What a Trading Report Is For, and What It Is Not
It is nine o’clock on Monday, the trading meeting starts at eleven, and the trading report shows the hoodie category ahead of plan for the week. Does that mean the category is healthy, or is one style carrying five that are slowing down, with a stockout on the winner arriving before any reorder could land? A trading report answers that only if you read it as a sequence of questions rather than a page of totals.
In most retail teams a trading report is the weekly pack of sales, stock and margin by style, colour or option, compared with plan and with last year. Layouts, cut-off days and definitions differ between retailers, so agree the cut-off, the stock measure and the sell-through denominator before you compare anything. The retail planning view that sits behind the pack is the WSSI, weekly sales, stock and intake, which rolls opening stock, sales and deliveries forward week by week.
The report describes what already happened. The meeting exists to decide what to commit, delay or stop, and for a fleece hoodie that decision has to be made weeks ahead of the stockout it prevents. The rest of this guide covers the measures, the reading order and a fully worked 9 AM example, with all numbers clearly illustrative.
Trading Report KPIs: WSSI, Sales Velocity, Cover and Gross Margin
Four measures do most of the work in a weekly trading report. The table defines each one with its formula and says where definitions vary, because two buyers using the same word with different denominators will argue about a number that is not actually in dispute.
The four core trading report KPIs
| KPI | Formula | Where definitions vary | Read it with |
|---|---|---|---|
| WSSI (weekly sales, stock and intake) | Opening stock plus intake minus sales equals closing stock, rolled week by week against plan | Some teams plan at style level, others at category or colour level; intake may mean ordered, shipped or received | Cover, so that closing stock is judged against the next weeks of demand |
| Sales velocity | Units sold divided by the number of weeks in the chosen window, for example a four-week average | Window length, whether weeks with stockouts are included, and whether returns are netted off | Weeks on sale and availability, so a stocked-out week does not understate demand |
| Weeks of cover | Available stock divided by forecast weekly sales | Available stock may be on hand only, or on hand plus confirmed inbound; the forecast may be recent velocity or a seasonal plan | The total replenishment lead time and the weeks left in the selling window |
| Gross margin | (Selling price excluding VAT minus cost) divided by selling price excluding VAT | Cost may be FOB or landed; margin may be before or after markdown and returns. Markup is a different measure: (selling price minus cost) divided by cost | Mix and markdown, because a unit sold late at a reduced price carries less margin than the same unit sold early |
Definitions are common starting points. Confirm your own retailer or planning system definitions before comparing figures across teams or seasons.
Sell-through is deliberately not in the table above because it answers a different question. Sell-through divided by receipts tells you how much of an intake has been sold; cover tells you how long what remains will last. For the full-price version of that measure see our guide to improving full-price sell-through without cutting the range.
How to Read a Weekly Trading Report in Five Steps
Reading order matters because each step removes a misleading explanation before you move to the next. Starting with stock before you know whether demand is real leads to arguing about the wrong style, and starting with a totals line hides the spread underneath it.
Reading a trading report in order
- 1Fix the basisConfirm the cut-off, the weeks in the average and the stock and sell-through definitions before any comparison.
- 2Compare with plan and last yearRead variance by style, then total, and note which comparators are unreliable.
- 3Convert stock to coverAvailable stock divided by forecast weekly sales, compared with lead time plus safety.
- 4Flag the signalsWinners, stockouts, slow movers and return patterns by size and reason.
- 5Assign an actionBuy, hold or exit, with quantity, owner and the date the decision will be reviewed.
Illustrative process. Adjust the order to your own meeting rhythm, but keep the basis step first and the action step last.
The next four sections take steps two to five in turn. Step one is a ten-minute check you do once and then reuse: write the definitions at the top of the report so that nobody has to ask in the meeting.
