Retail · FMCG · Category Growth
Category decisions that actually drive profit
Retail Engine helps retail and FMCG companies improve profit through assortment, pricing and category decisions.
No commitment. 15 minutes. Real answer.
No preparation needed. Just your current challenges.
Experience you can trust
Experience from large-scale retail environments where category decisions are measured in millions.
X5 Retail Group — top-50 European food retailer, 30,000+ stores.
Our team held operating roles — not advisory positions — inside these organisations.
Who We Work With
We work with companies where category decisions directly impact profit.
Retail chains (food & FMCG)
Category & Commercial Directors
CEOs of mid-size retail businesses
FMCG companies working with retail
Why It Matters
Data without direction
Most companies have reports. Few turn them into decisions.
Layout without logic
Category placement shapes purchases — but is often based on habit.
Assortment without structure
Too many SKUs hide gaps. Too few lose customers.
What We Actually Do
Store Layout Optimization
- Define category roles and store zoning to improve traffic and conversion
- Design customer journeys that increase basket size
- Allocate space based on data to maximise sales per m²
- Deliver implementation-ready layouts your team can execute
Assortment Optimization
- Optimise SKU portfolio to remove waste and protect revenue
- Build customer-driven assortment to grow category penetration
- Analyse price segments to capture margin and demand
- Identify growth opportunities already visible in your data
Category Management Programme
A practical 1–2 day programme for retail and FMCG teams.
- Builds a shared commercial language between retailers and suppliers
- Covers category logic, assortment structure, product positioning and shelf decisions
- Designed for retail buying and category teams
- Designed for FMCG commercial and sales teams
- Available in-person and online
Results in Practice
Fresh category redesign
- Problem
- Low traffic and high losses
- Action
- Relocation and layout redesign based on customer flow
- Result
- +8.4% LFL growth, reduction in losses
Facing a similar challenge?
Assortment optimization
- Problem
- Over-assortment and low category efficiency
- Action
- SKU reduction and price architecture redesign
- Result
- +15–27% margin uplift and increased category penetration in basket
Facing a similar challenge?
Pricing system redesign
- Problem
- Low category profitability and inconsistent pricing logic
- Action
- Built a pricing system across assortment categories, price segments, price ladders and competitive positioning
- Result
- +16 p.p. increase in category profitability
Facing a similar challenge?
Availability & demand system fix
- Problem
- Low on-shelf availability despite strong reported metrics. Customers unable to complete basic purchases.
- Action
- Redesigned demand forecasting and availability logic. Changed KPI structure to balance margin and volume. Analysed real availability based on minimum units, not SKU presence. Used online orders and customer feedback to validate gaps.
- Result
- Availability 76% → 94% in 4 weeks. Online orders completion improved significantly. LFL growth restored — chain outperformed competitor within 6 months.
Facing a similar challenge?
If this looks familiar, you don't have a strategy problem. You have an execution gap.
What clients say
“In Q4 we were behind on gross profit. The standard response would have been to raise prices and cut stock. Instead, we fixed the replenishment logic and pricing architecture. Two weeks later, shelves were full and traffic returned.”
“Most categories suffered from over-assortment, but it wasn't obvious in the ABC analysis because nearly everything was selling. The team optimised the assortment structure and redesigned the replenishment forecasting logic for both distribution centres and stores. As a result, we gained additional shelf space and reduced inventory levels.”
“Our category team had access to large amounts of data, but decision-making lacked structure and consistency. After Retail Engine's analysis and working sessions with our teams, we finally understood how retailers actually evaluate our commercial proposition. The new category management structure and clearer commercial logic significantly reduced decision-making errors across the team.”
All client projects are delivered under NDA.
Selected cases and testimonials are adapted for confidentiality.
Proven Impact
Based on 30+ real transformation projects across retail and FMCG.
How We Work
Diagnostic
(1–2 weeks)Identify key growth and efficiency drivers. First concrete opportunities identified within 1–2 weeks.
Strategy
(2–4 weeks)Category structure, pricing and commercial logic.
Implementation
Store layout, assortment and execution.
Measurable Impact
(within 2–3 months)Profit, traffic and revenue improvement.
Why Retail Engine
Built inside retail
Experience from leading retail and FMCG companies.
Not theory — real execution
Solutions that work in real stores.
From data to decisions
We translate analytics into actions.
End-to-end involvement
We support implementation until results are achieved.
The Team
Dmitrii Mzhen
15+ years in retail and FMCG across Danone, Colgate-Palmolive and X5 Group. Led large-scale category and commercial transformations across Europe and Asia.
Viacheslav Vydrenkov
20+ years in FMCG data and analytics across Europe. Specialises in turning complex data into measurable commercial impact.
Let's turn your data into measurable growth
We work with retail and FMCG companies across Europe — helping turn data into measurable business results.
No preparation needed. Just your current challenges.
We work with a limited number of clients at a time.