Campus Stationery Supermarket Expense Control Study Based on Break-even Analysis

Campus supermarket stationery retail is now in a more complicated environment. The strengthening of price competition is one of the external pressures; it is mostly the aggressive expansion of off-campus stationery chains and the wide spread of online e-commerce stationery platforms that have caused it. Off-campus chains are operating on a large scale and have a streamlined supply chain to reduce costs, while e-commerce platforms can reduce their expenses and thus offer low prices and good service. The two-pronged competition has greatly limited the pricing freedom of campus-based businesses. Campus supermarket stationery is subject to a special type of seasonality in demand, determined by the university's academic year. Demand suddenly rises at the beginning of the semester and during examination weeks; therefore, a large amount of stock needs to be held, and after the academic break, demand will fall sharply, resulting in unavoidable inventory stagnation and poor capital turnover. Such cyclical changes in demand will put forward higher demands for the allocation of capital and the flexibility of operation. Small-scale retail businesses usually have narrow profits; hence, small changes in costs can lead to large profits.

In this macro and micro operation environment, the practical problem of the selected campus stationery supermarket will be highlighted. In recent years, there has been a clear structural contradiction in this entity: sales revenue has remained relatively stable, but net profit growth has been slow and unresponsive. A diagnosis of the financial indicators shows that poor management of non-structural expenses is the root cause of the stagnation. Without a systematic structure to define the types of costs, it will be difficult for the enterprise to distinguish fixed expenses from variable ones and determine the minimum amount of revenue that needs to be generated to cover all costs. Unorganised procurement in periods of high demand will increase the costs of inventory, and the fixed expenses that have not been controlled properly will be less efficient in low-demand periods. Without a strict control system for expenses, the increasing revenue will be reduced by inefficient costs, which may endanger the financial stability of the company. Therefore, it is necessary to implement a quantitative, behaviour-oriented cost management method. Based on the cost-volume-profit relationship, the break-even analysis can calculate the intersection of total revenue and total cost precisely. After establishing this theory, it is possible to design a specific cost-control system to improve the profit structure and address the problem of low profits, thus providing strong support for the future application of this theory in practice.

The main purpose of this paper is to conduct two things. First, to examine the main defects in the current expense management system of the target campus stationery supermarket through break-even analysis. By breaking down the total costs into fixed and variable parts and finding the necessary sales volume for zero profit, this study will examine the particular inefficiencies and structural problems in the current cost allocation and consumption patterns of the supermarket. Second, based on the diagnostic results from the break-even model, this paper will develop targeted and operable expense control plans that are tailored to the particular operating conditions of campus retail. Demand for campus retail is strongly influenced by the change of the academic year, and consumers have different purchasing power and limited space. Therefore, the plan is not simply to cut costs; rather, it needs to be in line with the actual operation mode of the supermarket and maintain service quality and inventory level.

Two reasons explain the significance of this study. From the practical point of view, break-even analysis and the related cost control measures can be directly applied to the target supermarket. Based on the data, it can be determined how much the enterprise can save in operating costs, and therefore, the net profit of the enterprise will be increased accordingly. In the case of campus retail, due to low margins and fierce competition from e-commerce, strict control of expenses is necessary for financial stability and not only a matter of management. Through reducing the break-even point and improving the cost structure, the supermarket can have a larger safety margin to withstand external economic shocks and maintain normal operations. Broadly speaking, this research has significant reference value for other small campus stationery retail businesses. These are small businesses with limited operating capital and cannot afford to purchase sophisticated financial analysis tools like large companies. Based on the above, we have constructed a set of methodological frameworks and suitable cost control models that can be used in practice. Therefore, it can guide similar small and medium-sized enterprises in the campus market to improve their own cost management system, improve the efficiency of resource allocation, and maintain long-term development in the campus market.

Campus stationery supermarkets are essentially small retail businesses located on campuses. Its primary direction is to address the concentrated consumption needs of on-campus teachers and students. Product categories in different places will have different structures, but generally, they are mainly school stationery, daily life supplies for the campus, and temporary activity supplies for the school. The seasonal and cyclical nature of inventory management is related to the school year and thus will have different rules and patterns for expenditure control. Knowing these operating features is important for determining the behaviour of this particular retail class in terms of revenue and cost growth.

