The Inventory Holding Crisis

✓Fashion brands lose $150K+/year holding inventory 60-80 days

✓Benchmark: 50-70 days (apparel), 30-40 days (fast-fashion)

✓90-day DIO vs 60-day = $25K-$30K lost profit annually

✓Carrying costs: 20-30% of inventory value annually

✓Mumbai brand: Reduced DIO 85→62 days = $32K/year saved

You're Probably Paying $200,000+ Per Year Just to Store Unsold Clothes

Here's a question: How many days does your inventory sit in the warehouse before you sell it?

If you don't know the answer, you're already losing money.

For a Typical $3-5M Fashion Brand in India

Assume you have $500,000 worth of inventory at any given time (average mid-market fashion brand).

The cost to hold that inventory—warehouse space, electricity, labor, insurance, depreciation—is 20-30% annually.

That's $100,000-$150,000 per year

Just to have it sitting there

But Here's the Brutal Part

If your inventory is moving slowly (which it is for most brands), you're also tying up capital that could be reinvested. Every day a product sits unsold is a day you're not making back your investment.

For a brand with 8% net margins, a 90-day inventory holding period versus a 60-day holding period costs you $40,000-$60,000 in lost cash flow that year.

Combined?

You're leaving $140,000-$210,000 on the table every year because your inventory is moving too slowly.

And you probably have no idea it's happening. Because you're not tracking the right metric: Inventory Turnover Ratio (ITR) or Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO).

The Two Metrics You Should Be Tracking Daily (But Probably Aren't)

Inventory Turnover Ratio (ITR)

This tells you how many times per year you completely sell through your inventory and replace it.

Formula:

ITR = Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) / Average Inventory Value

Practical Example:

→ Your annual COGS: $1,200,000

→ Your average inventory (beginning + ending ÷ 2): $300,000

ITR = $1,200,000 ÷ $300,000 = 4x

That means you sold and replaced your entire inventory 4 times in a year.

It's not good enough. For fashion, 4x is below average. The benchmark is 4-6x for apparel. Luxury goods are 2-3x. Fast-fashion is 8-12x.

Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO)

This is more intuitive. It tells you: How many days does an average piece of inventory sit in your warehouse before it sells?

Formula:

DIO = (Average Inventory / COGS) × 365 Days

Same Example:

DIO = ($300,000 / $1,200,000) × 365 = 91 days

Interpretation: It takes 91 days for you to turn over your inventory. That means an average piece of clothing sits for 3 months before selling.

For apparel, the benchmark is 50-70 days. You're sitting at 91 days. You're 20-40 days slow.

What Does That 20-40 Day Gap Cost?

For a $3M brand (assuming $250K average inventory), every extra 10 days of holding costs $6,000-$8,000 in carrying costs.

So 20-40 extra days?

$120,000-$240,000

annually in excess inventory carrying costs

Why Fashion Brands Are Terrible at Inventory Turnover (And Why It Matters)

Fashion inventory is the enemy of fast turnover. Here's why.

1. Seasonal Demand (and You Forecast Wrong)

You buy for winter. Winter comes. You sell 60% of your winter stock. Spring hits. You're stuck with 40% unsold winter inventory. It doesn't sell because it's no longer seasonally relevant. Now it's deadstock.

This happens because 60% of fashion brands still use outdated forecasting methods. Spreadsheets. Guesses. "This color was hot last year, so I'll order 500 units this year." Wrong.

Result: Your inventory pile grows. DIO stretches from 60 days to 100+ days. Carrying costs explode.

2. Overstocking for "Safety"

You fear stockouts. So you order 20% more than you think you'll sell. This "safety stock" makes sense mathematically—it prevents losing customers. But 70% of that safety stock doesn't sell. It just sits.

Fashion organized retailers in India report 10-15% annual inventory obsolescence. That's 10-15% of every dollar you spend on inventory that will never be recouped. It just dies in the warehouse.

3. Slow-Moving SKUs That You Forgot About

You have a blue shirt. It sold okay in month 1. By month 4, you stopped marketing it. But 200 units are still sitting. They're not expired. They're not damaged. They're just... forgotten. No one's promoting them. Customers aren't looking for them.

→ 200 units × $20 cost per unit = $4,000 in dead capital sitting for months

Multiply that across 100 SKUs and you've got $400,000 in inventory that's moving at a crawl.

The Real Cost Breakdown: What Inventory Carrying Actually Costs

When inventory sits, you pay for four things:

Capital Cost (6-12% annually)

The money you paid to buy the inventory is locked up. If you borrowed it (working capital loan), you're paying interest. If it's your cash, you're not earning investment returns on it. Either way, it costs you.

