Product Assortments that Create Profit: Interview with Kristin Fisher (ep 146)

boutique business boutique ownership education ecommerce inventory retail the inventory genius podcast Sep 11, 2023
 

Kristin Fisher is a retail strategy coach and the founder of Bocu, a gifting brand offering personalized, hand-wrapped gift boxes. I'm chatting with her about how to effectively curate a product assortment that will create profit in our business. 

So, what has Kristin found works well when it comes to profitable product assortment in her own business? 

It's so important to figure out what products are floating to the top of your business' sales - and what you can do to negotiate margin when it comes to those products. Once you start to see what's really driving your business, you can hone in on what really works. 80% of sales normally come from about 20% of what you offer.

Your product assortment should be cohesive and tell a story. But it should center around the products that are always at the top of your sales.

In corporate retail, your key items get their own spreadsheets. Budget is allocated to fund those styles and flow is highly regulated. Then, promotion happens specific to that item. From a small business perspective, you may want to extract a key item or two and create an isolated plan for that product's inventory and cash flow. If you protect key products, you can use extra to add supporting products to your line.

How can we shift our mindset when it comes to business?

View yourself in the CEO seat - don't treat your business as a hobby.

Do the financial work of your business BEFORE the creative process begins. Set the guardrails first so you know where you're headed.

Having a framework forces you to edit. Effective editing is what makes successful businesses.

  

Here's a glance at the episode:

[2:20] Kristin shares a little about her background and her work

[8:45] What has Kristin found works well when it comes to profitable product assortment in her own business?

[14:00] What can we take from the way corporate buyers create their product mix?

[22:10] Kristin's recommendations for shifting our business mindset

Click here to listen to the episode.

*Don't forget to leave a review of the episode on your favorite streaming service.

 

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Questions? Want to learn more about working with me? Please feel free to get in touch by emailing me at [email protected].

Connect with Kristin
@kristinfishercoaching
@shopbocu
shopbocu.com

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