Assortment Planning Template for Apparel Brands
A structured starting point for seasonal assortment planning — category architecture, option counts, size curves, and a margin bridge in one file. Better than a blank spreadsheet. Honest about its limits.
Free download. Work email required.
// Template Preview
What the template looks like
Simplified preview. The full template includes complete formula logic, data validation, and step-by-step instructions.
| Category | Style Target | Depth / Style | Newness % | IMU Target | Total OTB (cost) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tops | 22 styles | 48 units | 38% | 67.5% | $50,688 |
| Bottoms | 16 styles | 52 units | 30% | 65.0% | $39,936 |
| Outerwear | 8 styles | 38 units | 25% | 72.0% | $29,184 |
| ··· | ··· | ··· | ··· | ··· | ··· |
// What It Is
What is assortment planning?
Assortment planning is the process of deciding which products to carry, at what depth, and across which channels for a given season. It translates a financial budget into a structured product strategy — which categories, how many styles, which colours and sizes, and in what quantities.
In apparel, effective assortment planning sits at the intersection of merchandising strategy, financial planning, and consumer demand. The plan has to be coherent to the brand, executable within the OTB budget, and translatable into a buy plan buyers can action.
Most mid-market brands plan assortments in spreadsheets — structurally disconnected from the OTB plan and buy plan. This template gives those teams a better starting structure than a blank sheet.
Who this template is for
- Merchandise PlannersBuilding the seasonal assortment framework and managing option count against OTB.
- Apparel BuyersUsing the assortment plan as a buy brief — translating category strategy into vendor and style selections.
- Directors of PlanningReviewing department-level option counts and margin targets before the buy review.
- Founders and Merchandising LeadsAt brands without dedicated planning teams — creating a structured seasonal plan before a first buy or line expansion.
// Template Contents
What the template includes
Five connected worksheets covering the full assortment planning workflow — from top-down category strategy to style-level size curves.
Top-down category and sub-category hierarchy with planned depth (number of options) and breadth (number of styles) targets per department. Rolls up automatically to total option count.
Style-level option planning by colour and fabrication. Enter planned units per option and the worksheet calculates total receipt units and cost value against your OTB budget.
Pre-built size curve structure for XS–3XL and 0–16 numeric sizing. Enter historical sell-through percentages per size to generate recommended buy quantities from any total.
Department-level margin rate planning with full-price sell-through assumptions, planned markdown spend, and a blended margin output. Shows where margin is made and lost.
Split planned inventory across DTC, wholesale, and marketplace channels. Enter channel-level sell-through assumptions and the template calculates channel-specific OTB.
// When to Use It
The right situations for this template
Pre-season planning
Use this template at the start of each season to build your department-level assortment strategy before finalising buy quantities. Typically used 4–6 months before delivery.
New category or channel launch
When entering a new product category or distribution channel, this template provides a structured framework to model option counts, size curves, and channel splits from scratch.
Assortment rationalisation after high markdowns
After a season with high markdowns or low sell-through, use the option count planner to identify overcrowded categories and reduce SKU count in the next buy.
Buyer handoff preparation
Convert a completed assortment plan into a structured buy brief for buyers — channel splits, size curves, and margin targets all in one file buyers can action directly.
// Get the Template
Download the assortment planning template
Assortment Planning Template
A structured spreadsheet for building seasonal assortments — category architecture, option counts, size curves, and margin targets in one file.
- Instant access
- No credit card
- Work email required
- Yours to keep
Enter your work email to get instant access. No spam, promise.
// What Spreadsheets Do Well
Honest about what works
Spreadsheets are genuinely good tools for certain planning tasks. This template works well in these situations.
// Where Templates Break Down
What a spreadsheet cannot do
This template is a better starting point than a blank spreadsheet. It is not a replacement for a connected planning system. Here is where the gap shows up.
// Beyond the Template
How RetailNorthstar improves this workflow
RetailNorthstar replaces this template stack with a connected assortment planning workflow — where every decision is constrained by live OTB and automatically feeds the buy plan.
Assortment lives inside the OTB
Every option added or removed in RetailNorthstar updates your OTB position in real time. You see the financial impact of every assortment decision as you make it.
Size curves from actual sell-through
RetailNorthstar pulls current-season and prior-season sell-through data at the style and colour level to generate size curves. No manual data entry — curves update automatically.
One system, every stakeholder
Buyers see the assortment plan. Planners see the OTB. Finance sees the margin bridge. All from the same system, always in sync. No version management required.
