Margin, Stock and Pricing

This is the detail that decides whether a product business works.

Plenty of founders know their overall gross margin. Far fewer can say which specific line, in which specific channel, is actually making money once every real cost is counted. That is the number that changes decisions.

What is included

  • True cost of goods per product: ingredients, packaging, production, labour and wastage

  • Landed cost for imported goods, including freight, duty and any non recoverable VAT

  • Channel by channel margin: your own website, marketplaces, retailers, distributors, wholesale

  • Retailer deductions modelled in full: listing fees, promotional funding, distribution charges, settlement discounts, wastage claims

  • Marketplace fees, fulfilment and returns costs for online sales

  • Pricing and repricing analysis, including what a promotion actually costs you

  • Stock valuation, stock turn and holding cost

  • Break even volumes by product and by listing

The gap between quoted margin and real margin

A retailer margin quoted at the negotiating table rarely survives contact with reality. Between the invoice price and the cash that reaches your account sit promotional contributions, distribution deductions and claims. Brands regularly discover that a hard won listing is loss making at volume.

We work that out before you sign, not after.

Who this is for

  • Brands negotiating with a retailer or distributor and needing to know their floor price

  • Founders selling across several channels who suspect one is subsidising another

  • Anyone facing supplier cost increases and deciding whether to absorb or pass on

  • Businesses planning a new product and needing to price it properly from the start

Why founders use us for this

Our founder has negotiated retailer terms, managed stock and watched deductions eat a margin from the inside. This is not analysis done from a textbook. It is the work we had to do for ourselves.

Common questions

What do you need from me to do this?

Your product costs, your price list, your sales data by channel and your retailer or platform agreements. If some of that does not exist yet, we will help you build it.

Is this a one off piece of work or ongoing?

Either. Some founders want a one off review before a big decision. Others want it built into monthly reporting so it stays current.

Can you tell me what to charge?

We can tell you what each option does to your profit and cash. The market positioning call stays yours, but you will be making it with the real numbers.

We are pre launch. Is it too early?

No. It is cheaper to price correctly at the start than to try to raise prices later.

Next step

Book a free 30 minute consultation and we will talk through where your margin is likely leaking.

Related: Cash flow and forecasting | Founder and growth advisory | VAT

What happens on the call

  • We take time to understand exactly what you need

  • We give you a clear overview of how we can help

  • We answer any urgent questions you have, there and then