An inventory meeting can move quickly from ‘this piece has been here a while’ to ‘we need to do something with it.’ The part in between deserves more attention. What do we actually know about the piece, the customers who have seen it, and the opportunities it has had to sell?
Start with a small group of pieces you can discuss carefully. Bring the item records and ask the associates who have shown them to customers to join the conversation. The purpose of this review is to choose a useful next action based on what the team knows, while being honest about what still needs investigation.
1. Has it been available to sell?
Check the item’s history before relying on its age. Confirm which date the report uses: the original receipt date, a transfer date, or another event. Then look for periods when the piece was away, reserved, being repaired, or otherwise unavailable. A date in the system may describe ownership without telling you how long the item was ready to show.
Consider a fictional example: a ring has been in inventory for nine months, but it spent part of that time away for modification and another part waiting to be transferred. Its age still deserves attention. It also needs context. Write down what is known about its availability so the meeting does not treat every month as the same selling opportunity.
2. What customer interest have we actually observed?
Ask for specific observations. Has the piece been shown? Did customers try it on? What questions did they ask? Was there a repeated concern about fit, design, timing, or another detail? A useful note describes a conversation; ‘nobody wants it’ is a conclusion that needs support.
Separate a lack of recorded interest from evidence that customers have considered and rejected the item. Your records may be incomplete. An associate may remember a conversation that was never entered, or a customer may have admired the piece without leaving contact details. Mark missing information as unknown and agree on how to collect better observations during the next review period.
3. Has the team had a fair chance to present it?
Walk to the case and look at the piece with the people who sell it. Can they find it easily? Is the presentation clear? Is the item information accurate and useful? Can an associate explain its details, care considerations, and the kind of customer need it may suit without guessing?
Try a short presentation with a teammate acting as the customer. If the explanation breaks down because a specification is missing or an associate is unsure how to answer a question, you have identified something concrete to fix. Assign the information check or practice session to someone, then decide when the team will revisit it.
4. Are the comparisons relevant?
When the discussion turns to price or assortment, write down what you are comparing. Pieces can differ in material, stone characteristics, condition, workmanship, brand, and included services. A superficially similar item is not automatically a useful comparison, and an advertised price alone does not establish what customers are buying.
This checklist does not set a markdown percentage or a target age for every item. Bring any proposed pricing, transfer, return, or merchandising decision to the person responsible for it in your business. Give them the item details, the relevant evidence, and the question the team is trying to answer. That makes the decision easier to assess and explain.
5. What is the next action, and what will it tell us?
Choose a specific action that follows from the discussion. Confirm a missing detail. Improve an unclear display description. Practice the presentation. Review an appropriate transfer with the receiving location. Where a customer has already expressed relevant interest and welcomes follow-up, agree on who will continue that conversation.
Record the owner, the review date, and what you expect to learn. ‘Show it more’ is difficult to evaluate. ‘Jordan will verify the sizing options, brief the team on Friday, and bring customer questions to the next review’ gives everyone a clearer task. A piece may still not sell during that period, but the next discussion can start with better information.
Keep a short record of the decision
For each piece, capture five things: the question being investigated, the evidence available, what remains unknown, the next action and owner, and the review date. Keep the record in the system or working document your team already uses, so it can be found when someone follows up.
At the next meeting, check what changed. Did the team learn something about customer preferences? Was the item information corrected? Did the planned action happen? Use those answers to decide the next step. Inventory review becomes more useful when it produces a record of decisions and learning, rather than the same conversation about the same pieces every week.
Keep learning with your team
For the next discussion, explore building customer relationships through clienteling, or explore the JewelLink System guided tours.