Author: Ashish Rai

By Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle · October 2026 · 8 min read Festive GMV is not festive profit. For a fashion D2C brand in India, ₹40 lakh of festive orders can turn into only about ₹27 lakh of money actually kept, and roughly ₹3 lakh of contribution after ad spend. The only way to… Continue reading Was Your Festive Sale Profitable? A Post-Diwali P&L Check

By Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle · October 2026 · 9 min read Don’t hold leftover Diwali stock for a year, and don’t dump it all at 60% off either. Sort it SKU by SKU and give each group the cheapest way to turn back into cash. Push still-relevant styles into the wedding season at… Continue reading What to Do With Leftover Stock After Diwali?

By Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle · October 2026 · 10 min read Quick commerce can be profitable for a D2C brand, but usually only for products with a high gross margin, roughly 70% or more, and a low price that customers buy often. After commission, in-app ads, freight and stock write-offs, a ₹599 product… Continue reading Is Quick Commerce Profitable for My D2C Brand?

By Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle · October 2026 · 9 min read A Diwali sale only makes money if the extra orders cover the discount, the higher festive ad costs and the higher festive RTO, and a flat discount usually needs far more extra orders than founders expect. At a 55% margin after delivery… Continue reading Will My Diwali Sale Make Money or Just Make Noise?

By Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle · October 2026 · 10 min read Most stores aren’t profitable after a year because the profit each order leaves after ads (CM3) doesn’t cover the fixed costs that grew alongside them: team, warehouse, tools and agency. The fix is rarely “more orders”. It’s usually better orders: bigger baskets,… Continue reading Why Is My Store Still Not Profitable After One Year?

By Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle · October 2026 · 8 min read You’re not making more profit after raising prices because a price increase only works if conversion doesn’t fall too far, and most brands accidentally undo it. They add a coupon to “recover volume”, or let conversion crash because nothing on the page… Continue reading Why Am I Not Making Profit After Increasing My Prices?

By Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle · October 2026 · 9 min read Choose apparel products by what they keep after every cost, not by their product margin. CM1 is what’s left after product cost. CM2 is what’s left after shipping, payment fees, RTO and returns. CM3 is what’s left after ads. Set a minimum… Continue reading How to Choose Apparel Products Using CM1 and CM2

By Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle · October 2026 · 8 min read You lose money on orders under ₹999 because most of your per-order costs don’t shrink when your price does. Shipping, packaging, COD fees, the return leg on RTO and the ad cost to win the order are roughly the same on a… Continue reading Why Do I Lose Money on Orders Under ₹999?

By Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle · October 2026 · 8 min read Your best-selling product often makes the least profit because it carries the most hidden costs: the most ad spend, the most discount codes, the most COD orders that come back, and the most size returns. Your sales report ranks products by revenue.… Continue reading Why Is My Best-Selling Product Not Making Any Profit?