The owner of a food stall, Aziz, discovered a discrepancy in his financial reports after implementing a new POS terminal. His employee, Shcheglov, had been offering unauthorized discounts to regular customers, selling shawarma for 250 rubles instead of the standard 300 rubles.
The employee believed that since the direct cost of ingredients for one shawarma was 150 rubles, selling it for 250 rubles still generated a profit. However, this calculation ignored indirect costs such as rent, utilities, staff salaries, and bank service fees.
Aziz explained that the 150-ruble margin per unit is intended to cover both direct and indirect expenses. By reducing the price by 50 rubles, the employee was not just cutting the price by 16.7%, but effectively reducing the available margin by one-third.
Based on a monthly sales target of 6,000 units, the business model shows that selling at the standard price of 300 rubles leaves a profit after covering all overheads. Selling at 250 rubles results in a loss of 3 rubles per unit, as the margin is insufficient to cover the fixed operational costs.