Storage Cost (2-5% annually)

Warehouse rent, electricity, humidity control, climate control for fabrics, labor to manage it. For a $500K inventory in a 5,000 sq ft warehouse @ $3/sq ft/month, that's $15,000/month = $180,000/year alone.

Obsolescence & Depreciation (6-12% annually)

Products go out of style. Colors fade. Fabric gets damaged from humidity. The $50 shirt you paid $20 for is now worth $12 because no one wants it anymore.

Handling & Shrinkage (3-6% annually)

Labor to move it around. Theft. Counting errors. Damage from movement.

Total Carrying Cost

20-30% of inventory value annually

Component	Cost
Average Inventory Value	$400,000
Carrying Cost %	24%
Annual Carrying Cost	$96,000
Cost Per Day	$263
Cost Per Extra 30 Days Held	$7,890

So if your DIO is 90 days instead of 60 days, you're paying an extra $23,670 annually just to hold that extra 30 days of stock.

For a 3-5 year old brand, that $24K could be the difference between 8% and 12% net margin.

Three Signs You're Holding Stock Too Long

Sign #1: Your DIO Keeps Growing Quarter Over Quarter

Track your DIO monthly. Calculate it. Really simple:

DIO = (Avg Inventory / Monthly COGS) × 30 Days

If your DIO was 60 days in Q1 and 75 days in Q2, you're holding stock longer. That's not seasonal. That's a problem.

Root cause: Sales are slowing down while inventory is building up. Either demand dropped, or you're not selling what you bought.

Sign #2: You Have 100+ SKUs With Zero Sales in the Past 90 Days

Pull a report. How many SKUs haven't sold in 3 months?

If it's more than 5-10% of your active catalog, you've got inventory velocity problems. That stock is deadweight.

Sign #3: Your Carrying Cost Is Above 28%

Calculate it:

Carrying Cost % = (Total Annual Holding Costs / Avg Inventory Value) × 100

If it's hitting 28-30% or higher, your DIO is too high. You're holding too much for too long.

Average is 24%. Efficient brands? 18-20%.

How DIO Directly Impacts Your Profit Margin

Here's the connection most brands miss.

You're not making money when you buy inventory. You make money when you sell inventory. The faster you sell it, the sooner you convert it back to cash, and the sooner you can buy more profitable products or reinvest.

Brand A (60-day DIO)

→ Sells $100,000/month

→ Average inventory: $150,000

→ Carrying cost: 24% annually = $36,000/year

Net margin: 10% = $120,000/year

Brand B (90-day DIO)

→ Sells $100,000/month (same sales)

→ Average inventory: $225,000 (30 extra days held)

→ Carrying cost: 24% annually = $54,000/year

Net margin: 8.5% = $102,000/year

Brand B's Problem

Same revenue but making $18,000 less profit because they're holding inventory 30 days longer.

Worse? Brand B's cash flow is strangled. They need more working capital. If they go from 60-day to 90-day DIO, they need an extra $75,000 in cash reserves. That's borrowed capital costing 10-15% annually = $7,500-$11,250 in interest.

Real impact: 90-day DIO vs 60-day DIO costs Brand B $25,000-$30,000 in profit annually.

The Solution: Three Moves to Speed Up Your Inventory Turnover

Move #1: Identify & Liquidate Deadstock Strategically (Without Slashing Margins)

You have inventory that's moving at a crawl. Don't dump it at 50% off. That kills margin and trains customers to wait for discounts.

Instead:

→ Bundle slow-movers with bestsellers. Pair that blue shirt (slow) with your #1 denim (fast). Offer $5 discount instead of 20% off each.

→ Create seasonal value packs. "Festival Outfit Bundle" including a slow-moving lehenga with a fast-moving jewelry piece.

→ Tap secondary channels. Sell to discount platforms (Ajio, Flipkart's Clearance) that cater to value-conscious buyers.

→ Regional transfers. A product that underperforms in Mumbai might sell in Pune. Transfer it instead of discounting.

Cost to implement: Zero to $500 for logistics between warehouses

Impact: Clear 20-30% of deadstock without killing margin. Free up warehouse space. Reduce carrying costs by $5,000-$15,000.

Move #2: Implement Real-Time Inventory Alerts

Stop managing inventory by intuition. Use systems that alert you:

→ When a SKU hasn't sold in 30 days → Investigate why. Pause marketing? Bad photos? Wrong audience?