Step 1: Review Sales Versus Plan and Last Year
Variance to plan is actual units (or sales value) minus plan, divided by plan. Variance to last year uses the same formula with last year’s equivalent week or style as the base. Read both at style level first and the total second, because a small total variance can sit on top of a very large spread between styles.
Each comparator has its own failure mode. The table sets out when plan and last year mislead, and what to use instead. If the category plan was built from a forecast that nobody has revisited, plan variance mainly tells you how good the forecast was.
When each comparator misleads
| Comparator | Where it misleads | What to add |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Plan set months ago from a forecast; new styles planned from guesses; plan phased evenly across weeks that are not even | Recent velocity and the date the plan was last revised |
| Last year, same week | Calendar shifts, promotions in different weeks, weather, price changes and a different range | Last year on a comparable-week basis, flagged for known events |
| Last year, same style | The style may have stocked out last year, which understates its true demand | Last year’s weeks on sale and stockout dates |
| New style with no history | No comparator exists, so a negative or positive variance means little | Early-weeks rate of sale against the test hypothesis, and similar styles as a reference only |
| Total category line | Winners offset losers and the headline looks acceptable | Spread: the best and worst style variances next to the total |
A general guide to reading comparators. The right additions depend on how your retailer builds plan and calendar comparisons.
Whenever possible, split the variance into price, volume and mix. A week that is ahead of plan on value because of one high-price style, while volume is behind, calls for a different action from a week that is ahead on units across the range.
Step 2: Check Available-to-Sell and Weeks of Cover
Available to sell is stock you can actually put in front of customers or ship against orders: stock on hand plus confirmed inbound, minus anything reserved or held for quality. Divide it by forecast weekly sales and you have weeks of cover. The forecast is the judgement call. A four-week average is a reasonable default for a core style, a shorter window suits a style that is clearly accelerating, and a seasonal profile suits anything that is entering or leaving its peak.
Compare cover with the total replenishment lead time, which is everything from the decision to goods on the shelf: fabric booking, production, quality release, shipping and receiving. A reorder trigger is that lead time plus a safety allowance for demand variability. If cover is below the trigger, the style will run out before a new order lands, which is the point at which you must either reorder or accept the stockout. Our guides on the reorder point formula and calculating when to reorder a bestselling hoodie set out the calculation in full.
Look at cover on hand and cover including confirmed inbound. If the first is short and the second is healthy, the question for the supplier is delivery date, not quantity. If both are short, the question is how many units you need and whether faster freight or a split delivery is worth its cost.
Finally, compare cover with the weeks left in the selling window. Cover that is far longer than the time left to sell is an overstock signal even when the style is selling at plan. For lead times by stage see our production lead times guide, and confirm the real figure with your supplier for each fabric and colour.
Step 3: Spot Winners, Stockouts and Return Signals
A winner is a style whose velocity is running clearly ahead of plan with enough weeks on sale to trust the reading, and whose full-price sell-through is holding. A stockout is a style that has lost sales because stock ran out by size, colour or location, even if total stock looks fine. Return signals tell you whether the sales are real: a style that sells well and comes back often is lending you units that you will take back.
Reading return and availability signals
| Signal in the report | What it may mean | First check |
|---|---|---|
| High returns concentrated in one size | Size curve or grading problem, or a fit issue at that point of measure | Return reason codes and the graded measurements for that size |
| High returns with quality comments | Shrinkage, twisting, pilling or colour change after washing | Wash test results against the approved sample |
| Sales fall but stock is broken by size | Availability, not demand, is the cause | Size-level cover and when the next delivery arrives |
| Sales fall and stock is full by size | Genuine demand softness, price or placement issue | Price position, visibility and rate of sale by channel |
A diagnostic guide. Return behaviour depends on category, channel and customer, so set your own review thresholds.
Always read velocity next to weeks on sale. A colour that sold more units than another because it was in stock for three more weeks has not shown higher demand. We cover that normalisation in deciding which hoodie colours to repeat, reduce or discontinue, and the wider test-reading method in our guide to bigger buys.
