Sourcing & Buying
Restock Rhythm: Buy Small, Reorder Fast
How to set a reorder cadence that keeps best sellers in stock without carrying dead inventory at the end of the season.
Most small retailers do not lose money on the first order. They lose it on the second one — either by buying too much of a style that already peaked, or by having nothing left of the one that kept selling. The fix is a reorder rhythm, not a bigger opening order.
Set a review day, not a reorder feeling
Pick one day a week and review sell-through by style. The question is simple: which styles sold more than half of their stock since the last review? Those are the reorder candidates. Everything else waits. A fixed day stops the two common errors — reordering on impulse after one good weekend, and missing a style that quietly sold out.
Reorder in two-piece steps
A 2-piece minimum is not only for testing. It is also the right size for a replenishment order: enough to cover demand for another few weeks, small enough that a mistake does not become inventory. Repeating the same style twice in a season is usually better than buying double at the start, because the second order happens with real data behind it.
Know which styles are repeatable
A print-led dress is usually a one-season style. A solid satin slip, a bodycon maxi or a wide-leg denim is repeatable, because the customer is buying the shape rather than the print. Put the repeatable styles on a standing reorder cycle and treat print styles as one-time buys. That split alone removes most end-of-season markdown risk.
Keep the enquiry list current
Reorders move faster when the supplier already knows your sizes and colors. Send the size range and preferred colors with the first order, and keep the same reference numbers in every follow-up. When a style sells out, the reorder should be a single message, not a new negotiation.
The cheapest inventory is the stock you did not buy. The second cheapest is the reorder that arrives while the style is still selling.
If you want to set up a repeat order for any style in this range, send the style name and the sizes you carry. Two pieces is enough to start.
