Retail Pricing, Margin and Markdown Articles
Retail pricing articles for fashion brands: price architecture, markup and margin, markdown strategy and pricing across markets. Each article gives the formulas and a worked example you can check in Excel.
Markup vs Margin in Fashion Retail: Formulas and a Worked Example
Markup is calculated on cost, margin on the selling price. Formulas, a conversion table, a margin calculator and the mistakes that cost retailers money.
Retail Pricing Strategy for Fashion Brands: Methods and Examples
Cost-plus, competitive, value-based, psychological and promotional pricing: how fashion brands choose a retail pricing strategy per category.
How to Build and Read a Retail Price Architecture Before the Season
Entry, core and top price points, good-better-best tiers and how to spot a gap in the price ladder before the buy is placed.
Markdown Strategy in Fashion Retail: When and How Deep to Discount
How to calculate a markdown, time it by sell-through and choose a discount depth that clears stock without giving away more margin than needed.
Free Retail Calculators for Margin, Sell-Through and Stock
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Retail Pricing Analysis and Price Architecture
Price architecture by category, good-better-best tiers, cross-market price alignment and markdown scenarios tested before the season.
Book a ConsultationRetail Pricing, Markup and Markdown FAQ
Markup is profit as a percentage of cost; margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. A jacket bought for 20 and sold for 50 has a 150% markup and a 60% margin. Mixing up the two is one of the most common pricing mistakes in retail.
Markdowns should start when sell-through falls behind the planned curve and the remaining weeks are not enough to clear the stock at full price. Many fashion brands review this weekly from mid-season, starting with small markdowns on slow options rather than a blanket sale.
Start with the price points customers already buy in each category, then define entry, core and top tiers with clear differences in product between them. Check each tier against sales mix, margin and competitor prices, and remove price points that are too close to each other.