Step 4: Assign Buy, Hold or Exit Actions
The last step turns the diagnosis into a small set of actions. Every style gets exactly one label so the meeting does not end with a vague agreement to keep an eye on things. Write the rule before you look at the numbers; otherwise the rule drifts towards whatever the loudest person in the room wants.
A buy, hold, exit decision rule (illustrative thresholds)
| Action | Condition in this example | What you do next |
|---|---|---|
| Buy | Total cover is below the reorder trigger (8 weeks lead time plus 2 weeks safety), velocity is at or above plan, returns are within the buyer’s assumed limit of 8 per cent, and the range plan has not marked the style as a limited run | Calculate a quantity from the size curve, confirm fabric and capacity, release the order and set a review date |
| Hold | Cover is at or above the trigger, or velocity is below plan, or returns are above the limit, or the style is a limited run | No order; assign an owner to investigate any open cause such as returns or availability |
| Exit | Cover is longer than the weeks left in the selling window (16 in this example) and velocity is below plan | Cancel or redirect inbound if the terms allow, set a markdown path and a clearance date |
Illustrative thresholds for a worked example. Each buying team sets its own limits by category, price point and season, and should record them in the report header.
Two rules keep the decision honest. First, an action needs an owner and a date, because a decision without them is a comment. Second, each action should name the evidence that would reverse it, so that next Monday’s report can confirm or change the call rather than reopen the whole debate.
Worked Example: A 9 AM Trading Report for Six Hoodie Styles
Here is the scenario. At nine o’clock on a Monday you have the weekly trading report for six hoodie styles and two hours to prepare for an eleven o’clock meeting. Every figure in this example is illustrative and chosen to show the method; none is a benchmark, a supplier figure or a typical result.
- Lead time for a repeat order is assumed at 8 weeks from decision to receipt, and safety stock at 2 weeks, so the reorder trigger is 10 weeks of cover.
- Forecast weekly sales are the four-week average, which is conservative for accelerating styles.
- The selling window has 16 weeks left, and the buyer’s return limit is assumed at 8 per cent.
- Available to sell is stock on hand plus confirmed inbound, with nothing reserved.
The first table is the sales half of the report: units this week against plan and last year. Read the spread, not just the total.
Illustrative trading report, part 1: sales versus plan and last year
| Style | Role | Sales this week (units) | Plan (units) | Vs plan | Last year (units) | Vs last year | 4-week average (units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 Core pullover, black | Core | 1,200 | 1,000 | +20.0% | 950 | +26.3% | 1,150 |
| H2 Core pullover, grey marl | Core | 800 | 850 | -5.9% | 780 | +2.6% | 820 |
| H3 Heavyweight, pigment-washed charcoal | New, test winner | 600 | 400 | +50.0% | new | no comparator | 520 |
| H4 Oversized pullover, cream | Core fashion | 420 | 500 | -16.0% | 450 | -6.7% | 450 |
| H5 Zip hoodie, navy | Seasonal | 150 | 300 | -50.0% | 280 | -46.4% | 190 |
| H6 Print hoodie, rust | Limited run | 310 | 300 | +3.3% | new | no comparator | 300 |
Illustrative data. Total this week 3,480 units against plan 3,350 (plus 3.9 per cent); on the four styles with last-year history, 2,570 against 2,460 (plus 4.5 per cent). H3 and H6 are new, so they have no last-year comparator.
A buyer who stops at the total sees a category about four per cent ahead of plan. Underneath, H3 is half as strong again as plan, H1 is a fifth ahead, and H5 is running at half of plan. The headline would have been identical if the spread were far narrower, which is why it should not decide anything.
