How to build a jewelry restock assortment without filling your stock with pieces that don't sell
Published on by Felipe · 3 min read
Restocking only what sold leaves your display stale. Buying only new pieces leaves gaps in your bestsellers. A simple way to split the purchase between the two.
Every retailer knows the two mistakes. In the first, you restock only what sold, and within a few months your loyal customer walks into the store and sees nothing different. In the second, you bet on new pieces and run out of exactly the earring that always sells.
A well-built restock assortment fixes both in the same order.
Split the purchase into three parts
Before you open the catalog, divide the amount you plan to invest into three blocks.
Bestsellers. The models that sell steadily, for more than one season. They pay the bills and cannot run out. Restock based on how they sold over the last few months, not on a hunch.
New pieces. Pieces that refresh the display and give your customer a reason to come back. Choose models that relate to your bestsellers: the same design language, a variation in shape or size.
Tests. A small quantity of something you do not yet know will sell. This is where your next bestsellers show up. Buy a little and watch it closely.
The balance between the three changes with where your store is in the year. Right before a big sales date, bestsellers weigh more. Right after, there is room to test.
Think in families, not single pieces
Earrings, a necklace and a ring with the same design sell better together than three unrelated pieces. When you choose a new piece, check whether it has a match in the line. That raises the average sale and makes the display easier to set up.
Check the calendar before the catalog
Your market's key gift dates and the year-end season change what your customer looks for. Build the order backwards: the sales date, minus the plating shop's lead time, minus the factory's lead time. If the math does not work, the choice becomes what is already in stock.
Write down what did not sell
Pieces that sit on the shelf teach you something too. Write down the model, the plating chosen and where it was displayed. Sometimes the problem is the piece. Other times it is the plating color or the spot in the display. Without that note, the same mistake comes back on the next order.
Ask for help choosing
A manufacturer sees what sells in many stores at the same time. At FGF, the restocking conversation covers categories that are moving, pieces that go with what you already carry and what can be delivered within your lead time. This work is part of what we call Collection Intelligence.
If you buy from the line or want to start, see how ready stock works.