Problem Spotted!

Back to our table:

Look at the row titled "New Through Year Ending 3/10/2021". 

That "class" had just 235 new items, compared to 594/579 in the years before/after it.

This merchandise class was small, and it did not generate sufficient sales. In the first year, this "class" generated $3.9 million in sales, a lot less than the years before/after it ($8.0 million, $9.5 million).

Look at total sales for the year ending 3/10/2021 ... there is a five million dollar top-line hit compared to the year prior.

This business was nuked by a merchandising team that failed to give proper importance to finding new items that work. Some might say "well, we had supply chain issues" and sure, that's a problem. But it doesn't solve the problem of the business being harmed.

Notice that this business doesn't recover, with sales down for each of the two subsequent years. More on this topic tomorrow.