From chaos to control across 6.43M SKUs - how BOI® and POAS rebuilt UK Soccer Shop's Google Ads
The campaign behind our European Search Awards 2026 Winner + Silver double. ROAS replaced with POAS as the optimisation target, inventory and contribution margin read straight off the P&L into the bid layer.
£520k+
Cash recovered from aged stock
35%
Inventory turnover improvement
+£287k
P&L working capital freed
100%
Branded term protection
The Challenge
UKSoccerShop operates in a brutal competitive landscape: counterfeit sellers undercutting on price, major sports retailers running aggressive discount campaigns, and seasonal inventory that becomes deadweight the moment a player transfers.
They needed a partner who understood that this isn't just about ROAS. It's about protecting margins while keeping cash flowing.
The challenge was threefold: protect against counterfeits, compete with major retailers without losing money, and move seasonal stock before it became worthless.
Diagnostic Summary
What Was Misread
ROAS was being measured against gross revenue, ignoring that aged stock was being sold at declining margins. The account looked healthy while inventory was silently becoming deadweight.
What Was Diagnosed
Stock age was the hidden variable. Products older than 90 days were consuming budget at full-margin targets while needing cash-recovery strategies. Counterfeit sellers were also siphoning branded search traffic.
What Was Not Changed
The core campaign architecture for new releases remained intact. We added stock-aware layers rather than rebuilding from scratch. The brand bidding strategy was enhanced, not replaced.
What Risk Was Avoided
Without intervention, an estimated £200k+ of inventory would have become unsellable deadstock. The cash recovery protocols prevented a working capital crisis during a critical trading period.
Engagement Timeline
How the engagement progressed
Inventory & Cash Flow Audit
Mapped 2,000+ SKUs by stock age, margin, and competitive pressure. Identified £520k+ of aged inventory requiring recovery.
Cash Recovery Protocols
Built campaigns around inventory lifecycle - pushing new releases at full margin, then shifting aged stock through controlled recovery.
Brand Defence & Feed Engineering
Systematically outbid counterfeit sellers on branded terms. Used custom labels to segment SKUs with distinct bid strategies.
Competitor Intelligence & Scaling
Monitored major retailer discount cycles. £520k+ recovered from aged stock, 35% inventory turnover improvement.
Our Approach
Stock-aware campaigns that protect margins and recover cash
Stock & Cashflow Strategy: Built campaigns around inventory lifecycle, pushing new releases at full margin, then progressively shifting aged stock through controlled 'cash recovery' protocols before it becomes worthless
Counterfeit Defence: Identified and systematically outbid knockoff sellers on branded terms, protecting both revenue and brand integrity
Competitor Intelligence: Monitored major retailer discount cycles and adjusted bidding strategy to avoid head-to-head price wars we couldn't win
Feed Engineering: Used custom labels to dynamically segment 2,000+ SKUs by margin, stock age, and competitive pressure, each with distinct bid strategies
The Proprietary Method
What BOI® did differently
Every other agency was bidding on conversion value. We bid on commercial intent - assigning each SKU a job and a constraint pulled directly from the P&L.
01 · Scale SKUs
New-release shirts, in-season kits, high-margin replicas
Bid aggressively against full contribution margin. No stock-age penalty.
02 · Recovery SKUs
Aged stock 90+ days, departing players, last-season kits
Bid against cash-recovery value, not advertised margin. Better to release £520k of working capital than hold deadstock.
03 · Protect SKUs
Branded search, defensive terms, counterfeit-targeted queries
Bid to hold position regardless of ROAS. 100% branded-term protection from counterfeit sellers.
04 · Profit SKUs
High-margin lines unconstrained by stock or competition
Bid to a contribution-margin target, not a ROAS target. The CFO's number, not Google's.
Judges' citation
"A full system rebuild, replacing incremental optimisation with a POAS-led framework that reshaped how performance is measured and managed."
- European Search Awards 2026
Read more
About the BOI® framework →Recognition
Full awards record →"Highly recommended. Immediate uplift to a decade long campaign. Quickly improved ROAS after mess left by underperforming previous agency and now starting to scale the account. Highly dedicated team."
Simon Prestwell, Owner, UKSoccerShop
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