Fashion retail’s inventory race is shifting from “less stock” to “smarter stock,” according to ETRetail, with supply chain and merchandising leaders arguing that indiscriminate inventory cuts are less valuable than improving availability, speeding replenishment, localising assortments and using data to put the right product in the right store at the right time. The discussion took place at the panel “Inventory in the Experience Era: Less Stock, More Stories?” at the 4th ETRetail ShopFWD Summit 2026 in Bengaluru.
Wrong inventory is the bigger problem
Radhika Ramakrishnan, Head of Supply Chain & Merchandising at Triumph Group, said retailers should not equate lower stock with better inventory management. As quoted by ETRetail: “I won’t say that less inventory is good. I will say wrong inventory is bad.” Inventory serves a purpose when it ensures high availability and supports the customer experience. Excess stock can become dead inventory, while cutting too aggressively can result in lost sales and poorly stocked stores.
“I won’t say that less inventory is good. I will say wrong inventory is bad.” — Radhika Ramakrishnan, Head of Supply Chain & Merchandising, Triumph Group, as quoted by ETRetail
Ramyaraj Rath, Chief Merchandising Officer (Buying, Sourcing, Supply Chain) at Bazaar Style Retail, made a similar distinction. For buying teams, less stock may look attractive; store operations often prefer deeper inventory to avoid losing sales. What ultimately matters, Rath said, is whether the required SKU is available at the moment the customer wants it. That makes inventory accuracy and availability more important measures than a broad percentage target applied across an entire assortment. His preferred description was “smart inventory” — deeper stock behind proven sellers and controlled breadth across newer or experimental fashion.
Speed to market is becoming a competitive advantage
Fashion inventory planning has changed because product cycles are becoming much shorter. Rath recalled a period when buying decisions could be made six or seven months ahead of the selling season. That model is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain as consumers gain faster access to trends and competitors shorten their response times. “Now it’s like mind to market,” Rath said, arguing that production and internal decision-making cycles need to become significantly faster.
For value fashion, price remains one of the most important considerations. Consumers are more informed about fashion and product choices than before, Rath said, but still expect retailers to deliver current trends at acceptable price points.
That requires a different approach to fashion bets. Rather than committing heavily at the beginning of a trend, Bazaar Style can test with smaller quantities, observe consumer response and then scale successful products. The familiar 80:20 principle remains relevant, Rath added, with a relatively small percentage of SKUs typically driving a substantial share of the business. Identifying those products early allows retailers to place greater depth behind winners while limiting exposure elsewhere.
| Inventory model | Primary focus | Key risk | Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less-stock-first | Cutting absolute inventory levels | Dead inventory, lost sales, poorly stocked stores | Across-the-board percentage target |
| Smart inventory | Availability, accuracy, replenishment speed | Wrong SKU at the moment of purchase | Depth behind proven sellers, controlled breadth on experimental lines |
Replenishment and the limits of buying less
Faster replenishment, however, creates its own financial and operational demands. Rath said retailers cannot simply reduce buying quantities without considering production lead times. The panel also identified vendor-managed inventory as a mechanism that can shift the replenishment model, according to ETRetail.
What this means for procurement and inventory teams
Devi Ramana Reddy, Head ISCM at Taniera, joined the discussion alongside Rath and Ramakrishnan, with Supriya Roy, Principal Correspondent at Times of India, moderating. The panellists collectively rejected the assumption that carrying less stock automatically makes a business more efficient. Instead, the real opportunity lies in improving availability, speeding replenishment, localising assortments and using data to put the right product in the right store at the right time, according to ETRetail. For procurement and inventory teams, that means shifting performance metrics from inventory volume to inventory quality — measuring availability and accuracy at the SKU level rather than chasing a single percentage target across the assortment.
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