Every pet catalog eventually accumulates items that sell little but keep occupying stock space, invested capital, and management attention that could go elsewhere in the operation. Hugo Galvao de Franca Filho, founder and director of Enjoy Pets, treats this kind of item as a quiet problem, since it rarely gets flagged as a priority until the amount of tied-up capital becomes too large to ignore.
Identifying this product takes more than looking at isolated sales volume, because a low-turnover item can still be strategic if it sustains a high margin or completes a relevant offer for a specific customer segment. The decision to keep, adjust, or remove a product from the catalog should factor in that full context, not just the number of units sold last month.
Not every low-turnover product should leave the catalog
An item that sells infrequently but carries a high margin and has a loyal customer who buys specifically because of it may be worth keeping even without significant volume. Removing this kind of product without considering its strategic role often drives away exactly the most valuable customer, one who might switch entirely to another store upon discovering that specific item is no longer available.
Hugo Galvao de Franca Filho reinforces that separating strategic low-turnover products from low-turnover products with no clear purpose is the first step before any removal decision. This analysis avoids cutting an item that sustains a relationship with a small but valuable segment just because sales volume looks unremarkable when viewed in isolation on the catalog’s general report.
Capital tied up in stock carries a cost even when it’s not explicit
A stagnant product takes up physical space and represents capital that could be invested in a faster-turning item, even when that cost doesn’t show up explicitly on any direct financial report for the operation. This kind of opportunity cost tends to be underestimated precisely because it doesn’t generate a specific, easy-to-identify expense line at the month’s close.
Hugo Galvao notes that calculating how much capital is tied up in slow-turning products helps decide more clearly between keeping, promoting, or discontinuing a given item. Without that calculation, the operation tends to keep the stagnant product indefinitely, simply because removing it seems more work than leaving it occupying catalog space without generating proportional return.
A one-off promotion can clear stock without hurting overall margin
Before discontinuing a product for good, offering a one-off discount to clear the stagnant volume often recovers part of the capital invested, even if the margin on that specific sale ends up reduced. This strategy works best when applied before the product loses its shelf life or full relevance within the catalog, avoiding a bigger loss down the line.
Hugo Galvao de Franca Filho considers this one-off clearance more efficient than leaving the product stagnant while waiting for a sales recovery that may never come. Setting a clear deadline for that clearance, instead of leaving the product indefinitely on promotion, keeps the discount strategy from turning into a permanent habit that never actually solves the real problem behind the low turnover.
Discontinuing requires clear communication with customers who still buy it
When the final decision is to remove a product from the catalog, notifying in advance the customers who still buy that specific item prevents frustration and reduces complaints tied to a sudden discontinuation. This extra care, while it looks like additional work, protects the store’s reputation with a small but loyal audience that values that specific product.
For Hugo Galvao, reviewing the catalog regularly and applying this kind of analysis before stagnant products pile up in excess keeps the operation from carrying dead weight for too long. This habit of periodic review, applied with the same criteria across all of Enjoy Pets, available at www.enjoypets.com.br, keeps the catalog healthy without sacrificing items that still play a relevant role for part of the audience served.
