Brookharbor Lenders in Charleston, West Virginia passes inventory financing requests from Kanawha County stores, salons and parts counters to funding partners. This page covers lines and loans for stock, county retail counts and an invented opening-order example.
At a glance
- Retail employers
Retail trade, Kanawha County, WV: 613 employer establishments, the most of any sector (CBP 2023)
- Health and personal care stores
Health and personal care stores, Kanawha County, WV: 80 employer establishments (CBP 2023)
- Auto parts, accessories and tire stores
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores, Kanawha County, WV: 55 employer establishments (CBP 2023)
Inventory Financing Line of Credit for a Charleston, WV Store
A store that restocks on a regular rhythm often does better with a revolving inventory line than with a series of separate loans. The line is drawn to pay a supplier, repaid as the goods sell and drawn again for the next order.
Some inventory lines are set as a share of the value of the stock on hand, called a borrowing base, so the limit rises and falls with inventory. The lender may ask for regular inventory reports and may check the stock from time to time. Ask how the base is calculated and how often reports are due.
Inventory Loans for a Small Business Carrying Retail Product Lines
A store or salon that carries branded product lines buys in minimum order sizes set by the supplier. That can mean paying for months of stock at once, especially when a new line is introduced.
An inventory loan sized to the order and repaid over the months it takes to sell keeps the purchase from pulling cash away from payroll and rent. A partner will want to see how quickly similar stock has sold before, so sales reports by product line help.
Inventory Financing for Small Business Owners in Kanawha County, WV
Retail trade had the most employer establishments of any sector in Kanawha County, WV in 2023: 613, with 9,449 employees and a payroll of about $327.5 million (County Business Patterns). A store pays its suppliers for stock before a customer buys any of it.
Inventory financing is not limited to retail stores. Salons sell product, auto repair shops stock parts, restaurants buy food and beverage in volume and contractors buy materials. The common thread is a purchase that turns back into cash when it is sold or used on a paying job.
How to Use a Business Loan to Buy Inventory Without Tying Up the Credit Line
A business with a line of credit can use it for stock, but a large order can fill the line and leave nothing for payroll or a surprise repair. A separate inventory loan for the big order keeps the line free for the costs it was opened for.
Size the loan to the order, set the repayment to match how the stock sells, and keep a record of sell-through so the next request rests on real numbers.
Kanawha County, WV Retail Counts by Store Type, From Pharmacies to Tire Shops
| Store type (NAICS) | Employer establishments |
|---|---|
| Health and personal care stores (4461) | 80 |
| All other general merchandise stores (452319) | 62 |
| Clothing and clothing accessories stores (448) | 59 |
| Auto parts, accessories and tire stores (4413) | 55 |
| Building material and garden equipment dealers (NAICS 444) | 36 |
| Grocery stores, including convenience stores (4451) | 33 |
| Furniture and home furnishings stores (442) | 25 |
These are selected rows, not a complete list of retail categories. Each type carries different stock: prescriptions and personal care items, apparel, tires and parts, lumber and garden supplies, groceries, furniture.
An Invented Opening Order for a Second Parts Counter, Sold Through in Weeks
Illustration only, invented figures: an auto parts store in Charleston, WV opens a second counter and needs $40,000 of opening stock. It finances the order over six months at an invented annual rate of 13%, expecting the stock to sell through within weeks and be reordered.
In this invented case the monthly payment is about $6,921.71, and the six payments total about $41,530, so the financing costs about $1,530 (our arithmetic). Because the inventory loan is repaid from sales, the store would track sell-through weekly against the payment schedule.
The second-location article shows opening stock financed apart from the build-out.
By Brookharbor Lenders ยท Updated