Business Overview — Essentials by Briannah

The Merchandising Mind
Your Brand Has Been Missing.

A fractional merchandising practice bringing Calvin Klein-level buying intelligence to indie and growth fashion brands — powered by AI.

AI-Powered · Fractional · Fashion-Native
Positioning

The One-Liner

“
Essentials by Briannah is a fractional merchandising practice that brings Calvin Klein-level buying intelligence to indie and growth fashion brands — powered by AI, guided by 15+ years inside the industry.
Briannah Ashleigh  ·  Essentials by Briannah
The Problem

What's happening inside
most brands your size

Indie and growth brands are making six and seven-figure buying decisions every season without a merchandising expert in the room. The results are predictable.

Only 40–60% of SKUs sell through at full price — the rest become markdowns

20–35% of revenue lost to markdowns and discounts every season

Bestsellers sell out in 2 weeks — leaving $100K+ in lost sales on the table

Slow movers tie up cash for months — capital that should be funding growth

Online stores feel like warehouses, not curated shops — bounce rates 50–70%

Founders buy on gut feel and social buzz — copying competitors, chasing trends

What We Do

Three core capabilities

📊

Demand Forecasting

AI-powered SKU-level forecasts using your sales history plus real-time signals — TikTok trends, Google search data, seasonal patterns. Know what to buy before you commit capital.

🎯

Assortment Discipline

Tighter SKU counts. Better core vs. trend balance. Higher sell-through rates. Less deadstock. Fewer markdowns. The right product, at the right depth, for the right season.

🛍️

Digital Merchandising

Your online store merchandised the way a great physical store is — curated edits, capsule logic, and product surfaces that guide shoppers to the buy and raise average order value.

Services

Three ways to
work together

Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute discovery call. We figure out which tier fits where your brand is right now.

The Assortment Audit

$3,500  ·  2-Week Engagement

Best for brands heading into a new season, carrying too much inventory, or unclear on why sell-through is underperforming.

  • Full SKU performance analysis
  • Sell-through breakdown by category
  • Category mix health score
  • Markdown rate diagnosis
  • Top 5 high-impact recommendations
  • Written report + 60-min walkthrough
Most Popular

Fractional Retainer

$3,000–$7,500/month  ·  Ongoing

Best for brands that want an ongoing strategic partner across every season. The equivalent of a part-time CMO.

  • 2 strategy sessions per month
  • Seasonal buy recommendations
  • SKU-level demand forecasting (AI)
  • Assortment curation guidance
  • Online store merchandising review
  • Performance dashboard access
  • Slack / email support between sessions

Seasonal Buy Strategy

$8,000–$18,000/season  ·  6–8 Weeks

Best for brands making a major seasonal buy who want expert oversight before committing capital.

  • Demand forecast by category + SKU
  • Open-to-buy (OTB) budget framework
  • Assortment plan + SKU count rec
  • Vendor buy recommendations
  • Digital merchandising plan
  • Post-season sell-through debrief

Coming Soon — Software Dashboard: Retainer and seasonal clients get early access to a proprietary performance dashboard tracking live SKU sell-through, category mix health, demand signals, and OTB vs. actual spend.

Business Impact

What results
look like

Based on industry benchmarks and comparable engagements in fashion retail merchandising.

Indie Brand  ·  $2M–$5M Revenue

Sell-through rate60% → 80%
Markdown rate25% → 10%
Markdowns saved~$150K/year
Stockout revenue captured+$100K/year
SKU count optimized200 → 120 SKUs

Growth Brand  ·  $10M–$30M Revenue

Markdown rate30% → 20%
Profit saved annually~$1M+
New SKU adoption rate20% → 35%
AOV improvement$110 → $140
Cart abandonment reduction−15%
About

15+ years inside fashion's
most demanding buying rooms

Briannah Ashleigh

Briannah Ashleigh

Experience
15+ Years in Fashion Merchandising
Brands
Calvin Klein · Men's Fashion · Accessories · Sporting Goods
Specialties
Demand Forecasting · Assortment Planning · Digital Merchandising · Open-to-Buy
Clients Served
Indie DTC to Mid-Market Growth Brands ($2M–$40M)
Based
Available remotely across the US

I've spent over 15 years inside some of fashion's most demanding buying rooms — from Calvin Klein to men's fashion, accessories, and sporting goods brands. I've seen firsthand how the right merchandising decisions can transform a season, and how the wrong ones quietly erode a brand's margin, season after season.

Most indie and growth brands don't have access to that kind of expertise. They're buying on gut feel, social buzz, or sheer intuition. The results show up in markdowns, stockouts, and inventory that just won't move.

Essentials by Briannah exists to close that gap. I work as a fractional Chief Merchandising Officer — bringing enterprise-level buying intelligence, powered by AI tools, to brands that are ready to operate like the big players without the overhead of a full planning team.

If you're a founder who's tired of guessing what to buy and how much, let's talk.

Market Position

Where we sit in
the competitive landscape

No competitor currently occupies the same combination of credentials, AI tooling, and indie/growth brand focus.

Competitor Fashion Pedigree AI-Powered Consulting (not software) Indie/Growth Focus Digital Merchandising
Essentials by Briannah ✓ Calvin Klein ✓ Yes ✓ Yes ✓ $2M–$40M ✓ Yes
Plan + Pivot Collective ✓ Yes ✗ No ✓ Yes ✓ Yes ✗ No
Toolio / Style Arcade ✗ No ✓ Yes ✗ Software only ~ Limited ✗ No
Stylitics / Lily AI ✗ No ✓ Yes ✗ Software only ✗ Enterprise only ✓ Yes
Big 4 Consulting ~ Some ~ Some ✓ Yes ✗ Enterprise only ~ Limited
Freelance (Upwork/Toptal) ~ Varies ✗ No ✓ Yes ✓ Yes ✗ No
Getting Started

The path to
first revenue

The fastest path is a services-first approach — validate with real clients before building software. Briannah's network is the first and best channel.

01

Warm Outreach

Reach out to 10–15 former colleagues and brand contacts. Offer 2 free or discounted audits to generate case studies and testimonials.

02

Launch Site

Build essentialsbybriannah.com using the prepared copy. Add Calendly for discovery call booking. Publish the free "Assortment Audit Checklist" as a lead magnet.

03

Build Retainer Book

Target 3–5 retainer clients at $3K–$5K/month. At 5 clients, revenue reaches $15K–$25K/month. Minimum 3-month commitments create stability.

04

Productize + Scale

After 6–12 months of client data, build the proprietary dashboard. Software becomes an add-on revenue stream — and the foundation for a scalable product.

Year 1 Revenue Potential
$120K – $200K
3–5 retainer clients + project audits
Year 2 Revenue Potential
$200K – $350K
5–6 retainers + seasonal projects + early software
Year 3 Revenue Potential
$350K – $600K+
Retainers + software subscriptions + team leverage