So you’ve launched your clothing brand. The Instagram feed looks slick, the launch week had buzz, your friends say it’s “awesome”—but here’s the hard truth: revenue isn’t the same as profit. If you don’t know exactly what you’re spending, you could be losing money even while you grow.
Let’s walk through the real math behind profitability for a clothing brand. We’ll show you how to calculate it — and where most founders go wrong. At the end, you’ll be invited to download a free file: your Clothing Brand Profit Calculator to plug your numbers in and see exactly where you stand.
1. Know Your True Profit Margin
Picture this: you sell 200 pieces in a month at €45 each = €9,000 in revenue. Seems good, right? But if you don’t subtract all your costs, you might still be in the red. That’s because a clothing brand’s costs don’t stop when you hand over the pieces.
Three major cost pillars matter: supplier costs, warehouse & logistics costs, and marketing costs. Get clear on each one — and you’ll know if you’re really making money.
2. Supplier Costs – The Foundation
When you think “supplier cost”, you might only think “production cost per piece”. But the full picture is deeper:
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Sampling costs – Before full production you’ll probably do prototypes, revisions, and tests. These cost money (fabric, labour).
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Shipping samples – Getting them to you (and maybe back for changes) adds cost.
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Bulk production unit cost – When you place your full order, what’s the cost for each piece? Usually lower than sample, but you must know it.
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Minimum order quantity (MOQ) – If you order fewer units, your cost per piece can be higher.
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Shipping bulk production – Whether by sea or air, shipping costs can bite. For example: 500 units shipped by sea might have low per-unit cost, but air freight for 100 units will inflate cost.
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Tariffs/customs/import duties – Don’t forget these if you’re importing.
Quick formula for supplier cost per unit:
(Sampling total cost + sample shipping) + (Production unit cost × units) + (Bulk shipping + duties) ÷ units = “true cost per unit”.
If your unit cost ends up €15 but you sell at €45, it seems healthy — but only if you subtract the other costs we’ll discuss.
Read Blog: How Much Should I Charge for My Clothing?
3. Warehouse & Logistics Costs – The Silent Profit Eaters
Once your units arrive, the work isn’t done. Storage, packaging, shipping to customers—they all count.
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Storage cost – Whether you rent a small storage space, pay for a warehouse, or even store at home, cost exists.
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Packaging & materials – Boxes, poly bags, labels, tags, the works.
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Order fulfilment cost – Picking pieces, packing them, inserting invoices or thank you cards.
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Shipping to customers – Think average cost per shipment × number of shipments. If you offer free shipping, factor that fully.
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Returns & exchanges – Returns cost you: shipping back, repacking, damaged goods, unsellable items.
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Number of shipments – More orders = more shipping cost.
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Average shipping cost – If you blanket promise “free shipping worldwide”, you may be paying much more than you expect.
Quick formula for logistics cost per unit:
(Total storage cost + total packaging cost + (number of shipments × average shipping cost) + return costs) ÷ number of units sold = logistics cost per unit.
Add that to your supplier unit cost: your “cost per unit delivered to customer”.
4. Marketing Costs – Make Sales Without Losing Money
Even if your product costs and logistics are perfect, you won’t have profit if you spend more to get a sale than the sale brings in.
Here are common marketing costs:
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Paid Ads (Meta/Facebook, Google, TikTok) – Budget for impressions, clicks, conversions.
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Influencer collaborations / gifting – Free product or payment to influencers costs something; what’s the return?
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Gifts / product seeding – Giving away items hoping for exposure.
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Creative costs – Photo shoots, video content, copywriting, graphic design.
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Customer acquisition cost (CAC) – How much you spend to get one paying customer.
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Return on ad spend (ROAS) – Are your ads earning back more than you spend? If you spend €5 on ads to get a €10 sale, that may not leave enough margin.
Quick formula for marketing cost per unit:
(Total ad spend + influencer/gift cost + creative cost) ÷ number of units sold = marketing cost per unit.
5. The Real Profit Formula
Now let’s bring it all together:
Profit per unit = Sale price – (Supplier cost per unit + Logistics cost per unit + Marketing cost per unit)
Total profit = (Profit per unit) × number of units sold – fixed overheads (e.g., website hosting, admin, returns overhead).
If that number is positive—you’re profitable. If it’s zero or negative—you’re spending more than you keep.
Example:
If your sale price is €45 and your supplier cost is €15, that leaves €30 of margin before logistics and marketing.
After accounting for shipping (€6), packaging (€1), and marketing (€10), your true profit per piece is:
€45 – (€15 + €6 + €1 + €10) = €13 profit per unit.
That’s the number that matters. That’s what you build your business around.
6. Where Brands Go Wrong (And How You Fix It)
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Underestimating shipping & duties
Many producers quote “production cost only”. You need to add import/shipping/duty to get accurate cost.
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Ignoring logistics/storage
If you’re storing boxes in your garage, that space and your time still count.
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Assuming free shipping is free
A “free shipping” promise can cost €5–€10 per order—and kill your margin if you don’t price accordingly.
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Chasing vanity metrics in marketing
A viral reel or influencer post may bring views or likes—but what about paying customers and profit?
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Scaling too soon
If your bare-bones model at 200 units is barely breaking even, scaling to 2,000 units will only amplify losses unless your unit economics improve.
How to fix it:
- Break down every cost into units (cost per piece, cost per shipment, cost per customer).
- Create a spreadsheet (or use the download I’ll share) and plug in your numbers.
- Set target metrics: e.g., cost per unit < 40% of sale price, marketing cost per unit < 20%.
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Audit regularly (monthly or quarterly) — and adjust pricing, packaging, shipping, or marketing based on what the numbers say.
