Retail Buying & Merchandising

We implement 'best in class' buying and merchandising, reducing stock and markdown, and increasing sales and margin.

Our experienced team works with retailers to improve buying and merchandising in all channels by:

  • Improving B&M processes, implementing effective product lifecycle and category management
  • Improving forecast accuracy; promotion management; stock management
  • Designing the right B&M organisation
  • Integrating store and online merchandising
  • Designing and implementing KPIs, daily, weekly and period reports
  • Selling more through local range and space optimisation
  • Selecting and implementing effective product information management (PIM) and digital asset management
  • Selecting buying and merchandising systems
  • Project management and implementation

If you would like a copy of our white paper on stock reduction, please email Will Treasure.


Case Study
Pets at Home

Development and implementation of local range and space

Pets at Home has a wide range of store sizes, ranging from 2k sq ft to 18k sq ft. Getting the right range in each store is a challenging task, and Pets at Home requested Javelin Group to develop a local range and space approach. To this end we:

  • Ensured that all stores had up to date and accurate space allocation data
  • Built a store database, with sales, profit, space, customer demographics and location data
  • Clustered the stores into 5 types; Urban/High Density; Towns/Suburbs; Rural/Low Density; Large Rural; Upmarket Rural
  • Modelled ideal space allocation by sub-category at store level, using space elasticity and adjacencies
  • Used simple business rules to make the space allocation recommendations practical
  • Tested recommendations in eight stores
  • Rolled out to the whole estate

In the year following full implementation, Pets at Home LFL sales grew by 10% of which a significant amount was due to local range and space changes.

"Javelin Group's space modelling work is delivering 3-4% like for like sales growth in our trial stores. We are now rolling it out across our 200 store estate."

John Farrell, Group Development Director, Pets at Home.

Case Study
American Golf

Stock reduction plan

American Golf has over 90 stores throughout the UK, selling golf equipment and clothing. Javelin Group was asked to review the stock position, and to recommend a detailed approach to reduce it. This involved:

  • Understanding root causes and main components of excess stock
  • Defining changes to buying and merchandising processes, team and systems to address the issues
  • Quantifying stock benefits of the recommendations
  • Developing a plan to implement the recommendations
  • Supporting the implementation

The recommendations were in three main areas:

  • Range planning and store grading
  • In season stock management
  • DC stock management

As a result of this work overall stock levels fell by 20%, and both availability and like for like sales increased.

"Javelin Group quickly identified a significant stock reduction opportunity and gave us clear guidelines for how this could be achieved. I am very pleased with the outcome of the project."

Nick Wood, CEO, American Golf.

Case Study
Direct Wines

New system to manage buying and merchandising

  • Background: Due to extensive international growth, Direct Wines had become increasingly unsatisfied with their buying and merchandising process.
  • Project: Direct Wines engaged Javelin Group to help manage a buying and merchandising project and to identify how a different approach to its wine range, its merchandising of those wines and its marketing of wine could make life simpler.
  • Outputs: Javelin Group helped Direct Wines to identify what software was available and suitable to integrate with its current systems, to ensure Direct Wines moved towards a much more robust and systemised way of working.
  • Benefits: Direct Wines has a more rigorous way of working with departments and now understand the benefits that can be derived, even prior to implementing any new system for managing buying and merchandising.
"We were very pleased with Javelin's insight, empathy, tenacity and recommendations. Now we just have to get on and implement their blue print."

Simon McMurtrie, Group Chief Executive, Direct Wines.

Case Study
Damart

Centralisation of design and buying operations

Damart is a multi-channel clothing retailer, operating across three countries, France, Belgium and the UK.

  • Background: Damart decided to centralise its design, buying and photography to provide one international collection which individual countries and channels could select from.
  • Project: Damart engaged Javelin Group to help with the centralisation process and critical path design, the new organisation structure, roles and responsibilities, and the technology enablers.
  • Outputs: Javelin Group worked with Damart, in French and English, to deliver their requirements and also managed the implementation process, which was a major change programme impacting the core business.
"This "new vision" programme has been very successful, delivering the benefits we wanted, and I’m very pleased with Javelin Group's work. I highly recommend them."

Jacques Destobbeleer, International Director of Product Offer, Damart Group.

Clients

"Javelin Group did a great job of recommending how to reduce our lead times, improve stock turn, and improve sales per square foot through better processes and systems across our B&M operation. Their plans will clearly have a significant positive impact on our retail performance. I am very happy to recommend them."

Vanessa Gold, B&M Director, Ann Summers.

Please contact Will Treasure or call +44 (0)20 7961 3200 to discuss your requirements.

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