Buy wrong, and you're stuck with dead stock and negative cash flow.
Fashion is high-risk because inventory decisions are made 6 months before you know if they'll sell. You'll learn sell-through rate (what % of stock sells at full price?), GMROI (gross margin return on investment — is the space profitable?), and markdown strategy (how aggressively to discount slow sellers). You'll understand that unsold inventory is cash frozen in stock — it's not potential profit, it's current loss. You'll learn to forecast accurately, manage seasonal spikes, and optimize the inventory-to-sales ratio that keeps you cash-positive.
Sell-through rate tells you what percentage of stock you've sold in a given period. Essential for managing inventory and avoiding markdowns.
3 min read · Beginner
Part of this AskBiz Academy learning path.
AskBiz Academy
Inventory turnover measures how many times you sell through your stock in a year. High turnover means efficient capital use; low means dead stock.
3 min read · Intermediate
Gross margin tells you how much money is left after paying for what you sold. It's one of the most important numbers in any business.
4 min read · Beginner
Refund rate measures the percentage of orders that are returned or refunded. High rates destroy margin — here's how to track and reduce them.
3 min read · Beginner
AOV is the average amount customers spend per transaction. Increasing it is one of the highest-leverage moves in eCommerce.
3 min read · Beginner
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total sales and marketing spend needed to win one new customer. Pair it with lifetime value to assess whether your growth is commercially sustainable.
5 min read · Beginner
CLV is the total revenue you expect from a customer over their entire relationship with you. It changes everything about how you think about acquisition costs.
4 min read · Intermediate
Follow this learning path to master fashion & apparel: inventory is cash flow.
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