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.
Planning margin off first cost instead of landed cost systematically overstates profitability — freight, duty, and handling can move a unit’s cost by double digits. Target margins should be set against landed cost from the development stage.
The gap between first cost and landed cost is widest in container-based categories — home, furniture, and outdoor gear — and on any long-lead import, where freight and duty are a large share of unit cost. Landed cost feeds gross margin, IMU, and GMROI; an error here compounds through the whole plan.
RetailNorthstar puts these metrics where planning decisions happen — connected to one plan, live against actuals.
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