Illustrative trading report, part 2: stock, cover and decision
| Style | On hand (units) | Confirmed inbound (units) | Available to sell (units) | Weeks of cover | Return rate | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | 3,450 | 1,200 | 4,650 | 4.0 | 6% | Buy |
| H2 | 9,020 | 0 | 9,020 | 11.0 | 5% | Hold |
| H3 | 1,560 | 0 | 1,560 | 3.0 | 4% | Buy |
| H4 | 3,600 | 900 | 4,500 | 10.0 | 14% | Hold and investigate |
| H5 | 5,700 | 1,500 | 7,200 | 37.9 | 7% | Exit |
| H6 | 1,500 | 0 | 1,500 | 5.0 | 6% | Hold (run out) |
Illustrative data. Weeks of cover = available to sell divided by the four-week average. Trigger = 10 weeks; weeks left in the window = 16; assumed return limit = 8 per cent.
Applying the rule from step four gives the decisions in the last column. H1 and H3 are short of the trigger with healthy demand and returns, so both are buys. H2 sits just above the trigger with sales slightly under plan, so it is a hold. H4 is exactly at the trigger, but returns are well above the assumed limit, so ordering more would only multiply a fit problem: hold and investigate. H5 has far more cover than selling window left, with weak demand, so it is an exit. H6 would meet the buy conditions on numbers alone but is a limited run in the range plan, so it is held and allowed to run out.
Weeks of cover by style against the 10-week trigger
Available to sell divided by four-week average
Illustrative data from the worked example. Cover including confirmed inbound. Reorder trigger is 10 weeks; weeks left in the selling window are 16. H5 runs to 37.9 weeks.
Worked Example: From Cover to Quantity, Stockout Risk and Margin
A buy decision needs a quantity and a cost of waiting. The simplest planning ceiling is an order-up-to level: weekly velocity multiplied by the weeks you want covered, minus what you already have available. Here the level is the 8-week lead time plus 6 weeks of cover after arrival, which is 14 weeks of demand, and 14 is inside the 16 weeks left in the window.
Illustrative buy quantities and stockout exposure
| Style | Available to sell | Units at risk before reorder lands | Conservative quantity (4-week average) | Optimistic quantity (this week’s sales) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 Core pullover, black | 4,650 | 4,550 (1,150 x 8 minus 4,650) | 11,450 (1,150 x 14 minus 4,650) | 12,150 (1,200 x 14 minus 4,650) |
| H3 Heavyweight, pigment-washed charcoal | 1,560 | 2,600 (520 x 8 minus 1,560) | 5,720 (520 x 14 minus 1,560) | 6,840 (600 x 14 minus 1,560) |
Illustrative arithmetic. Units at risk = velocity multiplied by lead time minus available stock, assuming flat demand and no expedite. Quantities are planning ceilings to be split by size and colour and checked against fabric and capacity.
The gap between the two quantity columns is the forecast risk, and it is smaller than the cost of doing nothing. H1 would sell its available stock at the four-week average in about four weeks, yet a reorder placed today lands after eight. The week-by-week roll below is the WSSI view of that style: opening stock, sales, intake and closing stock, with no reorder.
Illustrative WSSI roll for H1, no reorder placed
| Week | Opening stock | Forecast sales | Intake | Closing stock | Cover on closing stock | Lost sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3,450 | 1,150 | 0 | 2,300 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2 | 2,300 | 1,150 | 1,200 | 2,350 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 3 | 2,350 | 1,150 | 0 | 1,200 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 4 | 1,200 | 1,150 | 0 | 50 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 5 | 50 | 50 (limited by stock) | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1,100 |
| 6 to 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3,450 (3 x 1,150) |
Illustrative arithmetic: the confirmed inbound of 1,200 units is assumed to arrive in week 2. Total lost sales across weeks 5 to 8 = 1,100 + 3,450 = 4,550 units, matching the units at risk above.
At an assumed selling price of 40 excluding VAT and an assumed landed cost of 16 per unit, those 4,550 units represent 182,000 of sales and 109,200 of gross profit that cannot be recovered by buying later. Expedited freight or a split delivery may narrow the gap; whether it is worth the cost is a number you take from your own forwarder and supplier, not from this example.
