De Minimis Has Ended: How Should Australian Brands Plan US Stock?

A selected local range is different from moving the whole catalogue

Cart.com’s 4 November 2026 announcement says OTAA began using its Longview, Texas facility in February and is expanding that operation. It describes the US as roughly half the brand’s business and says about 1,750 bestselling styles from an approximately 10,000-design catalogue are stocked there.

The announcement links the decision to changed cross-border economics after duty-free de minimis treatment ended. CBP guidance dates the broad suspension to 29 August 2025, so this is not a newly announced November 2026 policy change. Exact current duties still depend on the goods and entry basis; a local warehouse does not make imports duty-free.

Choose the US range from demand, not catalogue size

A large catalogue can contain many styles with limited local demand. Holding all of them in market can replace an expensive delivery model with an expensive stock position. Start with products, sizes and service expectations that justify local depth, then identify which lines can remain under a different supply approach.

Core supports range, budget and MFP/WSSI planning. Keep the US demand assumption and planned stock position distinct from the home market. A global bestseller may have a different US rate of sale, occasion mix or size requirement; catalogue presence alone does not establish the local buy.

Compare the intake requirement with the service-cost assumption

An independent accessories brand holds twenty units locally, expects eighty units of demand and wants twenty closing units. It needs eighty incoming units: eighty sales plus twenty closing less twenty opening. At $20 product cost and $4 inbound cost each, that intake represents $1,920 on the stated landed basis.

The brand also tests $12 direct fulfilment versus $6 local fulfilment per single-item order. Across eighty orders, the variable-cost difference is $480. That comparison excludes storage, returns, setup and other costs. It is not a net saving, a customs calculation or OTAA’s operating data.

Let Core carry the market-specific commitment

Put the local sales, intake and closing target on the same periods. The receipt must become usable before the supported demand requires it. An annual US sales total cannot tell the buyer whether stock arrives before a peak or after it has passed.

Compare a selected local range with the wider business plan rather than adding the US buy to an unchanged global total. Record the cost basis, exchange assumptions where relevant and which existing commitments already support that demand. A new fulfilment location should not create an accidental second buy for the same expected sale.

Use Beacon to make supplier timing visible

Beacon provides a shared purchase-order and supplier-response context, including line quantities and expected dates. For a local market plan, confirm the intended destination and agreed supply information so the retailer and supplier are discussing the same receipt.

A supplier acknowledgement, dispatch notice and usable warehouse receipt describe different stages. An expected arrival is not stock available to sell. The Core plan should retain the current commitment while any quantity, cost or date change is discussed; Beacon does not determine customs classification or guarantee a border outcome.

Evaluate the operating model beyond the per-order cost

The local model can improve a service-cost comparison while increasing the stock held away from the home business. Review the required depth, expected stock turn, local returns, handling constraints and the opportunity to replenish only proven lines. A low variable fulfilment cost is insufficient if too much of the range remains unsold.

Keep the example’s eighty-unit intake visible while challenging its demand assumption. A different sales rate changes cover and the next requirement. The useful review considers the cost and stock effect together, rather than declaring an entire market successful from the first locally fulfilled orders.

Build a controlled expansion of the local range

After the first trading period, identify which products earned further depth and which should stay limited. Compare the US results with the accepted forecast, the usable stock dates and the cost basis chosen for the original decision.

The next order should follow that evidence. Core supports the commercial requirement and Beacon keeps the supplier commitment legible, while the operational and customs specialists establish the actual execution conditions. The result is a market-specific stock decision with defined assumptions, not a universal recommendation to move every product overseas.

Common questions