Leather is a natural product which comes from the processed hide of an animal, or in some cases, a reptile or fish. Unprocessed hide would quickly break down. Processing serves to preserve the integrity, softness, flexibility, and ultimately the durability, style and quality of the leather.

Leather can be made from almost any hide but not all hides are suitable for use in binders. Succes primarily uses cowskin or calfskin, though occasionally binders may be made from sheep or goat. Pig and horse leathers are usually too coarse for fine leather goods and many exotic leathers, such as crocodile and snake are not permitted to be imported to the Netherlands. Fortunately, these lovely textures can be imitated during the after-tanning process.

Succes takes great care in selecting its leathers from the world renowned tanneries of Tuscany, Italy. It uses only the hides of animals raised in Europe as these animals have been properly fed and have suffered little injury from such sources as insects and thorns. The section of hide used also determines the quality of the finished product so only those sections offering durability and high quality are used by Succes.