StretchLearn Course

Run a Retail Store That Actually Profits

The inventory math, shrink control, labor scheduling, and merchandising behind a profitable independent shop.

Beginner9 hr 30 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This course takes a beginner from a full stockroom and no real margin to running a retail store on numbers it can defend. You will learn how initial markup and maintained margin actually behave after markdowns and shrink, how inventory turnover and GMROI tell you whether your cash is working, and how to schedule labor against a traffic curve instead of guessing. Every module is built around real KPIs (sales per square foot, conversion rate, units per transaction, shrinkage percentage), named retail systems like Lightspeed, Square, and Shopify POS, and the actual math an owner needs to set prices, control stock, and protect the bottom line.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Calculate inventory turnover, sell-through, weeks of supply, and GMROI to manage your stock as cash

Set initial markup and protect maintained margin through disciplined markdown and shrink control

Build a loss-prevention program that holds shrinkage near or below the 1.4 to 1.6 percent retail average

Schedule staff against an hourly traffic curve so labor stays near 12 to 15 percent of sales

Lay out and merchandise the floor to lift sales per square foot, conversion, and units per transaction

Read a retail P&L against benchmarks and run the store on KPIs instead of gut feel

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: How a Retail Store Makes Money

Understand gross margin after markdowns and shrink, the productivity metrics that judge a store, and the KPIs that turn a hunch into a decision.

3 lessons

Gross Margin, Markup, and Maintained MarginContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Sales per Square Foot and Store ProductivityContent · 50 min

LMS Access

The Retail KPI DashboardContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Inventory Management and Open-to-Buy

Treat inventory as cash: measure turnover and GMROI, plan purchases with open-to-buy, and clear slow stock with disciplined markdowns.

3 lessons

Inventory Turnover, Sell-Through, and GMROIContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Open-to-Buy PlanningContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Markdowns, Aging, and Clearing Slow StockContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Shrinkage Control and Loss Prevention

Find where inventory disappears, build the controls that stop external and internal theft and paperwork error, and verify it all with a disciplined count.

3 lessons

What Shrinkage Is and Where It Comes FromContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Building a Loss-Prevention ProgramContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Cycle Counts and Physical InventoryContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Staffing, Merchandising, and the Profit Statement

Schedule labor to the traffic curve, lay out and merchandise the floor to lift sales per square foot, and read the retail P&L against real benchmarks.

3 lessons

Scheduling Labor to the Traffic CurveContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Store Layout and Visual MerchandisingContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Reading the Retail P&L and Hitting BenchmarksContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

retail operationsinventory managementshrinkage controlvisual merchandisingsales per square footretail POSstaff schedulingGMROI