictable, because TikTok Shop’s biggest benefit is that it drives a halo of impacts to other channels like Amazon and DTC,” Del Mundo said.

Portland Leather Goods saw the Sloan doctor bag, one of its 2025 releases, become one of its top three sellers after one particularly viral video. Before that, it hadn’t even been in the top 10 of its products, Merkley said.

“If somebody grabs a product and it pops off in a positive way, that can be a challenge to keep meeting that demand,” he said. “You might ask questions like, ‘Is this gonna go on forever, or was this one flash in the pan?’ ‘How quickly can I backfill inventory to keep the creator happy and earning commissions?’ That’s where we’ve seen the majority of our logistical challenges pop up.”

Long-term customer growth

As far as what success looks like, Portland Leather Goods CEO Curtis Matsko said on LinkedIn he’d like to see the brand hit $28 million in sales from TikTok Shop alone in 2026. But beyond initial sales, Merkley said the company aims to turn TikTok Shop buyers into long-term customers.

Merkley said the overall goal with TikTok Shop is to gain new customers who will feed into the rest of its community. It has a Facebook group, Portland Leather Insiders, of over 200,000 members, as well as a strong resale ecosystem across informal groups and a Treet-powered resale marketplace. Mega fans are known for hosting meet-ups, arranging trades and lining up for new store openings.

To help encourage future buying after a TikTok Shop purchase, the brand is offering to give retroactive loyalty points to people who buy on TikTok Shop first and then sign up for the free rewards program.

“The real name of the game is selling people great products and then having them come back over and over and over again without paying the Meta advertising tax or the TikTok tax,” Merkley said. “Every platform is gonna have some sort of cut of your revenue, and you want to minimize that as much as you can in your long-term relationships.”