Category managers at regional chains rarely have uninterrupted mornings. Yet the most effective buyers we observe protect the first 60 minutes of Monday for sell-through review before emails and supplier calls take over.
The routine starts with channel comparison: which SKUs over-indexed online versus in-store over the prior seven days. This split often reveals assortment mistakes — a style priced for impulse floor purchase may underperform online where customers compare specifications in detail.
Minute twenty through forty focuses on variance against plan. Buyers flag any line below 70% of weekly forecast for investigation. Above 120% triggers a reorder check against supplier lead times.
The final segment covers markdown candidates. Lines below 50% sell-through at week midpoint of a season enter a watch list. The buyer notes whether the issue is price, placement, or size availability before deciding on a promotional action.
We designed our weekly dashboard delivery for Monday 07:00 KST so this routine has a consistent starting point. Reports include the prior week's figures, year-over-year comparison, and analyst annotations on flagged lines.