How can you decide when to discontinue a product from your assortment?

Avalie em qual estágio do ciclo de vida o produto se encontra. Produtos em declínio podem demandar mais recursos do que geram em receitas. Considere fatores como mercado, vida útil e mudan?as nas preferências do consumidor.

1. BCG Matrix It is is an effective business model to analyze product's market growth and market share. It also helps to determine product profitability and opportunity in the future. The elements of Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks and Dogs which carry different part of measurement of the business growth, strength, weakness and opportunity. 2. Porter's Five Forces which are useful to analyze market competitiveness, opportunity, growth and positioning. It correlates with BCG Matrix business model to further understand of market value, growth, opportunity and competitiveness. 3. Sales volume, growth and margin proposition. Determining market capitalization of the product

In fashion business one might think that the core or as we call NOOS( never out of stock) lines will not follow the PLM cycle but one forgets that even in core products the trends change on fits and fabrication. This is the reason why businesses look at updating their core products also from time to time. Yes, PLM cycle will be much longer for these products in comparison to fashion, but it still needs to be considered.

Product introduction Products growth Product life Product value Product demand Products quality All these factors play a key role in finding product life cycle.

Market trends Demand: keep an eye on trends. Sales decline indicates that the product might be getting old or that a newer variant of the product is now available on the market. Profitability: if you need to spend more money to popularize a product than your profits and you don’t see a Definite, precise timeline when you see Profitability and the longevity of it Product life Cycle: in case the product is at the decline stage of its life cycle and cannot be relaunched through further innovation, technology has made the product obsolete, Opportunity cost: if you don’t see the cost of Presenting the product to the customer consistently going down Change of strategy: in case the product does not match your Brand strategy any more

Adidas discontinuing the highly profitable YEEZY line for broader brand image protection is one example of decision related to discontinuing a product are not always solely driven by profits; brand image, strategic positioning, and long-term goals are often equally important considerations.

sales and margin cannot be the sole indicator for deciding on the discontinuation. Exception to the rule are loss-leader. these are products that are placed in the store to attract shoppers. they dont generate the required profit, but they play a role in driving the sales of other products

When a product does not achieve the expected sales targets within the planned sales period - decisive action is required to discontinue the item and release new budget to buy products that will support the business goals.

Each sales channel may have different factors contributing to the final decision but consistent degrowth in sales and margins are the noteworthy red flags. With the increase in data analysis tools, we can now easily obtain micro-level performance metrics and make calculated decisions. Monitoring consumer behavior, competition, and tracking trends can aid in making timely and informed decisions.

If your product is not selling it means your customers does not like it or want it ... even when reduced to clear sometimes !! That is very clear customer feedback.

The best way to categorise the product cycle is as per BCG matrix segmentation. Dogs - categories which is having low market share N low market growth should be discontinued

There can be multiple reason, Example, When you see a perticular product becoming a disturbance for the other product in the lader to perform. Or if you see potential in another product with a higher GC limiting its sale because of a perticular product. Some time you may even come to know..we made wrong judgement.. on some product??

Crie metodologias que garantam a coleta de informa??o das opini?es de seus clientes a respeito do seu sortimento e dos produtos que devem comp?-lo

Customer feedback is very important. If a product is getting poor quality reviews from customers, it may be time to rethink carrying the product since your brand may be seen as carrying poor quality products. We also see how culture impacts this by social trends. If a product is deemed to be morally wrong by customers and you carry the product, you may lose customer traffic. These are just a couple things to consider

It’s clear when the market says it’s time to let things go. The bottom line is the only line that is a significant factor. Everything has its time and place, it’s best to see the performance and decide if it’s time to shift.

Environmental factors is also one of the big factors defining assortment planning. Biggest example for this is the sudden surge in demand of lounge wear during Covid, when offices were closed and work had become hybrid culture from home and a similar drop in demand with re-opening of offices in post Covid era. The post Covid era also saw surge in formal wear demand, where in a lot of brands were missing assortment plan.

It is really important to keep a track on the performances of our products. At the same time, if it is to continue the product, it should be aligned with the ever changing customer needs. Check on below aspects; - How can we adjust properties of out product to be a better solution of latest social problem? - Can we change our row material and reposition our product to be ahead in the competition ? - How can we add features and reposition to cater health and environmental concerns.

