DTC to Wholesale
You've built a successful direct-to-consumer brand. Now it's time to scale with wholesale. Here's how to do it without the mistakes most brands make.
After years of the "DTC or die" narrative, fashion brands are rediscovering wholesale for good reason:
Most DTC brands underestimate how much wholesale changes their pricing math. If you sell a t-shirt for $60 DTC and try to wholesale it at $30, you may find that your COGS of $18 only leaves $12 of margin — not enough to cover overhead.
The fix: Before launching wholesale, recalculate your pricing from the bottom up. Start with COGS, add your target brand margin (55-65%), and that gives you your wholesale price. Then multiply by 2-2.5 for your new retail price. Yes, your retail prices may need to go up.
Research consistently shows that wholesale and DTC are complementary. Retail presence drives brand awareness, which actually increases DTC sales. The key is maintaining consistent pricing and avoiding over-distribution.
Maintain consistent retail pricing across all channels. This means your DTC price should equal the MSRP your wholesale buyers mark up to. Promotional discounting should be coordinated to avoid undercutting your retail partners.
