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

Digital Marketing Redux // April 16, 2026 How Portland Leather Goods did $1M in sales in 20 days on TikTok Shop thanks to an affiliate blitz By Melissa Daniels Portland Leather Goods Portland Leather Goods went from selling just $1,200 worth of product a day on TikTok Shop to over $100,000, thanks to a small army of creators who blitzed the platform, gushing about their favorite bags.

The leather purse and accessories company, founded in 2015, quietly joined TikTok Shop in February in hopes of courting a new audience. MacCoy Merkley, chief marketing officer at Portland Leather Goods, said the company knew it needed to put some energy behind the channel, and wound up rolling out a seven-day “blitz” of affiliate marketing in late March.

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&#82