Festival season stock: plan from last year's sales
· 5 min read
The festival weeks are when a clothing shop's year is made — and when a wrong buy hurts most. Memory says what sold; your bills say exactly which designs, sizes and colours, and when. Here are six steps, roughly in the order to do them, starting well before the rush.
1. Look back at last season, piece by piece
Pull last year's item sales for the same weeks: which categories and price bands sold, which designs sold out early, which sat on the shelf.
Look at margins as well as quantities. A design that sells fast on a thin margin earns less than it seems.
2. Read the size curve
Within a style, sizes rarely sell evenly. If M and L sold twice as fast as S and XXL last season, buy size sets that follow that curve instead of one of each — fewer broken sets, fewer customers turned away.
3. Count what you already have
Before ordering, see what is in stock across your shops and godown, and how old it is. Last year's leftovers can be this year's first offer — or need clearing before the new pieces arrive.
4. Order early, and write it down
Place purchase orders with suppliers, and send work to karigars, early and with dates. When goods arrive, check them against the order, price them and print the tags the same day, so nothing waits in a bag at the back.
5. Plan offers you can afford
Decide your festival offers in advance and try them on a few sample bills: does the discount stay within your margin, and does it apply only where you meant it to?
6. Ready the counter and the team
Busy days need fast bills. Make sure every cashier can hold a bill while a customer tries something on, take a split payment and do an exchange without calling for help.
Write down what customers ask for that you do not have, with the size and colour. It is next season's buying list.
After the festival
Clear what did not sell while it is still in season. A planned clearance at a price you chose beats a forgotten shelf.