Reading weeks of cover without fooling yourself
Weeks of cover looks precise until two doors behave differently and the average hides a problem. In Hong Kong multi-door estates, a Causeway Bay door can clear a colour while a quieter suburban door still holds depth. If your dashboard only shows style-level averages, buyers will defend a buy that the floor has already rejected in part of the estate.
Pair cover with sell-through rate
Cover alone does not say whether the remaining units will move at full price. Pair weeks of cover with recent sell-through rate and a simple door split. When cover is high and sell-through is soft in the same colour family, that is a markdown conversation—not a replenishment one.
Size curves matter early
Many teams wait until mid-season to notice hero sizes are gone while fringe sizes remain. A useful merchandising dashboard surfaces size sell-through weekly during the first four weeks after intake. That is when transfers or late top-ups still help.
Keep the meeting short
Bring three charts maximum to the merch meeting: top movers, lagging colours by door, and cover outliers. Extra slides rarely change the buy; they only consume the hour.