Carry-Over or Cut? Deciding Which Styles Earn Another Season

A familiar style can hide a weaker commercial role

A cardigan that always appears in the range can return automatically because the team knows the sample and supplier. Familiarity reduces discussion, but it does not establish that the last season’s selling was healthy or that another full order is required.

A carry-over review should ask two questions separately: does the style still serve the customer, and how much suitable supply is already owned? Atlas supports the trading comparison; Core connects the retained role with the next buying assumption. A good style can deserve a smaller new order.

Compare full-price selling on the same basis

The worked example gives two cardigans 200 received units each. Both sell 160 during the same eight-week period across ten stores, so each has 80% unit sell-through and two sales per store per week. Both finish with forty units, with no other stock movements assumed.

The navy cardigan sells 140 at full price and twenty at markdown. Rust sells eighty at full price and eighty at markdown. Full-price sell-through against received units is therefore 70% and 40%. This differs from full-price share of sold units, which would use 160 as the denominator.

Read the margin behind the identical unit result

Assume both cost $35 and sell at $80 full price or $60 markdown. Navy revenue is $12,400 and cost of sold goods $5,600, leaving $6,800 product gross profit. Rust revenue is $11,200 against the same sold cost, leaving $5,600.

Equal total sell-through therefore masks a $1,200 gross-profit difference under these assumptions. It does not prove that rust should be removed: exposure, launch timing and customer need may differ. Use the same period and availability basis before carrying that judgement into another season.

Let existing stock reduce the next quantity

Suppose the next navy selling requirement is 180 units and all forty held units remain suitable for the next season. The new buying requirement is 140 units, costing $4,900 at $35. Repeating the old 200-unit buy would commit $7,000 before using the stock already owned.

The $2,100 difference is a smaller proposed goods commitment, not a refund on previous purchases or a guaranteed cash saving. Confirm condition, size mix, product changes and the timing of the held units. Carry-over stock with unsuitable sizes cannot be treated as forty interchangeable units.

Keep continuity and seasonal trials distinct

Navy’s stronger full-price history supports a question about continuity, not an unlimited repeat. Rust may need a narrower role, a different colour proposition or a controlled trial. The example leaves its next commitment open rather than disguising a removal as a completed action.

Core supports ongoing styles and range quantities alongside MFP/WSSI. Set the intended role and selling window before assigning a repeat quantity. Atlas helps compare the previous outcome, but the next season still needs a forward demand assumption that reflects what is changing.

Check the reason for weak selling before cutting

A line may underperform because it arrived late, missed key sizes or received less store exposure. Removing it on total sales alone can confuse an execution issue with a weak product proposition. Conversely, repeated markdown dependence should not be excused simply because every unit eventually sells.

Compare sales, stock, price and margin together using Atlas’s merchandise scope. Then retain the evidence behind the Core range decision. The worked example isolates price quality with equal received quantities and time; a real review should make the important differences explicit rather than force a false comparison.

Approve the role and the net new buy

For navy, the proposal is to retain the style for an assumed 180-unit requirement, use forty suitable held units and consider 140 new units. The next order remains subject to the intended size mix, arrival date and approval. Rust’s next role requires a separate evidence-based decision.

Merchmix connects the hindsight and forward plan so the team can distinguish product retention from buying by habit. A style earns another season when its customer role and commercial evidence support it; the new quantity earns approval only after existing supply has been counted.

Common questions