A prescriptive analysis and data driven Insight/ recommendations

The Rise of Flourish Retail Outlet

Flourish Retail Outlet started as a promising retail brand with five distinct product lines, offering both online and in-store shopping experiences. Sales were growing—a dream scenario for any business. But behind the numbers, an unsettling reality unfolded: profit margins were shrinking.

Despite increasing revenue, Flourish was on the verge of financial distress, reporting a negative 2% profit margin. Something was eroding profitability. The management team was concerned—why was a thriving business still bleeding money?

That’s when financial analysis, storytelling and visualization came into play.

Diving deep into the numbers, the analysis revealed a startling truth:

74% of total revenue was swallowed by the Cost of Sales.

Marketing expenses (17%), shipping costs (6%), and discounts (5%) were eating away at the bottom line.

The biggest culprit? Online sales and new customers.

On the surface, online sales seemed like the future—offering wider reach and convenience. But behind the scenes, they carried high fulfillment costs, return processing issues, and increased customer acquisition expenses.

The data revealed a pattern:

Product 3 (StyleEase Sneakers) incurred the highest costs across sales, shipping, and discounts.

Product 1 (Glow Skin) drove up marketing expenses, making customer acquisition costly.

New customers, though contributing to revenue growth, required heavy discounts and marketing spending, making their purchases unprofitable in the long run.

The brand was caught in a dangerous cycle: spending more to sell more, without securing real profitability.

Through interactive Excel dashboards and a structured PowerPoint storytelling report, these insights were brought to life. Numbers turned into a compelling narrative—one that not only identified the problem but also offered a roadmap for recovery.

With these insights, a transformation plan was laid out:

✅ Cost Optimization – Negotiating better supplier rates and restructuring inventory management to reduce waste.

✅ Smarter Marketing – Shifting towards organic marketing strategies like referrals and influencer partnerships instead of costly paid ads.

✅ Operational Efficiency – Optimizing logistics to reduce last-mile delivery costs and exploring localized fulfillment centers.

✅ Customer Retention Over Acquisition – Introducing loyalty programs and engagement strategies to make repeat customers more valuable.

✅ Rethinking Pricing & Discounts – Moving towards value-based pricing and cutting back on unnecessary discounts for new customers.

These changes were not just numbers on a spreadsheet—they were the blueprint for financial survival.

With the insights and recommendations from this project, Flourish Retail Outlet now had a clear strategy to reclaim its profit margins while sustaining growth. The key lesson? Revenue growth means nothing if profitability isn’t secured.