Buy plan auto-generation
When your assortment is final, RetailNorthstar converts it to a structured buy plan with one action. Quantities flow by vendor, style, colour, and size — no re-entry.
// Common Mistakes
What goes wrong with assortment planning
These mistakes appear repeatedly across mid-market apparel teams — in templates and in connected systems. Knowing them is the first line of defence.
Set your OTB budget by department before selecting a single style. Option count follows from the budget, not the other way around.
Build size curves from your own sell-through history. If you are in the first season, estimate conservatively and update the curve with actuals as the season progresses.
Set a minimum sell-through threshold (e.g., 55% at regular price) for carry-over consideration. Styles that do not meet it are cut unless there is a specific merchandising reason to retain them.
Treat assortment planning as an OTB allocation exercise. Run an estimated cost total against OTB before any option is confirmed.
Set a minimum newness percentage before making carry-over decisions (e.g., 30% new introductions). Newness targets are set first; carry-overs fill the remaining allocation.
// Best Practices
How high-performing planning teams use this template
These practices apply whether you are using this template or a connected system. The discipline matters more than the tool.
Set category constraints before selecting styles
Option counts per department should be defined before any styles are reviewed. Depth per style follows from the option count and OTB — not the other way around.
Carry-overs earn re-entry, they do not inherit it
Require a minimum sell-through rate at regular price, not just total sales volume. A style that sold through only on markdown is not a candidate for re-entry at the same depth.
Review size curves every season
Size curves shift as your customer base evolves. A curve from two seasons ago may no longer reflect your actual demand profile. Update from sell-through data before each buy.
When cost exceeds OTB, cut depth — not styles
Reducing depth per style preserves range width and consumer choice. Cutting styles reduces selection and can create category gaps. Always try depth reduction first.
Allocate by channel before selecting vendors
Channel splits belong in the assortment plan, not in the buy plan. Define how much of each category goes to DTC vs wholesale before contacting vendors.
Reconcile assortment against the margin bridge before sign-off
The mix of styles in the assortment plan should produce a blended IMU% within 1–2 percentage points of the MFP target. If the plan is off, adjust style and category mix before the buy — not after.
Assortment Planning Template
A structured spreadsheet for building seasonal assortments — category architecture, option counts, size curves, and margin targets in one file.
- Instant access
- No credit card
- Work email required
- Yours to keep
Enter your work email to get instant access. No spam, promise.
// What's Next
After you use the template
Most teams download a template and get a quarter of use from it. These three steps turn it into actual improvement.
Where does your planning operation actually stand?
Start hereBefore building on a template, benchmark your planning against 5 dimensions — infrastructure, responsiveness, alignment, data quality, and workflow. Takes 5–8 minutes. Results are instant.
When does the template stop being enough?
At some point templates hit a ceiling — OTB disconnected from assortment, actuals requiring manual entry, version chaos across buyers and planners. See exactly where the gap is.
What would a connected system look like for our team?
A 30-minute live walkthrough built around your actual planning workflow — OTB, assortment, and buy planning in one connected system.
// FAQs
Assortment planning template — common questions
What format is the assortment planning template?
The template is delivered as an Excel (.xlsx) file. All formulas use standard Excel functions — no macros or add-ins required. It opens correctly in Google Sheets, though some conditional formatting may need adjustment.
How many options or SKUs can the template handle?
The template is structured to support up to 500 options across 10 departments without significant performance degradation. For larger assortments, a connected planning system is more practical than a spreadsheet.
How is assortment planning different from buy planning?
Assortment planning defines what you carry — which styles, colours, and categories, in what depth and breadth. Buy planning converts those assortment decisions into purchase quantities by vendor and delivery date. Assortment planning comes first; buy planning executes it.
How do I connect this template to my OTB plan?
Manually: paste your total OTB budget into the Option Count Planner tab and use it as a constraint when setting units per option. The template calculates total receipt cost and shows variance to OTB. Automatically: RetailNorthstar connects assortment and OTB natively — no manual linking required.
Does this template work for both DTC and wholesale brands?
Yes. The Channel Allocation tab supports splitting planned inventory across DTC, wholesale, and marketplace. You can enter channel-level sell-through assumptions and target margin rates per channel.
When should a brand move from this template to a planning system?
When your team spends more time maintaining the spreadsheet than using it — reconciling versions, re-entering OTB changes, or updating size curves manually. That administration overhead is the signal that a connected system will deliver real ROI.
Related Resources
Ready to move beyond the template?
RetailNorthstar connects your assortment plan to your OTB budget and buy workflow — no reconciliation required. See it live in 30 minutes.