What belongs in a category margin contribution chart
The bars, bridges, and footnotes that help a trading meeting stay honest about where margin actually comes from.
A useful category margin contribution chart answers one question: which parts of the assortment fund the aisle, and which parts spend that funding down?
Bars that earn their place
Show contribution by subcategory first, then by SKU clusters that move together — pack sizes, flavour families, or private-label tiers. Avoid a wall of every single GTIN unless the meeting is a delist clinic.
Bridges worth drawing
Separate list cost movement, promotional funding, waste or known shrink, and mix shift. When those bridges are missing, teams argue about “margin” while pointing at different numbers.
Footnotes on the same page
Name the period, the cost basis (invoice vs net), and any SKUs held out for launches or clearances. Footnotes that live in a separate deck get lost before the supplier call.
If you want a pack drawn for an upcoming review, send a chart brief.