Footwear Distribution in Nepal: Size Runs, Season Calendar and Retailer Credit
A shoe shop never orders one pair. It orders a size run, a season ahead, on credit. Here is how to plan footwear stock and sales around sizes and the Nepali calendar.
gamitrack team · · 6 min read
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A shoe shop never orders one pair of shoes. It orders a size run of a few styles, a season ahead, usually on credit, and it remembers which distributor had size 7 in stock when everyone else had only 5 and 10. Footwear distribution in Nepal is therefore a game of sizes and timing more than a game of volume. This guide is built around the two things that decide the year for a footwear distributor: the size grid and the season calendar, and how to run both in gamitrack alongside routes, credit and exchanges.
One article, many SKUs
A single school shoe in black may come in eight or more sizes. A sandal may come in three colours and seven sizes. To the retailer each of those is a different item, and to your stock it must be too. If all sizes sit under one SKU, the stock report says "120 pairs" while the shops are asking for the one size you no longer have.
Use one naming pattern for everything, for example:
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Article | School shoe lace-up |
| Colour | Black |
| Size | 6 |
| Pack | Pair or carton of 12 |
In gamitrack each of these becomes its own SKU, grouped under categories such as sandals, school shoes, sports shoes and slippers. Stock levels are kept per branch, and a low-stock alert on the fast middle sizes warns you before the run breaks.
Depth where it sells
Not every size deserves the same depth. Middle sizes usually sell fastest, extremes sell slowly. A practical approach is to hold depth in the middle and a thin layer at each end, then adjust after each season using what actually sold. The movement history in gamitrack shows every receipt, sale, transfer and return per SKU, so you can see the sell-through by size without a separate spreadsheet.
The footwear season calendar
The exact timing varies by region, from the Terai to the hills, but a distributor's year in Nepal often looks something like this. Treat it as a planning template and fill in your own months from past sales.
| Period (approximate) | Main demand | What to do before it |
|---|---|---|
| Chaitra to Baisakh | School shoes for the new session | Confirm size runs with school suppliers and shops; transfer stock to busy branches |
| Baisakh to Asar | Sandals, slippers, light shoes for summer | Clear winter leftovers; push sandal ranges on routes |
| Shrawan to Bhadra | Rain-friendly footwear, slower trade in some areas | Collect dues from the school season; review slow sizes |
| Asoj to Kartik | Dashain and Tihar: new and fashion footwear | Take festival orders early; watch credit limits on big orders |
| Mangsir to Magh | Closed shoes and boots for winter | Ship early to hill towns; agree exchange dates for winter stock |
| Falgun | End-of-season clearance and exchange | Settle exchanges; plan the next school season |
The pattern that hurts most is arriving late: winter boots that reach a hill town after the cold has set in, or school shoes that arrive a week after the session starts. Plan the transfer to each branch from the calendar, not from the first shop that complains.
Pre-season checklist
Two to four weeks before each season:
- List the core articles you will carry and the size depth for each.
- Check stock by article and size in each branch, not just totals.
- Move stock between branches with transfers so the busy area is covered.
- Set or raise low-stock levels on the fast sizes for the season.
- Review each big retailer's overdue balance before taking a large order.
- Confirm the exchange policy in writing with retailers.
- Set monthly targets for officers, so the daily pace is visible during a short season.
On the route: what a good shop visit looks like
Footwear retailers are visited on a route by market area. In gamitrack, the officer starts the day in the app and visits stops in order. Each visit is GPS-verified against the shop's geofence with a photo, which also gives the manager a picture of the shop's display. Visits outside the geofence, too short or without a photo are flagged for review.
During the visit the officer books a size-wise order in the app, priced from the price list. Large retailers, school suppliers and sub-distributors can have their own party override prices. VAT applies only on taxable lines, and invoices follow the IRD format with Bikram Sambat dates. Orders need a mobile connection to save; the location trail is kept on the phone and synced later if the signal drops.
If you sell through dealers, officers can book secondary orders from shops that the dealer fulfils, while dealers place their own primary orders with you in the dealer app. Each dealer's monthly stock report shows expected against actual closing stock, which reveals slow sell-out before it becomes an exchange request.
Exchanges and end-of-season returns
Most footwear retailers expect to swap slow articles or sizes at some point. Without a policy, this turns into an argument at every season end. Agree three things in advance:
- Which goods can be exchanged (for example, unworn, in original box).
- Until when (a date after the season, not open-ended).
- For what (another size or article, or credit against the account).
Record each exchange as a return with a reason, approved into a branch with a credit note. The returned pairs go back into stock under their own SKU, so the size picture stays correct. Book the replacement as a normal order.
Credit: big orders, late payment
Seasonal orders are large and retailers often pay after the season sells. That is where cash gets stuck. In gamitrack, payments by cash, eSewa, Khalti, Fonepay, bank or cheque are recorded against each party and allocated oldest-first. The party statement and aging show what each retailer owes and for how long, and payment due days are counted from dispatch.
A weekly collection plan lists who should pay this week and compares planned against actual. A simple rule helps: do not take a new season's order from a retailer who has not cleared the last season, unless you have agreed the terms on purpose.
A worked example: the school shoe rush (hypothetical)
Suppose a distributor with two branches checks stock three weeks before the school session. Totals look fine, but sizes 4 and 5 of the main black school shoe are low in the branch that serves the busiest market, while the other branch has plenty. A transfer moves stock across in a day, and a reorder covers the rest.
At the same time, the collection plan shows that two large retailers still owe money from the Dashain season. The officer visits them first, and their new orders are taken only after a payment is recorded. These numbers and decisions are illustrative; the habit of checking size and credit together is the point.
Numbers worth reviewing
| Measure | What it tells you | When |
|---|---|---|
| Stock by article and size, per branch | Broken size runs | Weekly in season |
| Sell-through by size | How deep to hold each size next time | After each season |
| Overdue by retailer | Credit risk before new orders | Weekly |
| Exchanges by article | Weak designs or quality issues | Monthly |
| Dealer stock variance | Slow sell-out or leakage | Monthly |
Related reading: garment wholesalers for another size-and-season trade, moving stock between branches and credit control and collections.
To see whether it fits your business, check the plans on our pricing page, or contact us before your next season starts.
Frequently asked questions
How should I set up shoe sizes in gamitrack?
Create each article and size as its own SKU, and add colour where colours sell differently. Use one naming pattern, such as article, colour, size, so stock levels and low-stock alerts work size by size.
Can I run a free-pair or carton scheme for dealers?
Yes. Dealer schemes can be set up with tiered rewards based on their sales, and rewards are credited to the dealer's ledger once approved.
How do I handle end-of-season exchanges?
Agree the exchange terms first. Then record each exchange as a return with a reason, approved into a branch with a credit note, and book the replacement as a new order.
Can I see which sizes are not moving?
Stock levels by SKU and the movement history show which sizes leave the godown quickly and which sit there. Review them weekly in season.
Put this playbook to work
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