Retailers are cutting the catalogue, and complexity is the cost they are trying to remove
About one in four US companies surveyed intend to reduce the range of products they sell within six months, and the reason given is complexity rather than weak demand: a smaller supplier base, and one tariff calculation instead of many across many materials and styles. Where companies have already moved, they describe it as concentrating investment behind their strongest lines.
- 1 in 4 US Firms Planning Range Cuts
- 6 Months Stated Horizon
- 25%+ Range Reduction At One Retailer
A narrower assortment is a forecasting and slotting event before it is a merchandising one. Velocity redistributes across a facility, which changes slotting, pick paths and replenishment frequency, so suppliers in warehouse execution and inventory planning are selling into a change the buyer has already decided to make. The stated reason is tariff and landed cost complexity rather than weak demand, which puts trade and finance in the buying centre alongside operations. Lines being wound down also become inventory that has to go somewhere, a demand event the assortment story itself never mentions.