In the operation of campus stationery supermarkets, to control expenses reasonably, one needs to distinguish between fixed expenses and variable expenses; the latter is needed for further analysis of the break-even point. Fixed expenses are a type of expenditure that does not change with the amount of sales in a certain operating range. The main expenses for the company are based on the school's rent rules or commercial leases; the basic salaries of regular employees; and fixed depreciation costs of equipment, such as shelves and point-of-sale systems. These expenses are unavoidable expenditures for operating the infrastructure; therefore, they need to be covered by the above basic overhead and have their own operating profit.

Conversely, variable expenses will change with the transactional volume and operational intensity of the supermarket. The first is the cost of goods purchased for resale, which is a direct cost. In addition, the variable expenses are temporary labor subsidies during peak academic periods such as the beginning of the semester, packaging consumables used at the checkout, and daily energy consumption that varies with operating hours and customer flow. The precise division of these variable costs is very important; otherwise, their per-unit behaviour will be directly related to the contribution margin ratio. By classifying these expenses systematically, a clear conceptual boundary will be created, and at the same time, it will be convenient to sort and analyse the data; additionally, it will offer a basic structure for identifying the break-even point and formulating targeted expense optimisation plans.

The theoretical system of break-even analysis is one of the essential parts of management accounting; it offers a numerical model to analyse how costs, quantity and profit are connected. At the centre of the model is when total revenue is equal to total expenditure and no profit is made. The basic calculations are the break-even sales volume, that is, the total fixed cost divided by the contribution margin per unit, and the break-even sales revenue, that is, the total fixed cost divided by the contribution margin ratio. In addition, the safety margin is the difference between actual or forecasted sales and the break-even point; it is an important indicator of the operational strength of a micro-entity and shows how much buffer there is before losses occur.

The traditional break-even framework is suitable for small retail micro-entities such as campus stationery supermarkets because the above conditions have been met. First, the unit sales prices of most stationery products are relatively stable, and there is no aggressive promotional discounting in large retail chains, so the contribution margin is reliable. Second, the expense structure has clear categories and low volatility; fixed expenses are mainly the predictable rent and depreciation of the store, and variable expenses are mostly the direct cost of goods, which is strongly linearly related to sales volume in the relevant range. Third, the categories of operating products are generally small and easy to manage, thus reducing the complexity of multiple-product dependencies and allowing for a simplified and accurate use of the single-product or weighted-average multi-product model.

But campus retail has its own operating environment, so the old framework needs to be adjusted to meet the seasonal demand changes. Campus stationery supermarkets generally have a heavy peak in the first half of the semester and a low one in summer and winter. A static annualized break-even model is likely to be inaccurate; therefore, it will overestimate sales in the off-season and underestimate sales in the peak season. In order to adapt the framework, the fixed cost allocation should be decomposed by time and the contribution margin adjusted according to different seasons. Through a phased break-even analysis that adjusts the expected unit volume and revenue targets based on the academic calendar of each stage, campus retail micro-enterprises can better manage the volatility of demand and improve the precision of cost control and strategic planning in various operating periods.

The study of the expenditure-control issues in small and medium-sized retail businesses has been the subject of much academic research globally, indicating that the sector is prone to fluctuations in costs and competition. Overseas research has mostly focused on combining activity-based costing (ABC) and lean inventory management in small community retail environments as basic ways to reduce costs. Researchers have suggested that the traditional volume-based costing is flawed in distributing expenses, thereby concealing the actual profitability margins of various small-volume goods in community stores. Based on operational activities and their corresponding resource consumption, ABC can help retailers find non-value-added activities and reduce the redundant expenses of operation in a systematic way. At the same time, lean inventory management is also suggested to lower holding costs and avoid obsolescence. The combination of the two can guide small retailers to cut procurement costs, make better use of shelf space and reduce waste, according to the above operations; this has been shown in several community convenience stores with continuous growth in profit margins.

Chinese research has been more in the field of expenditure reduction for small retail enterprises around universities in recent years, and it is also influenced by the prevalence of online shopping. The spread of e-commerce has changed the structure of campus stores' prices and market share, causing them to shift from focusing on revenue to cutting costs. Domestic scholars explore how campus-adjacent retailers can use the rules of local operations and school policies to negotiate lower rental expenses and better coordinate labour arrangements. Studies have also shown that digitalisation is required in stock control to lower losses and administrative costs. Based on the above situation, it can be concluded that the type of expenses will change according to the needs of the students and the season, so there should be flexible management.

