How do I assess an RV parts and accessories store’s top-selling products?
Ask for sales by item over a full season cycle and rank them by revenue and by gross profit. Then check how much of the top list depends on one supplier, one season or a few customers. Top sellers that are cheap to stock and keep coming back are the steadiest.
Request item-level sales, not only totals. Rank the best sellers twice: once by dollars sold and once by profit left after cost. They often differ. A fast-moving, low-margin item can fill the shelves and the day without feeding the bottom line. Ask whether any of the leaders are priced off a supplier’s list that could change.
Then look at patterns. RV buyers shop in waves around trips and seasons, so compare how sales rise and fall. Ask which items are repeat purchases, such as water treatment, sealants and filters, and which are one-off projects. Find out whether a few contractors or dealers buy a large part of the volume.
Check what supports the top sellers. Are they from a single supplier? Is there an exclusive or a minimum order? Ask whether the supplier terms continue to a new owner. Look at the shelves for stock that matches the list, and at the slow items near the back. Your accountant can read the profit by item with you, and you can ask the staff what customers ask for that the store does not carry. Ask which items customers request that the store does not stock, because that list can show where sales are being lost.
Key takeaways
- Rank products by profit as well as sales and look at the gap.
- Check seasonal swings and which items customers buy again.
- Find out whether top sellers depend on one supplier’s terms.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat is inventory
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