> In most cases, they even delay payment for a few months to account for returns and the cost of returning unsold products.
You may be conflating payment terms of trade with sales/revenue recognition.
In general for consumer goods (unless it's a consignment model), revenue is recognized by the manufacturer the day products are billed and shipped to the retailer. In other words Store inventory is usually on the retailers balance sheet.
The retailer may actually pay the manufacturer 30/60/90 days later (I've never heard of 6 months but it's possible) and that's subject to negotiation. But that's cash/working capital management, not P&L.
I worked for a manufacturer of outdoor product with a short season. We didn't have warehouse space to hold an entire season of product and we did not have manufacturing capacity to build as needed so we used 180 day terms to let our customers buy throughout the year. It smoothed out the demand curve and was a win for everyone.
You may be conflating payment terms of trade with sales/revenue recognition.
In general for consumer goods (unless it's a consignment model), revenue is recognized by the manufacturer the day products are billed and shipped to the retailer. In other words Store inventory is usually on the retailers balance sheet.
The retailer may actually pay the manufacturer 30/60/90 days later (I've never heard of 6 months but it's possible) and that's subject to negotiation. But that's cash/working capital management, not P&L.