By combining these domestic and foreign literatures, it can be found that small retail entities generally take the following measures to lower operating costs: accurate cost accounting, faster inventory turnover, and reasonable allocation of labor. The previous research results have been verified in actual small retail operation practice, and the implementation of a refined costing system and lean restocking plan has been effective in reducing operating costs and raising the break-even point. But existing research often neglects that break-even analysis is used as a proactive, integrated tool for dynamic expense control in the campus stationery supermarket and thus has not addressed the problem of how to optimise the fixed and variable cost structure to realise the goal of the enterprise.

Through a systematic comparison of the current literature, it is found that there is no research on expense control for small retail businesses. The majority of the current academic discussion is about the general reduction of costs, using the same type of retail optimisation model without considering the different operation times in a university campus. Most of the previous studies have not used the break-even point as the core constraint in their analysis. The break-even point is the basic safety margin and financial limit for small-scale operations; however, prior research has seldom used this important threshold to develop expense optimisation plans that can adapt to the seasonal changes in campus retailing, the concentrated period of high demand for certain items, and the inflexibility of the school calendar. In addition, little empirical study has been conducted for the operation of campus stationery supermarkets, so there is no connection between the theory of cost management and the actual situation of these special places. In order to address the above deficiencies, a complete and logical system of methods will be constructed in this study. A target campus stationery supermarket will be selected to carry out the study; the structure will be organised in the order of field data collection, break-even calculation, problem diagnosis, optimisation plan design and simulation verification. First, the field data of the target supermarket will be collected seriously, and its historical revenue and category expenses will be obtained systematically. Then the break-even calculation is performed by the cost-volume-profit model to determine the sales volume and revenue required to cover all the costs, providing the basis for all control evaluations. Based on this quantitative threshold, the problem diagnosis stage will conduct an analysis of structural inefficiencies, fixed cost redundancy, variable cost deviation and other problems in the supermarket. After that, in the optimization scheme design phase, targeted cost control measures will be proposed, and all changes proposed must be within the break-even range to be financially sustainable in the campus operation period. Finally, the simulation verification phase will be used to determine the effects of the proposed optimization plans in terms of their actual application and ability to withstand changes before the implementation. Therefore, the above methodological system will be used throughout the whole thesis to ensure that there is a continuous flow of ideas, and it will provide a reasonable way to reduce expenses in university campus stationery supermarkets.

The campus stationery supermarket chosen for this study is located near the main teaching area of a local university. About 120 square metres in size, the supermarket is mainly used by full-time on-campus undergraduates. The stability of the population is relatively predictable for the demand environment; thus, it is suitable for cost control research. For a thorough analysis of the break-even point, we need to organise and sort the operational expenses of the supermarket from 2021 to 2023 according to its financial records. First, all expenses are divided into fixed and variable based on how they change with sales volume. Fixed expenses are those that do not change with the amount of business, such as rent for the storefront, property management fees, depreciation of fixed assets, and base salaries for permanent employees. Variable expenses are those that vary with the amount of sales, including the cost of goods sold, variable utility costs, and commissions or performance-based wages. Accurately identifying the two nature of expenses is a basic idea for cost-volume-profit analysis; otherwise, it will distort the contribution margin and cause an inaccurate calculation of the break-even point.

In the statistical process of the longitudinal data, there were some unusual entries in the 2022 fiscal year that required a procedural adjustment. Specifically, in the 2022 books, a large amount of capital expenditure was written off due to the one-time overhaul of all equipment. Because these occasional capital expenditures have nothing to do with the regular operating volume and are essentially one-off, adding them would increase the fixed cost base of that year artificially, making the longitudinal data inhomogeneous and violating the continuity hypothesis required for the break-even model. Therefore, we have carefully selected and removed the abnormal cost data points. To avoid issues with the basis data being too large, the statistical standards for all other expense items in the three years have been uniformized. This will reconcile any inconsistencies in accounting recognition rules and measurement boundaries to prevent errors caused by different bookkeeping practices. After strict classification and statistical purification, we have obtained data that truly reflect the cost structure of the campus stationery supermarket, providing a stable and credible empirical basis for estimating the break-even point and developing a specific cost-reduction plan.

