Lulu & Georgia · Forecasting

Planning the trade program's growth

In discovery

We scoped it in May 2026 and haven't built it.

An overhead flat-lay of fabric swatches, wood and tile samples and a marble slab.

Where it stands

Trade growth planning for Lulu & Georgia is in discovery. We scoped it with the client's trade team, and none of it is built.

Lulu & Georgia

The question

Trade applications and approvals live in one system, and trade orders live in another.

So a planning question had no answer anyone trusted: how many approved trade members does a growth target need? Three more sit close behind it: which approved members will buy, how long a first order takes, and which accounts are going quiet.

Two systems, one account Proposed CRM Applications Approvals Order history Orders Order values One record per trade account Cohorts Scenarios Account lists The client spot-checks a sample first Two systems, one account Proposed CRM Applications Approvals Order history Orders Order values One record per trade account Cohorts Scenarios Lists The client spot-checks a sample first
A styled work corner: pinboards of swatches and tear sheets, an oval table with magazines and a sample book.

What we have done

We scoped the work in May and paused it until we have access to the order history.

Here's what exists, what we retired and what we've only proposed.

May 2026

Scoping with the trade team · Done

We scoped the questions with the client's growth and trade leads.

May 2026

CRM prototype · Built, since retired

We prototyped an agent that answered questions over the client's CRM data and cited the records it used. We retired it in June.

May 2026

CRM-only pass · Done; paused on data access

An exploratory pass on CRM data alone showed where the gaps are.

Now

Paused

The next step needs the order history, and we're waiting on access.

Next

Joined record, cohorts, scenarios, lists · Proposed

We haven't built any of it: the joined account record, the cohorts, the scenarios or the account lists.

A range,
not a single number

The approach

The approach has five steps, and all five are still proposals.

We'd join the CRM and the order history into one record per trade account. We'd agree with the client on what counts as an application, an approval and an active account, and the client would spot-check a sample.

We'd group accounts by approval month and measure each group's time to first order, repeat cadence and spread of order values.

We'd define "quiet" against furniture buying cycles, not against subscription churn.

We'd work out how many approvals a month each growth target needs, and give it as a range, not a single number.

Account lists would come last, once the client trusts the baseline: who is likely to buy, and who is going quiet.

What it would hand the team

The team would get a scenario table, cohort curves and a Monday list of accounts to call.

Cohort curves 0% 10% 20% 30% 0 2 4 6 8 Months since approval Share with a first order Jan Feb Mar Cohort curves 0% 10% 20% 30% 0 2 4 6 8 Months since approval Share with a first order Jan Feb Mar
Approvals a month, by target 0 40 80 120 Lower target Higher target Approvals a month Central Range Approvals a month, by target 0 40 80 120 Lower target Higher target Approvals a month Central
Monday's calls Account Why it is on the list 1042Design studio Last order 7 months ago;usually orders every 3 Quiet 2318Architect Approved 5 months ago;no first order yet No order 0977Design studio Order values smallerthree quarters running Shrinking 3150Home stager One large first order,nothing since Quiet A person decides who to call Monday's calls Account Why 1042Studio Last order 7 months ago;usually every 3 Quiet 2318Architect Approved 5 months ago;no first order yet No order 0977Studio Order values smallerthree quarters running Shrinking 3150Stager One large first order,nothing since Quiet A person decides who to call
Accounts matched across the two Trade accounts, 100% 48%Matched on email 14%By a person 38%Not yet matched Step 1 comes first. Nothing downstream runs until the match is trusted Accounts matched across the two Trade accounts, 100% 48%On email 14%By a person 38%Not yet Step 1 comes first. Nothing downstream runs until the match is trusted

What stays with people

The client would check the baseline before anyone used a number. Every figure would trace back to its source rows. A person would set targets and decide outreach, and nothing would change on its own.

Forecasting's in discovery. The rest is live.

Lulu & Georgia

Home furnishings

The client page covers the four live workflows: vendor operations, product compliance, PLM and the ontology.

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