Knitted Bag Assortment Planning: Style Count, Depth per SKU and Colourway Ratio Against MOQ 100 pcs
An assortment plan for a knitted bag range is an arithmetic problem before it is a creative one, and the arithmetic starts at 100: MOQ is 100 pcs per style and per colourway, so a twelve-style range in four colourways commits 4,800 pieces before a single unit has sold. The practical answer is to cut colourways before styles, concentrate depth using a 60/30/10 split, and size the opening buy to about eight weeks of cover at an 85% sell-through target. This article works through the piece counts, the depth split, the second-season carry-over decision and the point where an assortment collides with the production slot.
What an Opening Assortment Costs in Pieces
An opening knitted bag assortment costs 100 pieces per style and per colourway, so twelve styles in four colourways commit 4,800 pieces, and the first planning decision is whether that commitment is financially viable before it is whether it is desirable.
The number surprises teams because MOQ is quoted per style and per colourway rather than per order, so the multiplication happens twice. Twelve styles is a modest range; four colourways per style is normal for a knit programme, because colour is the lowest-cost way to make a range look like a range; and the product of the two is nearly five thousand pieces. The alternative arithmetic runs the other way: four styles in three colourways commits 1,200 pieces, which is a quarter of the commitment and usually a better first season, because it buys the same shelf presence with a quarter of the risk. The decision between them should be made on the piece count rather than on the style count, which is why the assortment plan starts here.
The 60/30/10 Depth Split and How to Set It
A 60/30/10 depth split concentrates 60% of the pieces into about 30% of the styles, and it is the most reliable way to keep a knit assortment from running out of its best seller while holding stock in its worst.
The split is set after the first four weeks of trade rather than before the season, which is the part most plans get wrong. A pre-season split is a guess dressed as a decision, and a knit range has a specific reason to wait: the style that sells is usually the one whose construction reads best on the fixture, and that cannot be predicted reliably from a line sheet. The workable method is to open flat, at 100 pcs per cell, then concentrate at the first reorder, which on a 30-day bulk cycle means the concentration is available from about week eight. The alternative is to open concentrated and be wrong, in which case 60% of the pieces sit in a style nobody wants and the range is effectively out of stock in the one everybody does.
- MOQ floor
- 100 pcs per style and per colourway, not per order
- Opening commitment
- 12 styles in four colourways equals 4,800 pieces; four styles in three equals 1,200
- Depth split
- 60% of pieces in about 30% of styles, 30% in the middle band, 10% in the tail
- Cover target
- About eight weeks of cover on the opening drop
- Sell-through target
- 85% at full price across the season
- Concentration point
- The first reorder, available from about week eight on a 30-day bulk cycle
Style Count Versus Colourway Count: Which to Cut First
Cut colourways before styles, because a colourway is a yarn set-up that adds roughly 6% to 9% to the unit while a style is a knitting programme that adds a full development cycle, and the style is what makes the range legible on a fixture.
The reasoning runs on the shelf rather than in the cost sheet. A shopper scanning a knit fixture distinguishes shapes at about three metres and shades at about one metre, which means the silhouette is doing the work of bringing the shopper across the aisle and the colourway is doing the work of closing the choice once they arrive. Cutting styles to protect colourways produces a fixture of one shape in six shades, which reads as a single product and loses the scanning shopper entirely. Cutting colourways to protect styles produces three shapes in two shades each, which reads as a range and still offers a choice. Where a cut is unavoidable, four styles in three colourways beats six styles in two.
| Shape of the range | Pieces committed | What the fixture reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 12 styles, 4 colourways | 4,800 pieces | A full range; the highest commitment and the slowest to concentrate |
| 6 styles, 3 colourways | 1,800 pieces | A credible range; the usual recommendation for a second season |
| 4 styles, 3 colourways | 1,200 pieces | The right opening range; three silhouettes read as a range at three metres |
| 3 styles, 2 colourways | 600 pieces | A capsule; workable for a single door or a test drop |
| 1 style, 6 colourways | 600 pieces | Not a range; reads as one product in six shades and loses the scanning shopper |
Cover, Replenishment and the Sell-Through Target
Size the opening drop to about eight weeks of cover at an 85% full-price sell-through target, because that leaves roughly two weeks between the first reorder decision and the point at which the best style goes out of stock.
The eight-week figure comes from the replenishment cycle rather than from the season length. Bulk runs 30 days, and with freight and receipt the reorder is on the shelf about seven weeks after the order is placed, so a decision taken at week six lands at week thirteen. An opening drop covering eight weeks means the decision point arrives at week six with two weeks of stock remaining, which fits. A drop covering twelve weeks pushes the decision point to week ten and the reorder lands after the gap, which is how a range loses its best style in the middle of its best month. The sell-through target interacts with this: at 85% the residual is small enough to clear through the planned ladder rather than through a second season.
