A hair salon owner had noticed that retail sales had become an important part of the business. More and more customers were purchasing hair care and styling products alongside their haircut or colouring service. However, the growing demand also brought a new challenge: the most popular products were running out of stock more often, just when customers were ready to buy them. As a result, opportunities for additional sales were sometimes lost.

Challenge: Working capital was not enough for larger purchases

The entrepreneur replenished inventory in small batches to ensure there was enough cash available to cover rent, salaries and other day-to-day business expenses.

In practice, this meant that the shampoo, conditioner or styling product a customer wanted was not always available. When a product was out of stock, some retail sales were lost.

The challenge did not only concern products sold to customers. Hair colours, developers and other professional products used in daily work also had to be purchased in advance. Larger purchases could have made inventory management easier, reduced stock shortages and enabled better purchasing terms. However, they would also have tied up a significant portion of the company's working capital.

Solution: Inventory financing enabled larger purchases

To solve the challenge, the entrepreneur decided to use inventory financing. The financing partner paid the supplier directly, making it possible to purchase larger quantities of products without placing the full cost on the company's cash flow at once.

The entrepreneur used approximately €20,000 in inventory financing to make a larger purchase that replenished the stock of both retail hair care and styling products as well as professional products needed for daily salon work. Without financing, such a purchase would have tied up a significant portion of the company's working capital in one go.

The company repaid the financing according to a schedule that suited its cash flow. This meant there was still enough working capital to cover rent, salaries and other ongoing business expenses. At the same time, products could be purchased in advance and inventory could be replenished based on customer demand without using the company's assets as collateral.

The impact on daily business

Thanks to inventory financing, the most popular products were available more often when customers wanted to buy them. This created more opportunities for additional sales and reduced situations where sales were lost because products were out of stock.

Larger purchases reduced the need for frequent reorders and made purchasing more predictable. They could also provide better purchasing terms from suppliers and improve the profitability of retail sales.

The biggest change, however, was seen in the day-to-day running of the business. Purchases could be planned according to customer demand instead of being based solely on the company's current cash position. This made both inventory management and cash flow management more predictable.

When could inventory financing be the right solution?

When a large amount of capital is tied up in inventory, purchasing products can put pressure on a company's cash flow, especially when demand increases or inventory needs to be replenished in larger quantities. Inventory financing makes it possible to purchase products in advance without placing the full cost on the company's cash flow at once.

Inventory financing can be a suitable solution for businesses that want to balance cash flow, free up working capital and replenish inventory more flexibly. The financing partner pays the supplier directly, and the business repays the financing according to a schedule that suits its financial situation. This allows products to be purchased in advance even when larger purchases would otherwise be difficult to make.