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Service mix: the salon metric that explains why a busy week can still be a low-margin week
Service mix is the share of revenue coming from each service category — and a 20-point shift between categories can move salon margin by 4-7 percentage points without a single price change.
Ibrahim Ölmez
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25 May
Sell-through rate: the 8-week test for whether a delivery is doing its job
Sell-through rate is units sold divided by units received, in the same window. A healthy boutique hits 70-80% within 8 weeks of a delivery. Below 50% means you bought too deep or priced too high — and the markdown clock has already started.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Salon client retention rate: how to calculate it, the benchmarks, and what a low number actually tells you
Client retention rate is the single number that separates a salon with a business from a salon with a marketing addiction — and the benchmarks are tighter than most owners realise.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): the definition, formula and why blended is more honest
ROAS tells you how many euros of revenue every euro of ad spend produced — but the platform-reported version is almost always overstated.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Revenue per chair: the salon unit-economics metric that tells you if you have a real business
Revenue per chair is the cleanest single number for whether a salon is a real business or a hobby with overhead — and the benchmarks for mid-range vs premium are tighter than most owners think.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Prime cost (restaurant): the one number that decides whether the kitchen is profitable
Prime cost is food plus beverage COGS plus total labour (kitchen and front-of-house, taxes and benefits included) divided by revenue. It is the single most important controllable cost in a restaurant — if it drifts above the band for your concept, no amount of marketing fixes the P&L.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Payback period: how long until an investment pays for itself
Payback period is the number of months it takes for an investment — a new espresso machine, a hire, a marketing campaign — to return its own cost in additional contribution.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Operating margin vs net margin: the two profitability numbers and which one to use when
Operating margin is EBIT divided by revenue — the operator's number, used to judge whether the shop itself is profitable. Net margin is net profit divided by revenue, after interest and tax — the owner's number, used to judge what actually ends up in your pocket.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Operating expense ratio (OER): the percentage of every euro that goes to running the shop
Operating expense ratio is the share of revenue swallowed by operating costs — the cleanest single number to tell you whether your cost base is sized for the revenue you actually produce.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Net margin: the bottom-line ratio that finally tells you what you kept
Net margin is the share of revenue that survives every cost — COGS, operating expenses, interest, tax — and ends up in your bank account. It is the only number that answers "did the business actually make money this year?"
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Markup vs margin: why a 50% markup is only a 33% margin (and why it matters)
Markup divides by cost. Margin divides by price. Same numerator, different denominator, two different numbers. A €10 item sold at €15 is a 50% markup and a 33% margin. Confusing the two is the most common pricing mistake in retail.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Labour cost percentage (restaurant): the other half of prime cost, and the faster one to fix
Labour cost percentage is fully loaded labour (wages, payroll taxes, benefits) divided by net revenue. It is the half of prime cost you can move tomorrow with a single roster change — which is why operators who watch it daily run leaner than operators who learn about it at month-end.
Ibrahim Ölmez
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25 May
Inventory turnover ratio: the formula, the benchmarks and what 4 turns a year actually means for a small shop
Inventory turnover ratio is COGS divided by average inventory — the number of times you sold through your entire stock in a year. Most small boutiques sit at 3-5 turns. Below 3 means your money is sleeping on the shelf.
Ibrahim Ölmez
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25 May
Gross margin: the one ratio that tells you if your pricing is honest
Gross margin is what is left from each euro of revenue after the cost of what you sold — the cleanest signal you have on whether the price you charge actually covers what you pay.
Ibrahim Ölmez
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25 May
GMROI: the single number that tells you whether your inventory is earning its keep
GMROI is gross margin % multiplied by inventory turnover — euros of gross margin earned per euro tied up in stock. A high-margin slow shop and a low-margin fast shop can land at the same GMROI. That is the point.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May
Food cost percentage: the most-tracked number in restaurants and what it actually tells you
Food cost percentage is food COGS divided by food revenue, expressed as a percentage. It is the most-tracked metric in restaurants because it moves daily, the levers are obvious, and a two-point drift is the difference between an EBIT-positive month and a break-even one.
Ibrahim Ölmez
·
25 May