Size and Format Mix Inside One Style
A knitted bag style should carry at most three sizes, because a knit body is programmed to size rather than graded, so each additional size is a separate file, a separate sample and a separate 100 pcs commitment.
This is the clearest difference between knit and cut-and-sew assortment planning. Grading a sewn pattern is a low-cost operation and a range can carry five sizes without much thought; programming a knit body to a new dimension is a development item with its own sampling cycle, and it consumes capacity in the same slot as a new style. The practical rule is that a size variant should only be added where the use case genuinely differs — a 12-litre day size and a 24-litre market size are different products, while a 12-litre and a 14-litre are not. Where a size variant is added, it should be counted as a style in the assortment arithmetic, because that is what it costs.
Depth rules for a knit assortment plan
- Open flat at 100 pcs per cell; concentrate at the first reorder rather than pre-season.
- Cut colourways before styles: a shade is a yarn set-up, a style is a development cycle.
- Count a knit size variant as a style, because it carries its own file and its own MOQ.
- Size the opening drop to about eight weeks of cover, not to the length of the season.
- Hold the 85% full-price sell-through target and plan the residual through the markdown ladder.
- Re-plan the grid after week four; a plan that is not revised is a plan that is wrong.
Good, Better, Best Inside an Assortment
A knitted bag assortment should carry one good, one better and one best style, because three price positions give a shopper a reason to trade up within the range rather than to leave it, and knit can support all three on one machine platform.
The three positions are built from the same knitting capability, which is what makes them economical: the entry style is a single-colour body at a coarser gauge, the middle adds a lining and a hardware change, and the top runs a finer gauge with a structured base and a second yarn. The development cost of the ladder is therefore one platform plus three sets of trim, rather than three separate products. The merchandising consequence is that the three positions should sit adjacent on the fixture rather than separated by category, because the trade-up decision is made by comparison and a shopper who has to walk to compare will not.
The Second-Season Assortment: What to Carry Over
Carry over the styles that reached 85% sell-through and re-colour them rather than re-shaping them, because a new colourway costs a yarn set-up while a new shape costs a full development cycle and a second sampling round.
The carry-over decision is where a knit programme becomes economical, and it is usually mishandled in the same direction: teams re-shape because a returning shape looks stale to them, when the shopper has not seen it before. Re-colouring costs about 6% to 9% on the unit and no development time; re-shaping costs a knitting programme, a sample and 7 working days, and it puts the new shape into the same production slot as the carry-over. The rule of thumb that works is to carry three of four shapes and replace two of three shades, which gives a returning range enough novelty to be re-merchandised and enough continuity to be recognisable.
Where the Assortment Meets the Production Slot
An assortment plan has to be tested against the production slot, because a range of twelve styles in four colourways consumes capacity that a 30-day bulk cycle may not have, and the collision is discovered at booking rather than at planning.
Concentrate the booking
Book the whole range in one slot rather than in four drops. One knitting programme across the shades shares the file and keeps the set-up premium to the yarn.
Share the file
Run colourways off a single knitting file. Only the yarn changes, which holds the premium to about 6% to 9% instead of compounding per shade.
Stagger by style
Split the range into two slots four weeks apart. Protects cash but doubles the number of programmes and lengthens the concentration point.
Cut the tail
Drop the lowest two styles from the grid before booking. Reduces the commitment by 800 pieces on a twelve-style range and rarely costs measurable trade.
Capacity on a knit programme is measured in machine minutes rather than in pieces, and the two do not move together: a coarse-gauge body takes fewer minutes than a fine-gauge one of the same dimensions, so a range mixing gauges consumes a different slot than its piece count suggests. About 200,000 pcs per month across seven production lines is the scale a programme is planned against, and a first drop of a few thousand pieces does not strain it, but the booking still has to be placed against a slot, because a slot not booked is a slot given to another programme.
Build the assortment grid for a knit range
Send the style count, the colourway split and the season length you are planning. Our knit team will return a piece-count grid, a depth split against eight weeks of cover, and a booking plan at MOQ 100 pcs per style and colourway with 30 days of bulk. Start on the contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many pieces does an opening knitted bag range commit?
MOQ is 100 pcs per style and per colourway, so twelve styles in four colourways commit 4,800 pieces. Four styles in three colourways commit 1,200, which is usually the better opening range for a first season.
Should I cut styles or colourways when the piece count is too high?
Cut colourways. A shade is a yarn set-up adding about 6% to 9% to the unit; a style is a full development cycle. Cutting styles leaves one shape in several shades, which reads as a single product on a fixture.
What is a 60/30/10 depth split?
