Experience brings perspective.
At Ash & Co. Retail Advisors, we bring hands-on retail experience and a practical, results-driven approach to merchandising and category management. Our experience spans a broad range of hardlines, home, farm, outdoor, sporting goods, and lifestyle categories, giving us the ability to understand not only individual categories, but also how they work together to drive traffic, sales, margin, inventory productivity, and customer loyalty.
We work with retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and other industry partners to develop strategies that improve category performance. Our capabilities include category strategy, assortment optimization, line reviews, sourcing, vendor negotiations, pricing and promotional strategy, private and proprietary brand development, cost reduction, inventory productivity, competitive positioning, and new product and category development.
Ash & Co. provides category and merchandising expertise across the lawn and garden business, including highly seasonal, weather-driven, consumable, and durable product categories. We help clients evaluate assortments, brands, price points, seasonality, regional differences, promotional opportunities, and inventory requirements to build productive lawn and garden programs.
Our category experience includes Outdoor Power Equipment, Live Plants, Watering, Snow & Ice Removal, Fertilizers, Insecticides, Herbicides, Grass Seed, Garden & Hand Tools, Garden & Lawn Décor, Landscaping Supplies, Greenhouses, and Greenhouse Supplies.
We help retailers and suppliers develop hardware and home improvement programs that balance national brands, opening price points, private brands, professional-grade products, project solutions, and everyday repair and maintenance needs.
Our experience includes Power Tools, Hand Tools, Building Materials, Material Handling, Welding, Workwear, Plumbing, Electrical, Paint & Paint Supplies, Light Bulbs & General Lighting, Shop Equipment, Shop Organization & Storage, Nuts & Bolts and other Fasteners, Home Safety & Security, Heating, Venting & Cooling, Chain & Rope, Adhesives & Tapes, and General Hardware including Bath, Kitchen, Cabinet and Door Hardware.
Our work can range from evaluating an individual product line to developing an overall category architecture, vendor strategy, pricing structure, promotional plan, or complete line review.
Ash & Co. works across household categories where assortment productivity, value, convenience, innovation, and private-brand opportunities can significantly influence category performance.
Our experience includes Organization, Storage, Cleaning Supplies, Vacuums & Floor Care, Kitchen & Dining, and Office & School Supplies.
We help clients identify opportunities to simplify assortments, improve good-better-best price architecture, introduce new products and brands, develop proprietary offerings, and improve sales and margin productivity.
Outdoor living combines seasonal traffic drivers, destination categories, discretionary purchases, and highly promotable products. We help clients develop assortments and strategies designed around how customers actually use their outdoor spaces.
Our experience includes Charcoal Grills, Propane Grills, Pellet Grills, Grilling Accessories, Grilling Fuel including Charcoal and Pellets, Patio Furniture, Outdoor Seating, Outdoor Décor, Outdoor Recreation, Yard Games, Pools, and Pool Supplies.
We can assist with seasonal assortment planning, brand and vendor strategy, opening and closing price points, promotional planning, space allocation, inventory management, and identifying emerging trends and product opportunities.
Ash & Co. provides merchandising and category expertise across automotive maintenance, replacement, towing, transportation, and recreational vehicle categories.
Our experience includes Tires, Batteries, Automotive Maintenance, Fluids & Chemicals, Detailing, Trailers & Accessories, Cargo Management, Towing, Powersports, RV & Camper Products, and related Accessories.
We help clients evaluate competitive positioning, brand architecture, assortment breadth, pricing, attachment opportunities, vendor programs, sourcing, and category profitability.
Farm is a highly specialized retail business requiring an understanding of the rural customer, regional differences, consumable categories, commodity influences, seasonality, brand loyalty, and the relationship between professional agricultural needs and the rural lifestyle customer.
Our experience includes Livestock, Poultry & Equine Feeds, Treats & Accessories; Bedding, Straw & Hay; Animal Health & Supplements; Farm Implements; Fencing & Gates; Pest Control; Feeders & Watering Equipment; Sprayers; Men’s & Women’s Workwear; Men’s & Women’s Rural Lifestyle Apparel; and Men’s & Women’s Shoes & Boots.
We help clients develop programs that address both the needs of the working farm customer and the broader rural lifestyle consumer while identifying opportunities to improve assortment, pricing, sourcing, vendor relationships, margin, and inventory productivity.
Pet is a high-frequency, loyalty-driven business where brands, nutrition, innovation, value, and recurring consumable purchases create significant opportunities for retailers and suppliers.
Ash & Co. has experience across Dog, Cat, Small Animal, and Wild Bird, including Food & Treats, Flea & Tick, Health & Wellness, Bedding, Housing & Containment, Grooming, Bowls & Feeders, Toys, and related Accessories.
We can help clients evaluate brand and assortment strategy, premium versus value positioning, private-brand opportunities, pricing, promotional cadence, new-product introductions, and opportunities to increase repeat purchases and customer loyalty.
Ash & Co. brings category experience across hunting and shooting sports, with an understanding of the specialized products, brands, customers, seasonality, regulatory considerations, and merchandising strategies associated with these businesses.
Our experience includes Firearms & Accessories, Ammunition, Optics, Archery, Game Cameras, Tree Stands & Blinds, Attractants, Food Plot Products, Hunting Gear, and Hunting Apparel.
We help clients evaluate category strategy, assortment, brands, pricing, promotions, vendor relationships, inventory productivity, seasonal planning, and opportunities to build stronger destination categories.
Fishing is a highly regional and seasonal category where customer needs can vary significantly by geography, species, fishing environment, and level of experience. Ash & Co. helps clients build fishing and marine assortments around the needs of their target customer and market.
Our experience includes Rods, Reels, Bait & Lures, Tackle, Fishing Electronics, Waders & Accessories, Boating, Watersports, Marine & Boating Supplies, Fishing Apparel, and Fishing Gear.
We can assist with assortment architecture, brand selection, regionalization, seasonal planning, pricing, promotions, vendor strategy, and identifying opportunities to increase attachment sales.
We help clients develop camping and outdoor recreation programs that serve everyone from the occasional recreational customer to the more experienced outdoor enthusiast.
Our experience includes Tents & Shelters, Sleeping Bags, Camping Furniture, Bags & Backpacks, Coolers, Outdoor Cooking, Drinkware, and related Camping Accessories.
Our approach considers assortment breadth, brands, price-point architecture, seasonality, innovation, promotional opportunities, and the complementary relationships between camping, fishing, hunting, outdoor recreation, and outdoor living.
From Category Strategy to Execution
From Category Strategy to Execution Our category expertise is supported by decades of practical retail leadership experience. Ash &
Co. can engage at the strategic level, work directly with merchandising teams, or lead specific initiatives from analysis through implementation.
Across these categories, our consulting capabilities include:
- Category Strategy & Business Planning
- Merchandising Strategy Category and Assortment Optimization
- Line Review Development & Execution
- Vendor Strategy, Negotiations & Management
- Strategic Sourcing & Cost Reduction
- Pricing & Promotional Strategy
- Private & Proprietary Brand Development
- Competitive Analysis & Benchmarking
- New Product & Trend Identification
- Good-Better-Best Price Architecture
- Margin & Profitability Improvement
- Inventory Productivity
- Space & Assortment Productivity
- Regional and Store-Level
- Assortment Strategy
- Seasonal Planning
- New Category Development
- Retailer and Supplier Strategy
Whether the objective is to fix an underperforming category, conduct a comprehensive line review, reduce product costs, negotiate with vendors, improve margin, develop a private brand, optimize an assortment, or build an entirely new category, Ash & Co. provides the experience and leadership to move from strategy to measurable results.
