Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was wondering, is there any particular reason the off-price stores overstock in smaller sizes in men's clothes? I often see full racks of Small but very few XL and XXL. I highly doubt Small would outsell XL or XXL.
I was wondering, is there any particular reason the off-price stores overstock in smaller sizes in men's clothes? I often see full racks of Small but very few XL and XXL. I highly doubt Small would outsell XL or XXL.
Well that's the reason, no? Smalls don't sell so they got to TJMaxx or Marshalls or wherever.
Well that's the reason, no? Smalls don't sell so they got to TJMaxx or Marshalls or wherever.
Similar to the phenomena of small sizes making up the bulk of sale/clearance racks in "regular" stores. Personally, I have no idea what metric a clothing retailer uses to decide how many of each size of a new garment they'll stock, but you'd think they'd learn eventually, based on what they can't sell...even marked down.
Also, one has to keep in mind that a lot of the movers and shakers in the clothing business live in a world of Size 0 models. There are still many designers who refuse to create plus-sized lines, mostly because they don't actually know anyone in their 'bubble' who wear plus sizes. They also tend not to want to stretch themselves creatively by designing for anyone who isn't a skinny, runway-type model, since they're the ones who end up on magazine covers.
So there is an over-emphasis (and thus over-representation) of the smaller-sized products when products are manufactured. The plus-sized market is still looked down upon by a lot of the fashion buyers, despite the majority of the country's consumers being larger sized and wanting to buy things that fit properly. It's clothing for those "other" people who are not part of their bubble.
If a store is buying from a particular manufacturer, often it is the manufacturer that dictates the mix of sizes and colors they will sell to the store. For example, if the minimum order is a dozen shirts, they may require that the retail store purchase a pack of 6 blue shirts and 6 white shirts in 1 small, 2 Med, 2 large and 1 XL in blue and the same mix in white.
The manufacturer is buying materials and making the shirts 6 months before they are delivered to the store. This allows the manufacturer a guaranteed mix of sizes being sold. The retail store has to order more of every size if they want more XL sizes.
They buy non-selling items in bulk from more mainstream stores. The extreme ends of the fitting spectrum like S and XXXL always have leftover stock which stores dump off cheap on bargain stores.
Many of the items at these stores were never in a department store but were made specifically for these stores, or are "gray market" items.
Even for gray market items, the manufacturers have to take into account the average yardage required to make the pattern. That usually requires that they sell a variety of sizes to make the best use of the fabric. There’s going to be a lot more waste if you are only selling L/XL/XXL sizes. You are probably going to have enough room to fit in pattern pieces for a small or medium, even if that doesn’t sell as well. It is still going to be better to use and try to sell that item than to just throw the fabric away. Usually manufacturing clothing involves trying to ensure the least waste possible.
They buy non-selling items in bulk from more mainstream stores. The extreme ends of the fitting spectrum like S and XXXL always have leftover stock which stores dump off cheap on bargain stores.
I believe that THIS is the answer to the question.....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