→ When slow-moving inventory aging bucket exceeds 10% of total stock → Trigger liquidation workflow automatically

→ When safety stock is accumulating → Flag for forecasting review

This takes 10 hours/week of manual tracking and makes it automatic.

Cost: $500-$2,000 for a system. Savings: $8,000-$15,000 in freed labor + better decision-making.

Move #3: Fix Your Demand Forecasting

This is the biggest lever. If you forecast demand accurately, you buy the right quantities. Inventory moves faster. DIO improves.

Current state: 60% of brands use spreadsheets

Average forecasting accuracy: 60-70%

Future state: Use AI models

Average accuracy: 85-90%

That 15-25 point improvement in accuracy = 15-30% reduction in excess inventory.

Cost: $300-$1,000/month for a tool (Increff, Unicommerce, Uniqore) or custom in-house model

Payback: $60,000-$120,000 annually in reduced carrying costs and markdown avoidance

Real Example: Mumbai Fashion Brand (After 90 Days of Optimization)

BEFORE

→ DIO: 85 days

→ Monthly COGS: $100,000

→ Average Inventory: $283,000

→ Carrying Cost: 26% = $73,580/year

→ Deadstock (>90 days): 12% = $34,000

AFTER (90 Days)

→ DIO: 62 days

→ Monthly COGS: $100,000 (same)

→ Average Inventory: $207,000 (23-day reduction)

→ Carrying Cost: 24% = $49,680/year

→ Deadstock: 3% (minimal)

Interventions:

→ Implemented real-time SKU aging alerts (identified $34K deadstock)

→ Liquidated deadstock through secondary channels + bundling (cleared 80% within 30 days, avg 15% discount instead of 40%)

→ Replaced spreadsheet forecasting with AI tool (improved accuracy from 65% to 87%)

Results:

→ Freed up: $76,000 in capital

→ Reduced carrying cost: $23,900/year

→ Reduced markdowns on deadstock: $8,500

Total Benefit: $32,400+ annually

Plus: Better cash flow. The $76,000 freed up could be redeployed to buy faster-turning products or fund growth initiatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's a "good" Days Inventory Outstanding?

It depends on your product and business model. Apparel retailers: 50-70 days. Fast-fashion: 30-40 days. Luxury: 150+ days. The benchmark for Indian fashion brands is 60-75 days. If you're above 85 days, you're holding too long.

My DIO is 45 days. Should I be excited?

Yes, but don't overoptimize. Low DIO can mean either efficiency or concerning stockouts. If your sell-out rate is 85%+ and you're not getting complaints about being out-of-stock, you're in good shape. If you're getting "out-of-stock" complaints, your DIO might be too low and you're leaving sales on the table.

Can I improve DIO without cutting inventory?

Yes. Better forecasting = you buy smarter (right quantities, right products), so inventory turns faster. Better demand-sensing = you reallocate stock between channels/geographies to where it sells faster. Faster marketing execution = you move slower-selling products through bundling or secondary channels. All of this improves DIO without cutting safety stock.

How often should I calculate DIO?

Monthly. This tells you if you're trending better or worse. Quarterly is too slow—you could be drifting for 3 months before noticing. Daily is overkill. Monthly gives you rhythm to respond.

My brand is seasonal (wedding wear). Should I still target 60-day DIO?

No. Seasonal brands naturally have higher DIO during off-season. Instead, track DIO during your peak season (when most inventory should turn) and your off-season separately. Peak-season DIO should be 50-65 days. Off-season can stretch to 100+ days if you're holding for next season.

Stop Holding Inventory Like You're a Warehouse. Start Moving It Like You're a Retailer.

You're probably sitting on $60,000-$150,000 in dead capital right now. Inventory that's moving slower than it should. Carrying costs that don't need to exist.

The question isn't whether you have a DIO problem. It's whether you're measuring DIO at all.

Most brands aren't. They see inventory on a balance sheet and think "That's our stock." They don't ask: "How fast is that stock moving? How much is it costing me to hold it? Could I be holding 15-20 days less?"

Recover $30,000-$90,000 in Annual Profit

Schedule your free 30-minute inventory audit with Braincuber. We'll calculate your current DIO and compare it to benchmarks, identify which SKUs are becoming deadstock (costing you capital), show you the exact dollar cost of your slow-moving inventory, and map a 90-day plan to improve DIO and recover $30,000-$90,000 in annual profit.

No guess work. Just real numbers from your data.

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