Retail Margin on Gis, Gloves, and Wraps: Worth Stocking?

Yes, but only for a short list. Using a simple Stock, Order, Skip rule, a martial arts gym should stock the gear every new member needs in week one (hand wraps, mouthguards, a starter gi or 12 to 16 oz gloves) priced near keystone, roughly double wholesale, and special-order or refer out everything else.

TL;DR

• Stock only items that sell at least four units a month. Special-order anything sized or fitted, and take a 50% deposit.
• Bundle wraps, gloves, and a mouthguard into one starter kit and charge it with the first membership payment.
• Run no tabs and count stock every Monday. Anything older than 90 days gets bundled or returned, not marked down at random.

What is a realistic martial arts gym retail margin?

On fast-moving gear bought at wholesale, a well-run front desk keeps roughly 40 to 50 cents of every dollar after product cost and card fees.

That range comes from simple arithmetic, not a survey. Keystone pricing means selling at twice your wholesale cost, which gives a 50% gross margin before fees. Keystone is a common retail convention, so a price on your wall at that level is usually close to what members see elsewhere for the same item.

The part owners tend to miss is the member discount. A 10% discount at keystone does not cost you 10% of margin. You sell at 1.8 times cost instead of 2 times, and gross margin drops from 50% to 44.4%. It is easy to offer that discount without running the numbers. Before you print "members save 10%" on the price card, decide whether loyalty is worth about a tenth of your retail profit.

Which items belong on the wall, and which do not?

Stock what a new member needs before their second class, special-order what fits by size or preference, and skip anything members compare on Amazon.

The Stock, Order, Skip rule sorts every SKU into one of three lanes:

• Stock: sells four or more units a month, fits a narrow size range, and a new member needs it now. Wraps, boil-and-bite mouthguards, and starter gloves.
• Order: needs a fitting, comes in many sizes, or carries a brand preference. Shin guards, headgear, competition gis. Take a 50% deposit and place the supplier order on a fixed weekday so you hit the free-shipping minimum.
• Skip: premium gloves, fashion rash guards, supplements. Members can price-check these on their phone in seconds, and large online sellers buy in volumes no single gym can match, so you either undercut your own margin or watch the item sit.

If you are working through the rest of the business side, the martial arts gym operations hub covers pricing, scheduling, and staffing in the same practical format.

How much do card fees and shrink eat into each sale?

Card processing charges a percentage plus a fixed fee, so $12 wraps lose a bigger share of their price than a $90 gi.

At Square's published Free plan in-person rate of 2.6% + 15¢ (check the current rate for your processor and plan), a $12 pair of wraps pays $0.31 + $0.15 = $0.46, which is 3.8% of the sale. A $90 gi pays $2.34 + $0.15 = $2.49, or 2.8%. The fixed fee hits small items hardest, which is one more reason to sell them in bundles.

Worked example: a pair of 14 oz gloves costs $32 wholesale and sells for $65. The card fee is 2.6% of $65 ($1.69) plus $0.15, so $1.84. Margin is $65 - $32 - $1.84 = $31.16, and $31.16 ÷ $65 = 47.9%. With a 10% member discount the price becomes $58.50, the fee becomes $1.52 + $0.15 = $1.67, and margin is $58.50 - $32 - $1.67 = $24.83, or 42.4%. At 10 pairs a month, the discount costs $6.33 × 10 = $63.30.

Shrink is quieter. The usual leak is the loaner bin. A coach grabs new wraps off the wall for a trial student, and nobody rings them up. Keep loaner wraps in a separate, labeled bin and never restock it from retail.

Why is the starter kit the only retail that really matters?

A bundled starter kit sold at signup is the easiest retail sale you will make, because the member buys once, at the desk, before they have priced anything online.

A muay thai or boxing gym can price wraps, 14 oz gloves, and a mouthguard as one line item, for example $99, and add it to the first membership charge. One transaction carries one fixed card fee instead of three. For kids' karate or taekwondo, the kit is a uniform with a white belt, handed over at the end of the trial class while the parent is still at the desk.

Owning gear is also a small commitment. A member with their own gloves in their bag has one less reason to skip class than a member still borrowing from the loaner bin. Treat the kit as part of a structured 90-day onboarding plan, not as a separate upsell.

How much cash should be tied up in opening inventory?

Cap opening inventory at what you expect to sell in eight weeks, then reorder on a fixed weekly day rather than when shelves look thin.

A gym signing about six new members a month sells around 12 starter kits in eight weeks, plus replacement wraps and mouthguards for existing members. Buy for that, not for the full wall in the supplier catalog.

Set a minimum and a maximum for each stocked SKU. Count every Monday before the noon class: if 14 oz gloves are at three pairs or fewer, order back up to the maximum. Weekly ordering on a fixed day also groups shipments, which helps you reach supplier minimums.

Should you stock gis in every size?

No. Stock the three sizes that cover most of your roster, A1 to A3 for adults and a few youth sizes for kids, and special-order the rest.

Pull height and weight from your intake forms before you order. BJJ gis run on A and F sizes. Karate and taekwondo uniforms use numbered sizes. Either way, most adult rosters cluster in a narrow band, and the very small and very large sizes are the ones that sit unsold for a year.

Cotton gis shrink, and new members will try to return them after the first hot wash. Post the policy at the desk: exchange with tags only, no returns once washed. Kids outgrow uniforms quickly, so parents tend to buy a size up, which narrows the youth range you need.

How should the front desk handle gear sales without slowing check-in?

Sell gear after class, not during check-in, and keep a printed price card plus a POS button per item so any coach can ring it.

The 10 minutes before class belong to waivers, trial students, and check-in. A gear conversation in that window backs up the line. After class, the member is warm, the coach can recommend glove weight, and the desk is quiet.

Run no tabs. Charge the card on file or take payment before the product leaves the desk. Work these rules into front desk training so a Saturday coach handles a sale the same way your manager would.

When does retail cost more than it earns?

Retail loses money when stock sits longer than 90 days, when you discount to clear it, or when counting it eats paid staff hours.

Six pairs of 8 oz gloves that nobody in an adult class wants are $192 of cash at a $32 cost, sitting on a hook. Anything older than 90 days goes into a bundle, back to the supplier if they take returns, or into the loaner bin as a write-off. Do not let it slide into random markdowns that train members to wait for sales.

On paperwork, IRS Publication 334 says small business taxpayers with average annual gross receipts of $31 million or less over the prior 3 tax years (the 2025 figure, indexed for inflation) can choose not to keep an inventory. You still need cost of goods sold to know whether retail is profitable: beginning inventory plus purchases, minus ending inventory. Physical goods usually need a state sales tax registration too, so confirm both with your accountant.

How do belt testings and events change the retail math?

Testings create one predictable spike: new belts, patches, and the next-rank uniform, so order those three weeks ahead from the testing roster.

Use the confirmed roster, not the list of students who might be invited. Unsold colored belts are dead stock with no resale market outside your own students. Embroidered black belts and rank uniforms take longer, so order them as soon as the candidate is approved.

Many studios fold the belt into the testing fee so the testing table never handles a separate belt sale. That choice belongs in your belt testing fee structure, set once, so parents know exactly what the fee covers.