Wedding-Season Assortment Planning for Indian Apparel Brands: Options, Depth and Price Bands

Wedding wear is the highest-value and highest-risk part of many Indian apparel ranges. Ticket sizes are large, customers want choice, and unsold pieces are expensive to carry or mark down. A disciplined assortment plan — how many options, how deep, at which price points — protects margin more than any single design decision.

The wedding calendar is set by the panchang

Hindu weddings cluster on muhurat dates set each year by the panchang. Many fall between November and February, with another cluster in some regions around April to June; the four-month Chaturmas period (roughly July to October/November) traditionally has few Hindu weddings. Dates and density vary by region, community and year, so build your plan from this year's muhurat list and your own sales history, not last year's months.

Options and depth

Two numbers define an assortment:

• Options: the number of distinct style-colour combinations you offer.
• Depth: the units you buy of each option (across sizes).

Units = options × depth. With a fixed budget, more options means less depth. Too many options too thin and your best sellers sell out in the first week while slow options linger; too few options too deep and customers do not find choice, especially in bridal and occasion wear where uniqueness matters.

Price bands

Group your range into price bands — the workbook uses Entry, Core, Premium and Luxury; rename them to match your price architecture. Each band plays a role: entry pieces bring footfall and first-time customers, core pieces carry volume, premium and luxury pieces build the brand and the basket value. Decide the target share of buy value for each band from your own sales mix, then let the plan show where you are over or under.

Using the workbook

1. On Targets, enter the season budget at cost and the target share for each price band (example values are illustrative).
2. On Assortment, list each option: category, colour or story, price band, number of options, depth per option, cost and MRP. Units, buy value and intake margin calculate.
3. On Mix check, see buy value and share by band against target, and the over or under against the budget for each band.

How to choose depth

• Start from your own sell-through history by category and price band. A category that historically sold through quickly at full price can carry more depth.
• Bridal and heavy occasion wear: shallow depth, more options, and a made-to-order or quick-repeat route for winners.
• Guest wear (kurta sets, sarees, indo-western): moderate options, more depth in core colours and sizes.
• Menswear (sherwanis, bandhgalas, kurta-pyjama sets): size runs matter more; use a size curve per fit.

Plan for repeats, not just the first buy

Hold back part of the budget — or reserve fabric and production capacity — to repeat options that sell through early. Many brands split the season into a first buy and a repeat reserve; set your own split from how fast your factory or vendors can turn a repeat. The aim is to put money behind proven winners mid-season instead of guessing everything upfront.

Intake margin and markdown risk

The workbook calculates intake margin (1 − cost ÷ MRP) per option. A high intake margin on a slow-selling luxury option is not real until it sells; compare it with your historic markdown on that band. If luxury pieces regularly need deep markdowns at season end, reduce depth there and put the money into core.

Review cadence during the season

• Weekly sell-through by option and band.
• Repeat decisions on the top options by rate of sale.
• Early markdown or transfer decisions on the bottom options (see the sell-through and markdown planner).

Worked example (illustrative)

A brand plans ₹25 lakh at cost for the season with a target mix of 20% entry, 45% core, 25% premium and 10% luxury. Its first draft has five lehenga options three deep at ₹18,000 cost — ₹2.7 lakh, or about 11% of the budget in luxury, slightly above target — and core kurta sets at twelve options eight deep. The mix check shows core well under target and premium over. The team adds two core kurta-set colours and drops one premium saree option, bringing the mix within a few points of target without changing the total budget.

Common mistakes

• Deciding the range design-first and checking the budget last.
• Treating all price bands as one pool, so luxury quietly eats the budget.
• Deep buys on bridal pieces where customers want uniqueness.
• No repeat reserve.
• Using last year's months instead of this year's muhurat dates.