Retail planning glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms behind retail and apparel planning — each cross-linked to a calculator or guide.
Open-to-Buy (OTB) →
Open-to-buy (OTB) is the amount of inventory, in retail dollars, a buyer can still receive in a period without exceeding the plan. It is calculated as planned end-of-month stock + planned sales + planned markdowns − beginning stock − merchandise on order.
Sell-Through Rate →
Sell-through rate is the share of received units that have sold over a period — units sold ÷ units received × 100. It signals how fast a style is selling and whether it needs a reorder or a markdown.
Gross Margin Return on Inventory (GMROI) →
GMROI (gross margin return on inventory) is the gross-margin dollars earned per dollar of average inventory at cost — gross margin ($) ÷ average inventory at cost. A result above 1.0× means margin exceeds the inventory investment.
Weekly Sales, Stock & Intake (WSSI) →
A WSSI (Weekly Sales, Stock & Intake) is a weekly retail plan that tracks the flow of stock through a season. Its core identity is closing stock = opening stock + intake − sales, with each week’s closing becoming the next week’s opening.
Intake →
Intake is the inventory flowing into stock in a period — the receipts and deliveries that arrive and become sellable. It is the third line of the WSSI, alongside sales and stock: closing stock = opening stock + intake − sales.
Time & Action Calendar (T&A) →
A time & action (T&A) calendar maps every apparel production milestone backward from the in-store date, with an owner and a lead time on each step and a buffer at the end — so a slip surfaces the moment a milestone moves.
Work in Progress (WIP) →
In apparel, work-in-progress (WIP) is the set of orders currently in production — between the placed PO and the received delivery. Tracking WIP by style and milestone shows where each order sits and whether it is on track for the in-store date.
Markdown →
A markdown is a permanent reduction in an item’s retail price to clear inventory. Markdown % — markdown dollars as a share of sales — is a core margin metric: every point of markdown is a point of gross margin given up.
Forward Cover →
Forward cover is closing stock expressed as the number of weeks of planned forward sales it will fund — stock divided by the sales forecast for the coming weeks, not the trailing rate. Six weeks of forward cover means stock runs out in six weeks if the forecast holds and nothing else lands.
Inventory Turnover (Turns) →
Inventory turnover (turns) is how many times inventory sells through and is replaced in a year — cost of goods sold ÷ average inventory at cost. Higher turns mean the same capital generates more sales.
Size Curve →
A size curve is the percentage distribution of a buy across sizes for a style — what share of units go to each size, whether an S–XL apparel run or a full footwear size run. Buying and replenishing to the right curve is what keeps core sizes in stock through the season.
Sell-In →
Sell-in is the volume a brand books into its wholesale accounts for a season — the orders written at market, before any consumer buys. It is distinct from sell-through, which measures how that product then sells to the end consumer.
Linesheet →
A linesheet is the sales document that presents a season’s assortment to wholesale buyers — each style with its image, colorways, sizing, wholesale and retail price, minimums, and delivery window. It is the core selling tool of a wholesale season.
Available to Sell (ATS) →
Available to sell (ATS) is the inventory a brand can still commit to orders — on-hand and incoming stock, net of what is already allocated or sold. Accurate ATS is what lets a wholesale or DTC team promise a delivery without overselling.
Tech Pack →
A tech pack is the specification document a brand hands a factory to make a style — construction details, measurements (the spec/graded measurements), bill of materials, trims, labels, and tolerances. It is the source of truth for what gets produced.
Landed Cost →
Landed cost is the total cost of getting a unit into your warehouse — first cost (ex-factory) plus freight, duties, insurance, and handling. It is the true cost basis for margin, not the quoted first cost alone.
On-Time Delivery (OTD) →
On-time delivery (OTD) is the share of orders that arrive by their committed date. In apparel it is measured to the floor-set or in-store date — and to wholesale accounts, to the cancel date on the order.
Gross Margin →
Gross margin is the profit left after the cost of goods — net sales minus COGS, usually shown as a percentage of sales. It is the headline profitability number a merchandising plan is built to protect.
Initial Markup (IMU) →
Initial markup (IMU) is the difference between the first ticketed retail price and the cost of goods, as a percentage of retail. It is the margin you start the season with — before any markdowns, allowances, or shrink erode it.
Maintained Markup (MMU) →
Maintained markup (MMU) is the margin actually realized after markdowns, allowances, and shrink — the gap between net sales and cost of goods, as a percentage of net sales. It is what survives of the initial markup once the season has played out.
Replenishment →
Replenishment is the automatic reordering of continuity (core, never-out) products to a target stock level as they sell — distinct from the seasonal buy of fashion styles. It keeps basics in stock against steady demand using a model stock or min/max.
Allocation →
Allocation is the decision of how to split a buy across locations or channels — which stores, sizes, and quantities receive each style. Good allocation puts the right depth where demand is, to the size curve, rather than spreading evenly.
Line Board →
A line board (or visual line plan) is the visual layout of a season’s styles — arranged by category, delivery, and price — that lets a design and merchandising team see the whole range at once and balance it before it is finalized.
Color Story →
A color story is the planned palette for a season or delivery — the coordinated set of colors styles are offered in, designed so the range merchandises together and a customer can build outfits across it.
Lab Dip →
A lab dip is a small fabric swatch the mill dyes to a target color for the brand to approve before bulk dyeing. Approving lab dips on time is a common critical-path milestone — a late approval delays the whole production timeline.
Bill of Materials (BOM) →
A bill of materials (BOM) is the full list of components that go into a style — fabrics, trims, labels, and packaging, with quantities and suppliers. It is the basis for costing a garment and for instructing the factory what to use.
Comparable Sales (Comps) →
Comparable (comp) sales — also called like-for-like sales — are the sales from doors and channels that were trading in both of the periods being compared, so growth reflects the performance of the existing business rather than the addition of new locations.
Beginning of Period / End of Period (BOP/EOP) →
Beginning-of-period (BOP) and end-of-period (EOP) inventory are the stock positions that open and close each period of a merchandise plan, linked by the identity EOP = BOP + intake − sales − markdowns. Each period’s EOP is the next period’s BOP, which chains every period in the season to the ones before it.
Reforecast →
A reforecast is the in-season re-projection of a season’s remaining periods from actuals to date: closed periods are restated with actual sales, markdowns and receipts, the balance of the season is re-forecast by category, closing stock targets are rebuilt from the revised sales, and required receipts and open-to-buy are re-derived from the inventory identity.
Stock-to-Sales Ratio →
The stock-to-sales ratio is beginning-of-period inventory divided by the sales planned or achieved in that period, both at retail value. A ratio of 2.0 means the period opens with twice the stock it is expected to sell; planners apply the ratio to a phased sales plan to set each period’s opening-stock target.