How one UK e-comm brand recovered profitability and their confidence.
The Business:
- Industry: E-commerce
- Location: UK
- Model: DTC, multi-channel
- Revenue: Mid-six figures
- Team Size: Lean and scrappy
The Problem:
This brand had all the right ingredients: a great product, strong customer loyalty, and serious potential.
But one high-risk ad strategy, plus an inventory buying spree based on inflated projections, cost them $300K in losses.
Margins tanked.
Cash dried up.
Inventory was sitting, not selling.
They didn’t need motivation. They needed a plan.
What We Did (6 Months of Fractional CFO Work):
- Deep Financial Audit
We reviewed the past two years of sales, ad spend, and COGS to understand where the breakdowns actually happened.
- Cash Flow Restructure
We mapped every dollar in and out, slashed non-essential spend, and created a 6-month cash flow model to stay ahead.
- Inventory Controls
We put the brakes on new purchasing, built a sell-through strategy for existing stock, and synced buying decisions to actual sales, not gut instinct.
- Ad Strategy Reset
No more burn-and-churn budgets. We aligned paid ads with product velocity and profit, not just ROAS.
- Margin Recovery Plan
We renegotiated pricing with key vendors, tightened fulfillment costs, and improved offer structure to protect profits.
The Result:
In just 6 months, they:
- Returned to profitability
- Improved their cash position by $90,000
- Regained control of their inventory
- Developed an ad strategy rooted in financial performance, not guesswork
And more importantly? They stopped reacting, and started running the business with clarity.
Real Takeaway:
Flashy ads and bulk inventory won’t save a business without financial discipline.
This client didn’t need more sales.
They needed a smarter way to manage the money they already had.
That’s what we do.