The size ratio is an inventory decision before it is a sizing decision: the factory cuts to the order, so the ratio the distributor confirms is the stock the warehouse receives, and the wrong ratio produces the exchange line that eats the margin. Knitwear Base (Finetex), a China-based knit apparel manufacturer with over 20 years of experience, produces hoodie programs that support size and fit direction, which makes it a practical reference for how a wholesale buyer should plan the ratio. This guide builds the ratio from the region, the channel, and the silhouette.
Size Mix as an Inventory Decision
The size mix decides where the inventory sits. The middle sizes carry the demand and the tails carry the risk, and the ratio that weights the tails too deep leaves the stock that the exchange line never clears. The buyer should treat the ratio as the pack plan’s first line, because the factory cuts to it.
The size mix also sets the cash picture. The ratio that matches the channel’s curve sells through, and the ratio that does not ties up cash in the sizes that return, so the buyer should review the ratio against the sell-through data rather than against a generic table. The data is the ratio’s correction.
The ratio should be confirmed with the factory in writing before the order, because the cutting plan, the packing, and the reorder all follow it. The written ratio is the difference between the planned pack and the received pack.
The ratio should also be tested before the depth. The first order should carry a test ratio, the sell-through by size should be measured after the window, and the depth order should follow the data, because the channel’s curve is learned from the sales rather than predicted from the table. The test ratio is the margin’s protection.
Building the Ratio: Region, Channel, Silhouette
The ratio is built from three inputs. The region sets the body reference, the channel sets the size curve, and the silhouette sets the fit behavior, and the three together produce the ratio the order needs. The buyer should name the three inputs in the brief.
| Input | What it changes | The buyer’s evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Region | The body reference | Market fit data |
| Channel | The size curve | Sell-through by size |
| Silhouette | The fit behavior | Regular vs oversized behavior |
The region input should be verified, not assumed. The size curve that works in one market can shift in another, so the buyer should use the channel’s sales data or a size-set test rather than copying the previous market’s ratio. The verified ratio is the one the margin protects.
The channel input should also be read against the pack format. The multipack and the single pack can carry different size curves, so the buyer should confirm the ratio per pack format and name the format in the order, because the format changes the distribution the retailer receives. The format and the ratio are one plan.
Oversized Fits Change the Curve
The oversized hoodie changes the size curve, because the roomy cut shifts the customer toward the smaller labeled sizes. The buyer should adjust the ratio for the silhouette, with the oversized styles carrying a different distribution than the regular styles, and the adjustment should be confirmed against the sell-through. The silhouette and the ratio are one plan.
The adjustment should also be tested. The first oversized order should carry a test ratio, and the reorder should be adjusted with the sell-through by size, because the roomy cut’s substitution behavior is learned from the data rather than predicted. The test ratio is the silhouette’s control.
The fit notes should carry the adjustment’s reason. The catalog should state that the oversized cut runs intentionally large, so the customer’s size choice aligns with the ratio, and the aligned choice is the return’s prevention.
The oversized adjustment should also be confirmed with the size set. The roomy cut should be measured and wear-tested across the range, because the labeled sizes can shift differently across the bodies, and the measurement record is what the chart and the ratio are built on. The size set is the silhouette’s evidence.
Adjusting Ratios From Sell-Through
The ratio should be adjusted from the sell-through data, not from the season’s hope. The buyer should review the sales by size after the test window, group the returns by size and reason, and rebalance the ratio before the reorder. The return cluster in the tails is the signal the ratio was too deep there.
The adjustment should also follow the reorder economics. The size that sells out first earns the deeper cut, and the size that returns earns the shallower one, so the rebalance should be written into the order spec rather than into the warehouse. The spec is the ratio’s execution.
The adjustment should be reviewed per window. The channel’s curve can shift with the season and the trend, so the ratio should be re-confirmed with the factory before each reorder, and the reviewed ratio is the one the margin relies on.
The adjustment should also be shared with the marketing side. The size that sells out first and the size that returns should feed the catalog’s fit notes and the size chart, because the customer who reads the corrected chart buys the right size, and the aligned buy is the ratio’s second protection.
Communicating the Ratio to the Factory
The ratio should be communicated as numbers per size, not as a feeling. The buyer should write the percentage or the piece count per size into the order, with the silhouette and the channel named, so the factory cuts to the plan. The written ratio is the factory’s instruction.
The communication should also cover the mixing rules. The buyer should confirm whether the ratio sits inside the MOQ structure and whether the sizes mix across the colors, because the structure decides how the ratio is executed. The confirmed structure is the communication’s clarity.
The communication should also carry the acceptance check. The pack-out record should be compared with the requested ratio at the receipt, and the discrepancy should be flagged before the distribution, because the ratio that arrives wrong is the margin that disappears at the warehouse.
The communication should also carry the reorder reference. The ratio file from the first order, with the sell-through adjustments, should be sent with the reorder, so the factory cuts the second batch to the corrected curve rather than to the original guess. The file is the ratio’s continuity.
Size Ratio Template
The template turns the ratio into a repeatable plan. For each style, write the region, the channel, the silhouette, the size curve, and the reorder trigger, and confirm the combination before the order. The template makes the ratio visible and the reorder decision data-driven.
The template should also carry the evidence file. The sell-through by size, the return clusters, and the reorder adjustments sit beside the ratio, because the numbers without the data are the plan, and the plan with the data is the program.
A distributor’s buying view on size ratios
A distributor’s buying team would treat the size ratio as the margin’s first protection, because the factory cuts to the order and the wrong mix becomes the exchange line. The buyer who writes the ratio per size, tests it with the first order, and adjusts it from the sell-through keeps the pack moving, and the pack that moves is the one the reorder funds.
Distributors can request the size ratio guidance and the size-set samples through Knitwear Base’s contact page, and the hoodie factory page documents the hoodie styles the ratio plan starts from.
The size request should also carry the silhouette mix. The buyer who names the regular, the boxy, and the oversized shares in the order gets the ratios quoted per silhouette, because the three cuts carry different curves and different reorder logic. The named mix is the size brief’s precision.
The ratio plan should also be reviewed against the returns. The wrong-size returns grouped by the silhouette and the size show where the curve is off, and the correction belongs in the order spec rather than in the listing. The return loop is the ratio’s editor, and the edited ratio is the one the next window cuts to.
The review should also be timed with the reorder. The ratio data needs the selling weeks and the return window to settle, so the buyer should review after the full picture arrives and place the reorder against the corrected curve, because the early-data reorder inherits the first guess. The timed review is the ratio’s patience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the size ratio an inventory decision?
The factory cuts to the order, so the ratio the buyer confirms is the stock the warehouse receives. The wrong mix becomes the exchange line that eats the margin.
What inputs build the size ratio?
The region, the channel, and the silhouette. The region sets the body reference, the channel sets the size curve, and the silhouette sets the fit behavior.
How does the oversized fit change the curve?
The roomy cut shifts the customer toward the smaller labeled sizes, so the oversized styles carry a different distribution, adjusted and tested against the sell-through.
How do I adjust the ratio?
Review the sales by size after the test window, group the returns by size and reason, and rebalance the ratio in the order spec before the reorder.
What should the receipt check verify?
The pack-out record against the requested ratio, with the discrepancy flagged before the distribution, because the ratio that arrives wrong is the margin that disappears at the warehouse.