7. Your Free Resource: Download the Clothing Brand Profit Calculator
You don’t have to build your own spreadsheet from scratch. We’ve created a free downloadable file that helps you plug in all the variables above and instantly see whether you’re making profit — and where your biggest cost leaks are.
Enter your details below, and we’ll send the download link to your inbox.
This tool includes:
- Sample and bulk cost sheets for supplier, shipping
- Logistics cost calculator
- Marketing cost breakdown
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“What-if” scenarios (What if you increase order size? What if shipping cost lowers? What if ad spend changes?)
Why you’ll love it: It’s the exact same model professional brand consultants use — simplified for yourself.
Don’t wait — every month you don’t audit your costs you risk increasing losses instead of profit.
8. Final Thoughts
Building a clothing brand is exciting, creative, and full of potential. But ignoring true profitability is a recipe for burnout and wasted money.
If you’re going to scale, you must know your numbers. Treat this like a business, not just a passion project.
Use the tool, audit your costs, experiment with pricing, shipping, and marketing — and iteratively improve your model.
Because when your unit economics are solid, growth becomes fun. But when they’re weak… growth becomes dangerous.
Grab the free calculator now, plug in your numbers, and let’s find out: Is your clothing brand actually profitable?
Is Your Clothing Brand Actually Profitable? Here’s How to Know (and Fix It)
So you’ve launched your clothing brand. The Instagram feed looks slick, the launch week had buzz, your friends say it’s “awesome”—but here’s the hard truth: revenue isn’t the same as profit. If you don’t know exactly what you’re spending, you could be losing money even while you grow.
Let’s walk through the real math behind profitability for a clothing brand. We’ll show you how to calculate it — and where most founders go wrong. At the end, you’ll be invited to download a free file: your Clothing Brand Profit Calculator to plug your numbers in and see exactly where you stand.
1. Know Your True Profit Margin
Picture this: you sell 200 pieces in a month at €45 each = €9,000 in revenue. Seems good, right? But if you don’t subtract all your costs, you might still be in the red. That’s because a clothing brand’s costs don’t stop when you hand over the pieces.
Three major cost pillars matter: supplier costs, warehouse & logistics costs, and marketing costs. Get clear on each one — and you’ll know if you’re really making money.
2. Supplier Costs – The Foundation
When you think “supplier cost”, you might only think “production cost per piece”. But the full picture is deeper:
Quick formula for supplier cost per unit:
(Sampling total cost + sample shipping) + (Production unit cost × units) + (Bulk shipping + duties) ÷ units = “true cost per unit”.
If your unit cost ends up €15 but you sell at €45, it seems healthy — but only if you subtract the other costs we’ll discuss.
3. Warehouse & Logistics Costs – The Silent Profit Eaters
Once your units arrive, the work isn’t done. Storage, packaging, shipping to customers—they all count.
Quick formula for logistics cost per unit:
(Total storage cost + total packaging cost + (number of shipments × average shipping cost) + return costs) ÷ number of units sold = logistics cost per unit.
Add that to your supplier unit cost: your “cost per unit delivered to customer”.
4. Marketing Costs – Make Sales Without Losing Money
Even if your product costs and logistics are perfect, you won’t have profit if you spend more to get a sale than the sale brings in.
Here are common marketing costs:
Quick formula for marketing cost per unit:
(Total ad spend + influencer/gift cost + creative cost) ÷ number of units sold = marketing cost per unit.
5. The Real Profit Formula
Now let’s bring it all together:
Profit per unit = Sale price – (Supplier cost per unit + Logistics cost per unit + Marketing cost per unit)
Total profit = (Profit per unit) × number of units sold – fixed overheads (e.g., website hosting, admin, returns overhead).
If that number is positive—you’re profitable. If it’s zero or negative—you’re spending more than you keep.
Example:
If your sale price is €45 and your supplier cost is €15, that leaves €30 of margin before logistics and marketing.
After accounting for shipping (€6), packaging (€1), and marketing (€10), your true profit per piece is:
€45 – (€15 + €6 + €1 + €10) = €13 profit per unit.
That’s the number that matters. That’s what you build your business around.
6. Where Brands Go Wrong (And How You Fix It)
Many producers quote “production cost only”. You need to add import/shipping/duty to get accurate cost.
If you’re storing boxes in your garage, that space and your time still count.
A “free shipping” promise can cost €5–€10 per order—and kill your margin if you don’t price accordingly.
A viral reel or influencer post may bring views or likes—but what about paying customers and profit?
If your bare-bones model at 200 units is barely breaking even, scaling to 2,000 units will only amplify losses unless your unit economics improve.
How to fix it:
7. Your Free Resource: Download the Clothing Brand Profit Calculator
You don’t have to build your own spreadsheet from scratch. We’ve created a free downloadable file that helps you plug in all the variables above and instantly see whether you’re making profit — and where your biggest cost leaks are.
Enter your details below, and we’ll send the download link to your inbox.
This tool includes:
Why you’ll love it: It’s the exact same model professional brand consultants use — simplified for yourself.
Don’t wait — every month you don’t audit your costs you risk increasing losses instead of profit.
8. Final Thoughts
Building a clothing brand is exciting, creative, and full of potential. But ignoring true profitability is a recipe for burnout and wasted money.
If you’re going to scale, you must know your numbers. Treat this like a business, not just a passion project.
Use the tool, audit your costs, experiment with pricing, shipping, and marketing — and iteratively improve your model.
Because when your unit economics are solid, growth becomes fun. But when they’re weak… growth becomes dangerous.
Grab the free calculator now, plug in your numbers, and let’s find out: Is your clothing brand actually profitable?