Key takeaways
- Year-one depth is a cash and warehouse problem more than a catalog problem.
- Hero SKUs plus controlled variants beat long lists that never reorder.
- Review assortment quarterly with sell-through and claim rates on the table.
New importers often overbuy SKU count and underbuy depth on the winners. Factories will happily fill a container with variety; your warehouse pays for the slow movers.
A practical year-one toilet plan might hold one one-piece hero, one wall-hung path for projects, and one smart SKU with clear service parts. Add finishes only when the carcass is shared.
Write a kill list in advance: which SKUs exit if sell-through misses the threshold after two replenishment cycles. Assortment discipline is a purchasing skill.