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Flat Six Retail Advisory
Assortment · Pricing · Margin · Execution

Buyer-side experience, working for you now.

Assortment, pricing, and margin strategy built on years in the buyer's seat — tell me which side of the table you're sitting on:

For Brands

Get on shelf & grow

Assortment, pricing, and pitch strategy for brands trying to win space — or defend margin on what's already on shelf — in the value and drug channels.

See brand services →
For Retail Teams

Extra experienced hands

Trade show coverage, competitive shops, category backup, and short-term merchandising support.

See retail-team services →
Buyer-side experience
Dollar General pOpshelf Walgreens OfficeMax
Who I help Consumer Brands Retailers Investors & Advisors — occasional retail & category diligence
Experience

I've sat on both sides of the table.

Most retail consultants have only ever sat on one side — the vendor's or the retailer's. Flat Six has spent nineteen years with insight on both.

Christian Japlit, founder of Flat Six Retail Advisory
Christian Japlit Founder & Advisor

Most retail consultants specialize in either the value channel or the drug channel — rarely both. My background bridges the two: category insight from the drug side at Walgreens, and value-channel merchandising discipline from pOpshelf and Dollar General.

The Buyer role sits at the hub of the wheel — product, pricing, assortment, supply chain, store execution, and vendor economics all run through it. That breadth is the real value: the same experience that drives sales and margin is what catches a costly mistake before it happens.

Education
B.S., Electrical Engineering — University of Illinois at Chicago
Negotiation Training
The GAP Partnership · Shapiro Negotiations Institute · University of Notre Dame
Additional Training
Economic Value Add (EVA), University of Notre Dame
Full career history — linkedin.com/in/japlit
Dollar GeneralValue
Senior Buyer - Director, Stationery & Party — Apr. 2021–July 2024. Value-channel assortment, price-ladder discipline, vendor line reviews.
pOpshelfValue
Buyer, Stationery & Party — Jan. 2020–Apr. 2021. Ground-up concept store launch to immediate expansion.
Walgreens-Boots AllianceDrug
Category Manager, Stationery & Apparel — Aug. 2011–Nov. 2019. Drug-channel category management and product development.
OfficeMaxOffice
Category Manager — Nov. 2005–Aug. 2011. Retail buying foundation.
For Brands
  • See what buyers actually evaluate — and why
  • Understand how assortment, price, margin, and timing drive their decision
  • Walk in with materials built the way a buying team reads them
  • Catch problems before a retailer does
For Retail Teams
  • Merchandising help from someone who's operated inside major retailers
  • Vendor proposals evaluated with real buyer-side context
  • Assortment, pricing, margin, and execution assessed the way a buyer would
Case Study / 01 Proj. No. PS‑01

pOpshelf — Ground-Up Retail Concept

Building the assortment from the ground up.

Role

Buyer, Stationery & Party — Jan. 2020–Apr. 2021

Context

Part of the original buying and store concept team that built pOpshelf from the ground up, then supported its immediate expansion.

What this required
  • Building a full assortment for a brand-new retail concept
  • Understanding value-channel economics from the ground up
  • Product & SKU selection decisions
  • Working across merchandising and store execution
  • Taking a concept from paper to shelf
CNBC coverage →

Beyond the buy desk

A few more projects worth naming.

Walgreens

Taylor Swift "Red" exclusive

Product development on the Walgreens stationery line tied to Taylor Swift's "Red" album retail exclusive.

Billboard coverage →
Walgreens

ME to WE partnership

Product development on the ME to WE stationery line — a Walgreens cause-marketing partnership funding education access abroad.

WBA press release →
Areas of Expertise

A hub-and-spoke role, in practice.

The buyer/merchandising seat sits at the hub of the wheel — assortment, pricing, inventory, vendor economics, and store execution all roll uphill to the buyer and downhill to every function that executes against the P&L. That means broad, hands-on exposure most brand or retail partners only ever see in silos — exposure that drives sales and margin, and just as often catches a costly mistake before it reaches the bottom line. Not every engagement needs all of it — but it's there when the scope calls for it.

Modern retail intelligence — decades of buyer-side judgment, supported by data and AI-assisted analysis to move faster and spot patterns sooner.
Retail Strategy & Margin
  • P&L ownership & margin management
  • Pricing strategy — cost, competitive set, assortment fit
  • Sales analysis — trend identification with action
  • Trade funding negotiation
Product & Assortment
  • Product development — concept to production to shelf
  • Private label build-out — thousands of SKUs, dozens of factory trips across Asia
  • Packaging development, private label and branded
  • Assortment life cycle — launch through markdown and exit
Retail Execution & Supply Chain
  • End-to-end supply chain — manufacturer to warehouse to shelf to end-of-life
  • Planogram reset process — hundreds planned and deployed
  • Seasonal buying — product, timing, and exit
  • International sourcing & trade shows — Asia and Europe
Buyer & Vendor Interface
  • Vendor and internal negotiation — cost, funding, support, approvals
  • Merchandising language — what the buyer is actually saying
  • In-store & on-shelf execution guidance
  • Marketing collaboration on product and promotions

This isn't an exhaustive list — a strategy call can unlock whichever of these fits your specific need.

Services

Built around brands trying to get on shelf.

Perspective and preparation before you're in front of a buyer.

For Brands
01

Strategy Call

A free intro conversation to understand where you are and whether it's a fit.

02

Scoped Plan

A clear proposal — deliverables, timeline, and price — before any work begins.

03

Buyer-Ready Work

Built the way buyers and buying teams actually evaluate and operate.

Every engagement is screened for potential conflicts before it's accepted, and client information stays confidential throughout.

Get In Touch

Ready to put retail experience on your side?

Book a free strategy call — direct access to the person doing the work, not a hand-off to junior staff. We'll talk through where you are, what makes sense, and whether it's a fit.

Book a Strategy Call