Yes, clothing companies and stores will very commonly destroy clothes if they determine that selling at a discount would undermine the brand value. They do things like cutting holes in the soles of shoes before discarding them.

Some stuff you basically have to give away for people to buy, some stuff just isn't so attractive to most people. With limited store space, you could miss out on profits if you don't update what you have available. Every item you carry is another item you cannot fit to carry.

I think this largely is about brand protection. They worry that discounting the clothes means they will just cannibalize sales of that brand's full-price clothes.

If the full price is €6, there isn’t much room for a discount. Destroying and freeing up store space for something that does sell can easily be profitable.

Thats also the case for a lot of electronics, it’s not just a problem with clothes

Artificial scarcity + the urge to impose fashion cycles, sadly

Selling cheaper cannibalizes next season's fashion.

Particularly for “luxury” brands as selling at a discount devalues the brand. I use quotes because most of those brands sell cheap stuff (double digit manufacturing cost using forced labor [0]) but with a fancy logo making them worth 4 figures.

[0] Better link: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/jul/24/made-in-ital...

> Is it cheaper to destroy than sell at discount?

Yes.

Luxury brands don't want the poors to be seen wearing their merchandise.

It hurts brand perception.