The standard wholesale convention: you sell to the retailer at 50% of the retail price, and they double it (the keystone markup) to reach the shelf price. The reflex reaction is that keystone is your worst margin - you keep half of what the same unit earns on DTC. But that is a surface comparison that ignores what the retailer absorbs on your behalf: their store, their staff, their customer acquisition. Once you account for the costs each channel actually carries, the real DTC-versus-wholesale contribution gap is nearer 10 points than 50. Whether keystone works for you is decided upstream, by your COGS, not at the negotiation table.
Benchmark. Wholesale works at keystone when COGS is under 30% of retail; above that, margins get tight fast. 50% of retail is standard, though some competitive categories trade at 40-45%. Budget 3-8% of wholesale sales for retailer compliance chargebacks.