If you were to suddenly be given extra $$ OTB would you know where to invest it? or where not to invest it?
Following on from our ‘How to…..Sales Reporting’ Post we spoke of generally* needing around 5 key reports for any given area of a business and one of the most popular (behind Daily Sales) is a Best Sellers report, or even better a Best & Worst Sellers, as you can learn just as much from the worst sellers.
A great way to emphasize your Best & Worst results are to incorporate visual aids. That means either a picture of the style (or product) or if you have a sample, even better! You will be amazed at what insight you gain from having them all there displayed together in front of you.
For instance, you may find that all the top selling tops have the same neckline, or sleeve length or perhaps all the poor sellers have a similar print. You may find is that you have two very similar styles drop at the same time but with varying prices and one is cannibalising the other, or the perceived value is just not there for the customer (despite the cost of the product!)
Remember from our Daily Sales post if you keep in mind there are two key factors with reporting:
- Make it Rich in information
- Make it Actionable
What sort of information do you need on your best sellers report and why?
Style number. The ID of the product.
The Action: It is the consistent number that you talk to your suppliers and staff with as it leaves no room for interpretation.
Colour featured and also available.
The Action: To see which was the better received and by how much will not only help with re-ordering if that is your business model but with forecasting future ranges.
Description. Because we all like a description.
The Action: If you have a description naming convention, for instance Sleeve/pant length | Neck | Button/Zip | Shape | Product then on paper you can see if all of a sudden all the one sleeve length has appeared at the top ie from Long Sleeve to ¾ sleeve, you know your customers have switched into trans-seasonal mode!
Collection.
The Action: By having the collection information it helps with not only identifying if the collection’s trend is resonating with the customers and to build upon for future collections.
Supplier.
The Action: What do you see when comparing suppliers? Sometimes you can see that the quality of a supplier is superior or lacking. If all your best sellers are with one particular supplier, let them know! It will help build the relationship and help with negotiations.
Conversely, if all you’re worst sellers are with the one particular supplier, it will help any difficult conversations you need to have by having cold hard facts.
Promotional information.
The Action: If the item was on promotion you would expect it to be in the best sellers, if it is not……then it doesn’t bode well for that style, if the reason is not immediately obvious then a call to your stores will be in order to see what customers are saying.
Best & Worst Sellers Metrics….
Cost & Retail Price & Margin
The Action. When you are looking at the best and worst performers, the Retail Price is a constant reference, ideally if you can attach the retail price to the product as you look at it helps. Depending upon the findings, you may want to adjust the price, either through a re-price or promotion, if this is an action you are thinking of taking having the cost and margin available helps make that decision in that moment.
*take it to the next level by including the intake AND achieved margins.
Ranging
The Action: Did it go to all stores or selected. If the style was something that was released to warmer regions first and has flown out the door, you can use that to base your ordering for the rest of the regions.
Units sold & SOH, WKS Cover, Sell Thru %
*To note you need to be sure what your SOH figure is including. Is it just SOH at store level or is it inclusive of stock in the warehouse. As a result then when you look at your Weeks Cover and Sell Through, you are aware of what it actually means.
The Action: These all put the Best & Worst Sellers in perspective and should be used all together. Ultimately you would be looking at these measures with the view of re-ordering or marking down.
If you feel your reports are not giving you the information needed or just need a hand getting ‘started’ contact us about our ‘sense check’ programs or let’s have a chat about how we can help you.