The remaining inventory purchasing budget for a period, based on planned sales, stock and existing commitments.
Open-to-buy gives buyers a way to monitor how much inventory purchasing capacity remains within a merchandise plan. The calculation brings together sales expectations, target stock levels and purchases already committed for the period. As actual sales, stock and orders change, the available budget can be reviewed against the original plan. This helps a team decide whether it has room for further orders or needs to restrain new commitments. Figures may be expressed at cost or retail value, so the basis and period must be clear before budgets are compared.
In job listings
A London merchandise planning and trading role at NET-A-PORTER combined buying-budget decisions with forecasting. The manager set a stock and margin plan before the season, then revised the forecast as trading progressed. In that context, open-to-buy tells the buying team how much room the plan leaves for further orders. Search local jobs for “open-to-buy”.
