Maintained markup calculator: what the season actually earned
Maintained markup, in one paragraph
Maintained markup is achieved gross profit divided by cost of goods sold, after every markdown has been taken. The same dollars divided by net sales is maintained margin. The gap between initial and maintained is what your markdown cadence cost you, and it is reported in percentage points because two percentages are being compared.
Two figures do the work: average unit retail, which is what customers actually paid on average, and markdown dollars, which is the reduction per unit multiplied by the units sold at that reduction. Everything else follows from those.
Calculate maintained markup
Defaults show 1,000 units at an $18.00 cost and a $49.00 ticket, sold across four price points. Change any figure.
Units sold at each price
Full price
First markdown
Second markdown
Clearance
- Maintained markup (on cost)
- 101.4%
- Maintained margin (on retail)
- 50.4%
- Initial markup / margin
- 172.2% / 63.3%
- Margin erosion
- 12.9 pts
- Average unit retail
- $36.26
- Markdown dollars taken
- $12,740.00
- Net sales
- $36,260.00
- Units sold
- 1,000
Maintained markup is measured against cost, maintained margin against realized retail. Both use the units you actually sold at each price, so they answer "what did this markdown cadence really earn" rather than "what did I plan to earn".
| Depth | Price | Gross profit | Markup on cost | Margin on retail | Erosion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full price | $49.00 | $31.00 | 172.2% | 63.3% | 0.0 pts |
| 15% off | $41.65 | $23.65 | 131.4% | 56.8% | 6.5 pts |
| 25% off | $36.75 | $18.75 | 104.2% | 51.0% | 12.3 pts |
| 40% off | $29.40 | $11.40 | 63.3% | 38.8% | 24.5 pts |
| 50% off | $24.50 | $6.50 | 36.1% | 26.5% | 36.8 pts |
| 60% off | $19.60 | $1.60 | 8.9% | 8.2% | 55.1 pts |
Read the third column, not the first. A 40% price cut removes 63% of the profit on that unit — which is why the units-per-price mix matters more than the headline discount.
Why the mix matters more than the depth
A season that sells 60% of units at full price and clears the rest at 50% off can hold a healthier maintained markup than one that sells 30% at full price and clears the rest at only 30% off. The depth on the ticket is a smaller lever than the share of units that clear before you reach it — which is a timing decision, not a pricing decision.
Keep planning
- Model your markdown schedule
Forecast the unit mix instead of entering it, with sell-through per price period and a sensitivity band.
- Retail markdown formulas
Every calculation on this page written out, including successive markdowns.
- Markdown vs markup
Why markup on cost and margin on retail are never the same percentage.
- Retail markdown planning
Set a maintained margin floor before the season rather than measuring it after.
Answers
Maintained markup questions
Forecast maintained margin instead of measuring it late
The planner projects the unit mix from your sell-through assumptions, so you see maintained margin, ending stock, and cash recovered before you commit to the schedule.