Keep the products fresh and relevant. The deep discount model is not something that I have believed in and not something that I believe works. It is good for the TJ Maxx’s and Burlingtons of the world but is that where you want your product to sell? Having spent so many years with Patagonia, Canada Goose, and Birkenstock for example, I am one that advocates precise allocations at as local a level as one can determine. Simple words for great success.

Siempre está la oportunidad de darle una segunda vida al producto dándole una vuelta,transformándolo acorde a las tendencias del mercado y hacer que los creativos se diviertan.Es una forma de crecimiento personal y de empresa.

Ao analisar os produtos e marcas presentes no sortimento de sua loja é fundamental que se leve em considera??o a coerência e o alinhamento à estratégia global definida.

Something I have found helpful with this subject is actually a trick I use in my own field. If I am working on a wardrobe audit with a client, my rule of thumb is as follows; “If you haven’t worn the item in 6 months, then dump it”. Sometimes it’s hard letting go of a favorite shirt or in this case, a product. The reality is that being a successful business you have to be open minded that your “vision” for a product may not be realistic and you’ll have to let it go. I can mostly speak to my industry, but this rule can be put across the board.

Strategic fit - I cannot tell you in my 35+ years in retail how many times I've come across a "dead" product and strategically moved it into a more visible, traffic heavy, new story, counter, showcase, or across the room and it becomes viable and sometimes a new best seller! I exhaust all placement options before I even think about discounting. Fresh perspectives create fresh eyes. Encourage your sales team to be passionate about a dead item and maybe even a small incentive to move the product. All the analytic options can be useful tools but consider these simple adjustments before diving into numbers on paper.

1- popularity 2- target market is not right 3- price point 4- product will be discontinue. 5- found a better option to go with or replacement.

Si, ya que es un decisión estrategia o de valores. No importando la rentabilidad o aceptación del producto o servicio, no estando en línea con los valores de la empresa.

In the example of a company selling three laptop models - A, B, and C - the decision matrix is used to evaluate which model to discontinue. Each model is scored on factors like sales volume, profit margin, and customer satisfaction. For instance, if Laptop A has low sales and satisfaction but high profit margin, Laptop B has average scores across all factors, and Laptop C has high sales but low profit margin, these scores are weighted and summed. The laptop with the lowest overall score, say Laptop A, is identified as the least beneficial to the company and thus a candidate for discontinuation. This method offers an objective way to make product assortment decisions.

Debe utilizar asociada con más información sobre el producto para tomar la decisión correctamente, no recomendó utilizar solo la matriz para tomar la decisión.

Deciding when to discontinue a product involves various factors, and a decision matrix can streamline the process. Assign weights to criteria like sales performance, market trends, production costs, and customer feedback. Evaluate each product against these criteria, calculating a weighted score. Products with consistently low scores may indicate poor fit or declining relevance. Regularly revisit and update the matrix to ensure timely adjustments to your assortment, aligning with market dynamics and strategic goals.

Less is more! Don’t make your product offer bigger than necessary and be ruthless about products that are essentially cannibalising each other. The Pareto rule is the simplest approach to identifying your assortment ?tail“. Don’t be afraid to cut the tail off!

Decision to discontinue a product from the merchandising assortment must be backed up with facts and numbers . Factual data and performance analysis into several domains like sales, margin, retention rate, end user feedback, reviews etc . Among all, certainly if sales are not doing as expected and margin is not hitting the target , surely we would be thoughtful and analyse why factors ,like is it the quality of the product ?or is it not going with the ongoing trend ? Its failing because its not meeting customer purpose? Is it not echoing the company's strategy and vision , Or is it a mismatch with the total assortment ? If the answers to the majority of questions are 'NO' , then i must decide to discontinue that merchandise.

As a small retailer with limited inventory space we make these decisions often. We are lucky to have very high conversion rates and so have a fair amount of control over what a customer chooses to buy. For us factors such as product availability, MAP pricing and vendor support can be outsized factors. Especially during covid supply chain issues and vendors' direct to consumer policies had an effect on our choices.

Apart from the above mentioned reasoning,decision to discontinue a product will also be triggered if a similar product or an upgraded version has been added to the assortment and it will not be ideal to widen the offerings by similar products on the floor. However,this transition needs to be managed carefully and it becomes prudent to track the sales of the replacements whether it is sufficing for the discontinued lines.

There are many things to analyse to work out a final option, did the product get its best option for the sales potential in the market place, was there enough clear communication about the product in ALL media options, was product availability always at its maximum, these questions and indepth sales analysis will guide you towards your next steps for a products future direction and options.