# Plan a category assortment with a clear good-better-best range

Keep, add, drop, or online-only decisions for every SKU, a price ladder, and store clustering, based on sales, margin, and space.

- Topic: Data & Analysis
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Sales, Plan, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/plan-a-category-assortment-with-a-clear-good-better-best-range

## Prompt

```text
Help me plan the assortment for a product category.

**Category and channels:** [e.g. "cookware, 40 stores plus online"]
**Current SKU performance:** [PASTE: SKU, price, units and $ sales, gross margin %, sell-through, store count, return rate, in-stock %]
**Customers and competitors:** [WHO BUYS, what competitors carry, price points they hit]
**Space and SKU limits:** [linear feet or fixtures per store, maximum SKU count, whether online-only items are allowed]
**Role of the category:** [traffic driver / profit driver / destination / convenience]
**Vendor factors:** [minimums, exclusives, private label options]

Do this:
1. Rank SKUs by sales, margin dollars, and productivity per unit of space; identify the long tail.
2. Find duplicates (SKUs meeting the same need at the same price) and gaps (customer needs or price points not covered).
3. Propose a good-better-best ladder with real step-ups in features or quality, not just price, and a target price for each tier.
4. Recommend keep, add, drop, or move online-only for each SKU, with the reason. Flag drops that could cost loyal shoppers, such as items that are the main reason for a trip or that appear in large baskets.
5. Suggest store clusters (by size, climate, or customer profile) that get different depth or breadth.
6. Estimate the effect on sales and margin, stating your assumption about how much demand transfers from dropped SKUs to the ones that remain.

Return:
- A short summary.
- The SKU decision table.
- The price ladder.
- Data to validate before the line review.

Use only my numbers; do not invent competitor prices or sales figures.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "cookware, 40 stores plus online"
- WHO BUYS, what competitors carry, price points they hit
- traffic driver / profit driver / destination / convenience
- minimums, exclusives, private label options

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