Why markdowns matter
Markdowns are how inventory mistakes and season ends get paid for: taken early and shallow, they recover most of the value; taken late, the same units clear at desperation prices. The discipline is admitting the miss while the discount is still small.
How markdown discipline works
- Triggers: age and sell-through thresholds flagging candidates
- Ladders: staged cuts, each given time to work
- Season exits planned on the calendar, not improvised
- Learning: markdown causes fed back into buying
Questions
Markdown or promotion: which does the job?
Promotions spike demand and preserve the price; markdowns reprice reality. Using promos to hide a markdown problem just teaches customers to wait; using markdowns where a weekend promo would clear it gives away margin permanently.
Why do early markdowns beat deep ones?
Time is the asset: a small cut while the season and demand exist outsells a huge cut into a dead market. The first markdown is cheapest; every week of denial raises its price.