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 close to full price. Clear mid-movers through bundles and your existing customers. Send the true leftovers, usually odd sizes, to a bulk buyer before they age further. Price each clearance against the cost of selling it, not against what you paid for it, because that money is already spent. In the example below, a planned mix brings back ₹8.9 lakh in 90 days, against ₹2.8 lakh from a sitewide dump and zero from holding.

Every year, the week after Diwali feels the same. The lights come down, the sweets run out, and the warehouse is still full. Someone says “we’ll sell it next Diwali”. Someone else says “let’s just do 60% off and be done”. Both sound reasonable. Both usually cost more than they look.

Why leftover stock costs more every month

Most of it is usually the same story: the middle sizes sold out, and the edges didn’t. If that sounds familiar, the cause and the fix are in size-wise dead stock in fashion brands.

The clearance price floor most founders get wrong

Founders usually refuse to sell below what they paid for the product. It feels like losing money. But what you paid is gone either way. The only real question now is: does this sale bring back more cash than it costs to make?

This doesn’t mean “sell everything cheap”. Selling to existing customers at a modest discount almost always beats a deep sitewide sale. It just means a unit that cost you ₹450 isn’t worth ₹450 today. It’s worth whatever someone will pay, minus the cost of getting it to them.

Sort every SKU into one of four groups

For apparel and ethnic wear in particular, the wedding season that usually follows Diwali is your best friend. A festive kurta set that didn’t move in October can be the wedding-guest outfit in December with the same product and a new story.

Meet three founders with the same leftover stock

Same brand, 1,200 unsold kurta sets, ₹450 landed cost each (₹5.4 lakh), regular price ₹1,499. This is an illustrative example, not client data. Shipping is ₹100 to ₹110, fees are 3%, RTO costs ₹51 per delivered order, and marketing costs depend on who you sell to.

How the Planner’s mix adds up

The Panic Seller cleared every unit and still recovered about half of what the stock cost. The Planner recovered more than the stock cost, kept the brand’s prices intact, and only sold 300 units below cost, the ones nobody wanted anyway.

Your November plan

Where else leftover stock can go

So it doesn’t happen next Diwali

Leftover stock mistakes

FAQ

What should I do with unsold stock after Diwali?

Sort it SKU by SKU. Sell still-relevant styles into wedding season at near full price, bundle slow movers, clear the rest quietly through your website and past customers, and liquidate odd or damaged sizes before they age further.

Should I hold festive stock until next Diwali?

Usually not. Cash stays locked for a year, storage keeps costing money, and styles age, so the price you get next year is usually lower than what you’d get now.

Is it okay to sell leftover stock below cost?

Often, yes, for the true leftovers. What you paid is already spent. As long as the sale brings back more than it costs to sell the unit, it turns dead stock into usable cash.

Should I run a big clearance sale on my website?

Be careful. A sitewide discount pulls full-price products down too and trains customers to wait. A separate clearance section, bundles and offers to past buyers usually work better.

How do I avoid leftover stock next festive season?

Buy sizes based on what actually sold, order in smaller waves with quick reorders, pre-sell hero styles, and plan your clearance before the festive sale starts.

— Ashish Rai, CEO, Purple Circle