Retail Math Formulas by Role
The role cut of retail math groups every formula by the job that owns the decision the number feeds. A planner and an allocator can both look at weeks of supply; they act on it differently, on different calendars, against different targets. Grouping the math by role puts each formula next to the decision it is actually used to make.
8 roles, 40 formulas. Every formula page carries the equation, a live calculator, and a worked apparel example. The same formulas are also available in the category cut, which groups by the part of the business the number describes rather than by who runs it.
How To Read The Role Cut
A formula appears under every role that works with it, not only the one that owns it. Sell-through shows up for the analytics team, the planner, the buyer, the merchandiser and the allocator, because all five read it and each reads it at a different level of the hierarchy — department, style-color, door, size. One formula, several roles, one owner, one canonical page.
The counts below are the number of formulas that surface on each role page. The named examples are the ones that role owns outright — where the decision starts rather than where it lands.
Design and product development teams sizing a line before the first sample is cut — how many options, at what target cost, and at what planned depth.
Merchandising teams who own the margin structure of a category, from initial markup through markdown cadence, trade allowances and chargebacks.
Merchandise planners building and defending the financial plan — receipt flow, open-to-buy, and the stock-to-sales relationship underneath both.
Buyers turning an approved plan into purchase orders — unit buys, average unit cost, order coverage, and how depth splits across a size run.
Allocation teams moving units to doors — demand by door, fair-share splits, replenishment triggers, and the fill rate that results.
Supply chain and operations teams connecting planning to the warehouse floor — cost of goods, turn speed, and how closely the system count matches what is physically on the shelf.
Analytics teams reading a season while it is still running — sell-through, achieved retail, basket size, returns, comps, and variance against plan.
Executives and their finance partners translating merchandising decisions into working capital, margin, and P&L impact.
Every role, one set of numbers.
RetailNorthstar runs this math inside a connected apparel planning workflow, so the planner, the buyer and the allocator are reading the same figure instead of three reconciled spreadsheets.
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