Independent retailers avoid dead eyewear inventory by testing with enough assortment to learn, but not so much duplicate depth that cash is locked into unproven positions.
Separate breadth from depth
Use the selling display for choice and backstock for proven demand.
Track aging by role
Do not confuse necessary reader-power breadth with truly dead inventory. Identify items that have no movement and no strategic reason to remain.
Use reorders to move capital
Deepen what sells, reduce what sits, and stop rebuilding the original opening order after the store has better information.
Set review dates
Use 30-, 60-, and 90-day reviews or another defined cadence so slow inventory is addressed early.
Continue: Independent Retailers resource center.