It concentrates 60% of the pieces into about 30% of the styles, 30% into a middle band and 10% into the tail. It is the most reliable way to keep a knit range in stock on its best seller while holding stock on its worst.
When should the depth split be applied?
At the first reorder rather than pre-season. A knit range's best seller is usually the style whose construction reads best on the fixture, which cannot be predicted reliably from a line sheet before the range is on the floor.
How much cover should an opening drop hold?
About eight weeks. Bulk runs 30 days and with freight the reorder lands about seven weeks after it is placed, so eight weeks of cover puts the reorder decision at week six with two weeks of stock remaining.
What sell-through target should a knit range be planned to?
85% at full price across the season. That leaves a residual small enough to clear through a planned markdown ladder rather than carrying it into a second season, where it competes with new stock.
How many sizes should a knitted bag style carry?
At most three, and ideally two. A knit body is programmed to size rather than graded, so each additional size carries its own file, its own sample and its own 100 pcs commitment.
Should a size variant count as a style in the plan?
Yes. It costs the same development work and the same MOQ as a style, so counting it as a colourway understates the commitment. A 12-litre and a 24-litre are different products; a 12-litre and a 14-litre are not.
How should good, better and best be built on knit?
On one machine platform with three trim levels: a coarser gauge for the entry style, a lining and hardware change for the middle, and a finer gauge with a second yarn for the top. The development cost is then one platform plus three trims.
What should carry over into a second season?
Carry three of four shapes and replace two of three shades. Re-colouring costs a yarn set-up and no development time; re-shaping costs a knitting programme, a sample and 7 working days in the same slot.
Does a knit range need to be booked in one production slot?
Booking the whole range in one slot is the lowest-cost route, because one knitting programme can be shared across the shades and only the yarn changes. Staggering protects cash but doubles the number of programmes.
How is capacity measured on a knit programme?
In machine minutes rather than pieces. A coarse-gauge body takes fewer minutes than a fine-gauge one of the same dimensions, so a mixed-gauge range consumes a different slot than its piece count implies.
What is the fastest saving if the grid is over-committed?
Drop the lowest two styles before booking. On a twelve-style range that removes 800 pieces from the commitment and rarely costs measurable trade, because the tail styles are the ones the fixture was never built around.
How often should an assortment plan be revised?
After week four of trade and again at the reorder decision. A plan that is not revised is a plan that is wrong, and on a knit range the four-week point is where the fixture behaviour first becomes visible.
People Also Ask
How many styles should a first bag range have?
Four styles in three colourways is a sound opening range: 1,200 pieces at MOQ 100 pcs, three silhouettes that read as a range at three metres, and enough shades to offer a choice.
Should a range have more styles or more colours?
More styles. Shoppers distinguish shapes at about three metres and shades at about one, so the silhouette brings them across the aisle and the colourway closes the choice once they arrive.
How much stock should an opening order carry?
About eight weeks of cover at an 85% full-price sell-through target. That timing puts the reorder decision at week six, the last point at which 30 days of bulk plus freight still lands before the gap.
Does a knit size variant cost the same as a new style?
Effectively yes. A knit body is programmed to size rather than graded, so a new dimension needs its own file, its own sample and its own 100 pcs commitment.
What is the lowest-cost way to refresh a knit range next season?
Re-colour rather than re-shape. Carry three of four shapes and replace two of three shades; re-colouring costs a yarn set-up and no development time.
Sources and further reading
Every figure on this page is either our own programme data or attributed below. Open the originals before you write them into a specification.
- ISO 2859-1 — Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes, Part 1: AQL-indexed sampling schemesISO Defines the AQL 2.5 release applied to each drop in a two-drop season plan.
- WHOLEGARMENT knitting machinesShima Seiki The machine class behind the gauge ladder that sets machine minutes per unit in an assortment plan.
- ISO 3801 — Textiles, determination of mass per unit length and mass per unit areaISO The method behind the fabric mass figures that separate an entry gauge from a finer one in a good, better, best ladder.
- Global Recycled Standard (GRS)Textile Exchange The scheme behind a recycled-content claim made on an assortment-wide material platform.
- Incoterms rulesInternational Chamber of Commerce Defines FOB Xiamen, the term against which a multi-drop season's freight and receipt windows are planned.
Plan in Cells, Not in Styles
Every assortment decision on a knit programme runs through a grid whose cells each cost 100 pieces. Counting styles without counting colourways understates the commitment by a factor of three or four, and counting size variants as colourways understates it again. Once the grid is drawn, the rest of the plan — the depth split, the cover weeks, the carry-over — is arithmetic rather than judgement.
For the narrative that sells the grid once it is built, see knitted bag brand storytelling. For the customer-facing explanation of what the range is, see knitted bag customer education, and for the sequence that delivers the drops, see knitted bag launch timeline. Commercial terms sit under custom knit bags.