The calculation of the break-even point is the foundation of the quantity analysis in management accounting, and at that point, the revenue is just enough to cover all costs, so there is no profit. Based on the basic cost-volume-profit analysis framework, this process divides the total operating expenses into fixed and variable parts and sets up important indicators for expense control and profit planning. Based on the operating data of the target campus stationery supermarket from 2021 to 2023, the annual and monthly break-even points need to be calculated. It can be turned from the assumptions of abstract costs to specific financial thresholds, which can help management know how many sales are needed at different times to remain in business.

Using the collated data from 2021 to 2023, the annual break-even sales volume is calculated by dividing the total annual fixed expenses by the contribution margin per unit; that is, the average selling price of a single unit of goods minus the average variable cost of the same unit. Next, the annual break-even sales revenue is obtained by multiplying the break-even sales volume by the average selling price per unit, or equivalently, dividing the total fixed expenses by the contribution margin ratio. By calculating over a long time period, one can see the trend of the change in the supermarket's cost structure and risk exposure in the three years and determine how changes in purchase costs and operating costs affect the safety line of business.

However, only using the annual break-even threshold cannot show the time-varying nature of the campus retail environment. Campus stationery supermarkets have strong seasonal changes due to the school calendar. The demand for academic goods is high at the start of a semester due to bulk buying, but low during winter and summer holidays when students are absent. To meet this type of cyclical demand elasticity, the fixed expenses of the year should be distributed according to the months. According to the monthly revenue distribution data from 2021 to 2023, add the seasonal adjustment coefficient and adjust the monthly break-even threshold. This refinement will yield dynamic, time-specific critical points that can better reflect the situation where revenue is increasing rapidly in the peak months and there is limited operating capacity in the vacation months. As a result, the time division of the break-even point can be used to show quantitatively when a supermarket will not lose money and when it will begin to profit in various stages of operation, thus providing strong empirical support for cost control and inventory management.

The discrepancy between the structure of inventory holding expenses and sales revenue is one of the flaws in the expense control system of the target campus stationery supermarket. Inventory holding expenses are mainly capital occupation costs, storage overheads and inventory shrinkage or obsolescence losses. Based on the theory of inventory management, these expenses should be positively correlated with sales revenue to support a stable business operation. However, through an empirical comparison of the monthly data from 2021 to 2023, it was found that there has been a significant structural shift: inventory holding expenses have not responded to changes in revenue but rather constantly reduced profit margins, leading to a major problem in the break-even point.

At times other than the beginning of the semester, there are fewer people coming to the supermarket, so more slow-moving stationery products are left unsold. Therefore, excessive inventory capital is occupied, and operating funds that could be used to improve operations or repay debts are no longer available. At the same time, due to overstock, there is an increase in storage costs and inventory shrinkage losses, such as damage and obsolescence of unsold goods. It cannot adjust according to changes in campus retail demand during the course; thus, holding costs have risen artificially, and sales revenues have naturally declined.

On the contrary, during times of high demand, such as before the examination week, the structure of inventory has the same disadvantage. The supermarket often cannot meet the demand for common stationery, such as the required exam stationery and drawing tools. The stockout situation is actually a direct opportunity cost that will reduce the contribution of high-margin products and thus lose the chance to earn high profits. With high-velocity inventory procurement unfit for the regular, predictable demand surge; thus, the structure is further distorted; holding costs for sluggish goods do not generate any compensatory revenue, and fast-moving goods' revenue potential is limited due to supply restrictions.

Finally, this irrational arrangement of stock costs will reduce the profits of the supermarket in the long run. Due to increased holding expenses in periods of low revenue and the loss of high-margin revenue in periods of high revenue, the actual operating status of the supermarket is often below the break-even point. The contribution margin in the busy period cannot cover the high holding costs from the idle period. Therefore, for several months each year, due to the excessive total cost structure of disorganised inventory costs, the total cost is higher than the total revenue of the enterprise, and there is an operating loss; thus, it is necessary to adopt a demand-driven inventory optimisation strategy.

According to the above, the problem is that when there is a peak in people's consumption needs on campus, there will not be sufficient labor supply; this is due to an unfixed labor model in our company that does not keep pace with the seasonal changes in demand for various campus services. According to the principle of reasonable allocation of labor, labour input should be able to adjust flexibly according to changes in demand so as to reduce idle time in off-seasons and avoid the loss of production during peak periods. The target supermarket still uses fixed full-time labour all year round, which is contrary to the reality of campus consumption and does not meet the flexible cost-saving requirements of a break-even economy.