Illustrative margin check: why the exit style matters
| Case | Selling price excl. VAT (assumed) | Landed cost (assumed) | Gross profit per unit | Gross margin | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 at full price | 40.00 | 16.00 | 24.00 | 60.0% | 150.0% |
| H5 at full price | 36.00 | 14.40 | 21.60 | 60.0% | 150.0% |
| H5 after an assumed 40 per cent markdown | 21.60 | 14.40 | 7.20 | 33.3% | 50.0% |
Illustrative arithmetic. Gross margin = (price minus cost) divided by price; markup = (price minus cost) divided by cost. The same unit earns one third of its full-price gross profit after the assumed markdown.
H5 shows why the exit decision cannot wait. At the current rate of 190 units a week, 16 weeks sells 3,040 units, leaving 4,160 of the 7,200 available units unsold. If the 1,500 inbound units can be cancelled or redirected, the residual falls to 2,660. Each unit that clears at the marked-down price earns 7.20 instead of 21.60 in this example, so acting early on inbound and markdown timing protects far more margin than any later promotion.
Running the Two Hours Before the Meeting
A good trading meeting is decided before it starts. The timeline shows one way to use the two hours between the report landing and the meeting, so that discussion time goes on judgement calls rather than on arithmetic.
A 9 AM to 11 AM preparation sequence
- 9:00Lock the cut-off and definitions. Pull the report, note any missing days, stockouts or system changes.
- 9:20Variance by style against plan and last year; mark styles with no comparator.
- 9:40Convert stock to weeks of cover with and without confirmed inbound; mark styles under the trigger or over the window.
- 10:05Read returns by size and reason, and any size breaks, for every style marked for action.
- 10:30Draft buy, hold or exit with quantities, then check fabric and capacity with the supplier or the supply team.
- 10:50One page: decision, quantity, owner, date, and the evidence that would reverse it.
Illustrative schedule. Timings will depend on how quickly your system produces the report and how many styles are in scope.
Keep the output to one page, with definitions, cover and the evidence that would reverse each call. Larger commitments may also need supplier confirmation first: our guide to manufacturing clothing in bulk explains what a repeat order depends on.
What Evidence Would Change the Decision
Every call in the worked example rests on a few assumptions, and the strongest trading teams name them. If lead time proves longer than eight weeks, more styles fall under the trigger and the order-up-to level rises. If fabric for a repeat is not held, the true lead time includes fabric booking and the buy decision moves earlier. If a winner’s returns climb in the following weeks, the buy should be paused until the cause is understood.
The same applies in reverse. If H5 sells through faster after a visibility change, its cover shortens and the exit becomes a hold. If H6 sells at full price for another few weeks, the range plan may be revisited, but only with an explicit decision to extend its life. For the overall approach to limiting excess, see reducing hoodie overstock without losing bestseller sales and how the fashion supply chain fits together.
Track three measures from week to week: cover by style against the trigger, the number of styles with a buy or exit decision that slipped past its date, and the margin earned on units sold after markdown. If you rebuilt your last Monday report with every style converted to weeks of cover, which two styles would you have bought, which would you have held, and which would you have exited?
How Ruhrose Approaches Reorders and Repeat Orders
Ruhrose is a Bangladesh-based manufacturer of hoodies, fleece, jersey, denim and woven casualwear with UK buyer support, and our part of this process is the supply side of a buy decision. Sampling comes before bulk, and for repeat styles the number a buyer needs from us is the realistic replenishment lead time for that fabric and colour, which we confirm per programme rather than quote in general.
Where a buyer wants to prove a style before volume, the test-and-scale model is a risk-reduction approach, not a risk-free one. A test quantity of around 500 pieces per style and colour is proposed where it is commercially and technically feasible, and it varies by fabric, dye, trims and factory. It is not a fixed minimum order.