Case 27 — Brandy Melville · Silvio Marsan · 2009

One store, one production run per style, and no money for advertising. How many sizes do you make?

You run a small Italian clothing brand that has done modestly for decades. You and your son are about to open your first store in the United States, near a university campus in Los Angeles, with a rack of simple basics — camisoles, T-shirts, soft trousers — in a pale palette, priced where a teenager's allowance can reach. You have no advertising budget and do not intend to have one. The American teen market is owned by Abercrombie, Hollister, Forever 21 and American Apparel, all of which carry full size ranges and spend heavily on marketing. Your Italian production runs are small. Every additional size you stock multiplies the styles you have to cut, the stock you have to hold, and the sizes you will have to mark down when they do not sell.

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