Stock control in toy shops and the run up to Christmas

Am I allowed to talk about Christmas yet? You might think it comes earlier each year, but pity the toy retailers who have to start their planning months in advance. Half of all the toys sold during a year are purchased in the run up to Christmas.

A great clip from the BBC to start you thinking about this topic. The problem last year seems to have been that last year’s sales were very disappointing, leaving firms with lots of unsold stock.

Stock management has to be a precise science, and it’s a difficult ‘Goldilocks’ problem for firms. By that, I mean that the trick is to have not too much stock and not too little. It has to be just right.

In fact, you could argue that too little stock on the shelves is an even bigger problem for retailers. They need to carefully consider lead times on delivery, as goods can take 4 months to get here from China. Of course, they can be air freighted here at the last minute, but you’ll immediately see the problem with that approach.