Every store has some dead stock. In RPM Retail, we’ve defined this as products that have had no sales for 180 days. Because we’ve made it easy to identify dead products a staff member can take action to deal with them on a regular basis. Here’s our suggestions:

1. Flag the item as “Don’t Reorder” in your POS system.
2. Remove the dead products from the store shelves and re-merchandise the remaining products to fill the space.
3. Mark down the price and move the dead stock to a clearance area (or store it for the next clearance sale).

You may have some alternative techniques for step 3. such as holding direct products for a credit from the supplier or bundling the dead products with a better seller.
Retailers fear that by removing very slow moving products from their range they risk disappointing an occasional customer. A much better solution for very infrequent product requests is to implement a “Special Order” for these customers to fill their request. When done well, this service will enhance customer loyalty to your store and does not waste your valuable capital and shelf space on unprofitable lines.