Looking at the rules of peak and valley times in campus consumer demand in detail will help us better understand how this mismatch occurs. A concentrated shopping peak will be around a week after the start of each semester, and students will go there to buy all kinds of supplies for school. Additionally, scattered peaks in purchasing will appear before mid-term and final exams as people urgently buy special preparation materials for these tests. The numbers of customers in the supermarket have dropped sharply in winter and summer holidays and normal weekends when many students are at home. A static full-time staff member is the basis for this, and as a result, there is a large amount of waste of money in all the above periods.

At the time when the demand is low and fixed, there will be a large number of idle workers, and although the transaction volume is small, employees still need to work normally. Unreasonable labour costs are a waste of financial resources and artificially increase the operational expenses at the base. At the time of peak demand and scattered distribution, there will be insufficient flexibility in the labour market to meet the sudden increase in demand from consumers. Due to the shortage of staff, customers have to wait longer, the service quality is poor, and eventually, sales are lost because students cannot enter due to crowding. The above two extremes are the excessive labour cost in low demand and the loss of revenue at high demand, which distort the real cost structure. Therefore, the actual labour expenses of the supermarket are higher than the reasonable labour expense level under the break-even point. Under the system of strict break-even analysis, reasonable labour expenses should be treated as semi-variable costs that vary with sales volume to protect the margin of safety. The current fixed distribution does not meet this need; thus, the fixed labour cost part has taken too large a share of the contribution margin, and the break-even point has moved unfavourably, thus affecting the overall expense control effectiveness of the campus stationery supermarket.

The dynamic change to the volume of inventory based on the sales volume at the break-even point can control costs more effectively and reasonably arrange the funds for inventory to meet the minimum sales requirement for financial sustainability. The basic reason is that inventory holding expenses (such as storage costs, the capital opportunity cost of funds, etc.) and spoilage costs will be too high if the level of inventory is too much or too little in the short term and above the break-even point. The store can use the new purchase data of different periods and related break-even points to reduce the unnecessary inventory holding cost and optimise its capital structure.

The operational procedure of this mechanism mainly is to determine the early warning line of inventory restocking based on the monthly break-even sales volume. Instead of a fixed or random reorder point, this supermarket will adjust the monthly break-even threshold according to the actual sales volume each month, and then determine the timing of restocking so that the new stock can be timely for the sales of fixed and variable costs. Prevent overstocking in periods of low demand and shortage in times of high demand.

To perform the adjustment of the threshold in practice, the supermarket needs to open a quick link with the stationery suppliers. To improve the flexibility of the supply chain, simplify the communication mode and apply the new industry rules on flexible delivery, the supermarket can reduce the amount of safety stock for ordinary stationery products. As a result of reducing the supplier's response time, the need for a large buffer stock has disappeared, and thus, the holding cost of normal items has decreased significantly, and the capital of inventory is now in line with the break-even requirement.

At the same time, there will be a good time to dispose of the slow-moving goods now, which have high inventory costs and are prone to breaking down. Before the new semester begins, during the time of high demand for goods in supermarkets, slow-moving goods should be cleared to sell together with popular products. A tactical clearance will help improve the capital turnover rate and reduce unnecessary storage expenses, thus avoiding a rise in operating costs. Therefore, the total capital invested in inventory will be exactly equal to the level of sales at the break-even point. In practice, this kind of dynamic system is very important; it will help change the inventory management mode from a fixed cost centre to a flexible one that can help reach the break-even point of operation in the campus stationery supermarket, thereby ensuring the stability of its finances.

In the theory of break-even analysis, the rigidity of labour and energy cost is one of the reasons for the inflexibility of the campus stationery supermarket. To ensure that these semi-variable costs and fixed costs are kept within the reasonable range determined by the break-even point, some specific ways should be taken to reduce them, such as a staggered work schedule and the control of energy use.

