Here is a glossary of terms relevant to stock clearances and trade:
Liquidation: The process of quickly selling inventory of goods to get cash in a short time.
Inventory: Goods or merchandise held by a business for later sale.
Stock Inventory: The list or detailed record of all goods and merchandise available in a business’s inventory.
List Price: The manufacturer’s or supplier’s recommended retail price for a particular product.
Selling Price: The price at which a product or commodity is sold to customers.
Discount: A discount applied to the selling price of a product.
Promotion: Marketing and advertising activities performed to attract customers and increase sales.
Gross profit: Total sales minus direct costs associated with manufacturing or purchasing products.
Net profit: Profit after deducting all costs and taxes, including operating costs, employee wages and other expenses.
Profit margin: The difference between the selling price and the purchase cost of a product.
Merchandise Returns: The process of returning unsold products from merchants to suppliers.
Expiration date: The date by which a product is considered safe and effective for use.
Deadstock: Products that have expired, are damaged, or are no longer salable and must be removed from inventory.
Retail: The process of selling products directly to end customers.
Sales Volume: The total amount of products sold in a given period of time.
Special Order: A request for products or goods that are not normally available in stock and must be purchased or specially produced.
Inventory Review: The process of checking and updating inventory to ensure that the amount of inventory is accurate and correct.
Supplier: A company or person that provides goods or services to a business.
Distributor: A company that purchases products from manufacturers and supplies them to retailers or end customers.
E-commerce: The process of buying and selling goods and services over the Internet.
Minimum Stock: The minimum amount of product a business wants to have in stock before placing a renewal or new order.
Maximum Stock: The maximum amount of products a business wants to keep in stock to avoid overstocking or wasting resources.
FIFO (First In, First Out): Inventory management method where purchased products or products with the closest expiration date are sold first, thus ensuring a continuous and efficient flow of inventory.
LIFO (Last In, First Out): Inventory management method where purchased products or products with the latest expiration date are sold first.
Lot: A specific quantity of products or goods purchased or produced at the same time and considered as a unit.
Wholesaling: The process of selling products in bulk to other retailers, distributors, or businesses, instead of selling directly to end consumers.
Merchandise Return: The process of returning products purchased from a supplier or distributor by the merchant for reasons such as damaged products, delivery errors, or non-sales.
Residual Stock: Products remaining in stock after a period of sales or liquidation and requiring further handling, such as price reduction or donation.
Clearance Campaign: A special sales strategy to quickly clear residual stock by significantly reducing prices.
Discount Labeling: The process of adding special labels or insignia to products on clearance, indicating price reductions applied.
Downselling: Selling a product at a price below purchase cost or production cost in order to attract customers and stimulate sales of other products.
Liquidator: A person or company specializing in liquidating inventory, which buys products at discounted prices and sells them at prices below list prices.
Seasonal Stock: Specific stocks that are purchased and sold based on seasonal demand, such as Christmas decorations or summer clothing.
Excess Inventory: The situation where a business has a larger amount of products in stock than is needed or demanded by the market.
Shipping: The process of preparing and sending products from stock to customers or specific destinations.
Sales Monitoring: Tracking and analyzing sales performance over a period of time to identify trends, patterns and opportunities for improvement.
Wholesale: Selling products or merchandise in large quantities to other businesses or merchants, usually at prices lower than retail prices.
Stock Restrictions: Limitations imposed on quantity