How much stock?

While Christina is enjoying a well earned break on the Sunshine Coast, I have been busy placing orders for fabrics and trims and commencing production to fulfill orders for summer stock. My dilemma has been how much extra stock to carry as I know that leading up to Christmas sales will really increase and I will need to carry more stock or else I will be kicking myself. The trickiest thing about this kind of business is the need to speculate which designs or prints may sell best and what quantities to carry in each size. I still don't have enough history or experience to predict this accurately and have been surprised by how often I have got this wrong! Excess stock is something most businesses deal with but I work on the principle that carrying less makes each piece more exclusive so I tend not to carry much stock on speculation. The down side of this is that if stockists want more stock mid season I can't always oblige and our online shop may get sold out before the season is out.