Stop Burning Margin Like It’s 1999: How Leading Fashion Retailers Are Overhauling Their Markdown Management with AI

Every season, fashion retailers burn millions in margin. Not because they have to, because they’re still managing markdowns like it’s 1999. Under-pressure decision making with bulky, overwhelming spreadsheets that force them to resort to rules of thumb and gut-feel decisions. Meanwhile, everything else fundamentally changed. How we buy, how fashion sells. But markdown management? Hasn’t caught up.The gap is no longer merely inefficient. It’s actively torching profit. Leading retailers are done with it.They are overhauling markdown management with AI tools that deliver what spreadsheets never could: accurate demand forecasts, multi-phase markdown scenarios, and crisp recommendations with clear trade-offs. The result? +3-7% margin lift. Up to 95% faster decisions. Close to 90-95% forecast accuracy 24 weeks out. In this talk, we’ll explore how leading retailers are implementing this, the challenges they faced, and how you can make the switch too.

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