Episode Details

If you're not accurately calculating your landed costs, your apparel brand could be losing money without you even realizing it. 

In this episode of the Business of Apparel podcast, Rachel explains exactly what landed cost means and how to calculate it for apparel products in a simple, practical way. She shares why understanding the true cost of producing and importing your garments is essential for protecting your margins and building a profitable business.

📝 Today We're Covering:

• What landed cost means in the apparel industry
• The difference between CMT, FOB, and DDP factory pricing
• How to calculate garment costs, shipping fees, tariffs, and duty rates
• How unexpected customs bills can hurt cash flow and profitability
• Why understanding your margins helps you build a more sustainable business

Whether you are producing your first collection or scaling an established apparel brand, this episode will help you better understand your true production costs so you can price confidently, protect your profits, and avoid costly surprises.

➡️ Your Next Steps:

• Get your Free Initial Line Planning Template here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/gift
• Join The Board here: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/join
• Purchase the Business of Apparel Online Course: https://www.thebusinessofapparel.com/course

‼️ Don't Miss These Episodes:

• Wholesale 101: https://youtu.be/lpezH1YwCyE
• Use AI in Your Apparel Brand: https://youtu.be/Dn9tjPNmfaw
• Grow a 7-Figure Apparel Business: https://youtu.be/rpQYDyo5Rao

🤝 Meet Rachel:

Rachel Erickson is a Fractional COO, Apparel Industry Consultant, and founder of Unmarked Street and The Business of Apparel. With 20+ years in technical design and product development leadership, she sat at the executive table of a $25M apparel line and helped scale it to $60M in one year.

After decades working inside major fashion companies, she learned the truth behind billion-dollar brands, and it's not about chasing trends or pumping out endless products. It's about building clean processes, tightly edited assortments, and obsessively focused customer targeting.

Rachel helps founders and CEOs of performance apparel brands:

✅ Build lean, profitable product lines

✅ Streamline operations for growth

✅ Replace overwhelm with executive clarity

✅ Create garments that fit bodies in motion

Whether you're just hitting $1M in revenue or trying to break through the $10M ceiling, Rachel will join you as an embedded operations and product partner—running fittings, line plans, tech packs, and vendor communications so you can get back to leading.

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-erickson-pmp/ and visit her website at www.unmarkedstreet.com.