Halden & Rowe · Inventory · Home & Outdoor
BBQ inventory is 11 weeks over cover with six trading weeks left.
£480k of working capital sitting in outdoor with the buy window closing 5 August.
Reading
What Ana sees this morning.
What happened
Charcoal and gas SKUs are carrying 18.4 weeks of cover against a category target of 6–10 weeks. Sell-through has flattened since mid-June and the top 12 SKUs account for 71% of the overhang.
Why it matters
Cooler-than-forecast June and a delayed promotional slot in the July flyer. Suppliers have committed shipments for a further four weeks against a plan we no longer trade to.
Evidence
What Ana is reading.
The signals behind the prompt. Every line is drawn from the trading data available to Ana this morning.
Weeks of cover
18.4
vs 6–10 target band
Sell-through, last 4 weeks
−34%
vs prior 4 weeks
Top-12 SKU concentration
71%
of the overhang
Supplier commitments open
4 weeks
as of this morning
Comparable play, July 2024
82% cleared
at −6.1 pts margin
Estimated impact · this quarter
£480Kworking capital release
How Ana sized it · Sized as residual on-hand at week 33 valued at cost, using the current 6-week sell-through rate and the category clearance benchmark of −18% margin.
Recommended action
What Ana would do.
One clear next step, and the alternatives Ana considered before landing on it.
Pull the July markdown forward to next Monday and pause replenishment on the top 12 SKUs.
Why · The same play cleared 82% of comparable overhang in July 2024 with a 6.1-point margin hit — well inside the working-capital gain.
Alternatives Ana considered
- 1.Hold price, activate a paid social burst against garden intent audiences, and re-decide in 10 days.
- 2.Negotiate supplier take-back for two of the four committed shipments; slower but preserves full-price integrity.
Decision
Close the loop.
Accepting records the intent and starts measurement against the estimated impact. Dismissing files the reasoning so the same prompt does not re-surface without new evidence.
Close the loop
Accept to record the intent and begin measurement. Dismiss to file the reasoning. Assign to route the decision to someone else on the team.
Context
Metrics in play.
- Stock days
- Inventory cover
- Markdown rate