The staged labour arrangement scheme can be used to reduce the volatility of demand in campus retail. The basic idea is to change labour capacity as needed to address operational demand fluctuations and avoid financial losses from underutilised labour in the off-season. Operationally, part-time student assistants will be used to fill the labour shortage in the peak demand period of the semester, such as the start of classes and exam season. This method will be employed to lower the fixed cost of labour and make it a variable cost, only to be incurred when there is an extra need for staff due to revenue activities. At the same time, during the low flow of passengers in the winter and summer holidays, full-time staff will be arranged on a staggered basis. This method can reduce the idle time of employees when there is no revenue for several consecutive weeks and lower the fixed cost base; hence, fewer sales are required to reach the break-even point.

In addition to labour optimisation, it is also necessary to reduce the cost of fixed energy consumption; thus, a plan to lower the fixed cost structure has been adopted. The main way is to control the amount of energy output based on the actual passenger flow and avoid wasting it. There are many ways to do it. Based on the usual level of foot traffic at the shop, first adjust the operating times of the lights and air conditioner. Second, strategically install energy-saving equipment such as LED lighting and inverter air conditioners to lower the marginal cost over time. Third, set up a strict plan to regularly count the consumption of public consumables to avoid resource leaks and unauthorised waste.

These integrated plans are very useful in practice. Based on the above, the number of workers and energy can be adjusted flexibly, and the total expenses for labour and energy will not exceed the critical cost cap determined by the break-even point. The strict financial management of campus stationery supermarkets will help them avoid operating losses in the off-season and increase the safety margin in the peak period; thus, they can achieve continuous profits.

Based on the operating data of the target campus stationery supermarket in 2023, this part will carry out a strict simulation of the changes in the operating effects after the above expense control scheme was carried out. According to the basic principle of break-even analysis, any reduction in fixed costs or improvement in the proportion of variable costs will lower the break-even point, thus speeding up the achievement of profitability in the same operation period. Through systematic changes in the expense structure, the simulation recalculates the new break-even point and tests whether the predicted increase in financial resilience is reasonable.

In the base scenario of 2023, the expense structure of the supermarket was relatively rigid; high fixed occupancy costs and labour expenses were incurred, and the variable cost ratio for merchandise procurement was low. After the optimisation, we will introduce the dynamic allocation of personnel and reconfiguration of the space to reduce the fixed overhead cost, and at the same time, we will consolidate the procurement by negotiating prices with suppliers and lower the variable cost. Plug in the above adjusted parameters into the formula for break-even point to obtain a relatively low volume. Therefore, under the same sales revenue of the 2023 fiscal year, the margin of safety, which refers to the proportion of sales that is higher than or below the break-even revenue, will be improved. The enlarged safety margin can reduce the operating risk of the supermarket significantly by quantitatively reducing the demand volatility.

In addition, the simulation expects that the net profit will increase significantly; thus, the above fixed costs will be spread over a smaller revenue base and therefore be relatively lower. Due to the reduction in the threshold, more operating leverage will be applied to the extra amount of sales beyond the new break-even point, and thus, net income will be higher. Verification shows that by using the above Optimised Expense Control System, the Campus Stationery Supermarket can achieve a break-even point earlier in each operating cycle and increase profits steadily.

Finally, the above results show that the adjustment of the cost structure in the above table is necessary for the development of retail management. According to the theory of the break-even model, the supermarket is now in good shape financially and will no longer be prone to loss of money. Simulation has shown that targeted interventions based on break-even points are needed to reduce operational risks, improve the speed of cost recovery, and boost profits in the current market environment.

Through the system application of the break-even analysis method, this paper will investigate the cost control system of the target campus stationery supermarket in all aspects and draw some important conclusions. First of all, it has been found that there is a lack of a reasonable expense control system in the company, including the reason why a large amount of rent has been paid due to the expansion of fixed expenses; poor procurement plans have caused high variable costs and inventory accumulation; and there is no pricing control standard. The above systemic reasons have led to an increase in the operating break-even point of the company, reducing its profit margin and making it more susceptible to financial risk in the face of changes in the campus demand.

After formulating and simulating the above specific plan to reduce expenses and carry out an appropriate reconfiguration of the space to save fixed rent, strengthen the alliance with suppliers to reduce variable procurement costs and implement dynamic pricing; the break-even point of the supermarket is lower than before. Based on the above data, it has been determined that by systematically reducing the fixed-cost base and unit variable cost, the sales volume required to recover all costs will be lower. Therefore, the anticipated improvement in operating benefits will be relatively large; thus, the enterprise can expand the safety margin for itself, better cope with the reduction in demand in the off-season of the academic year, and at the same time show a good ability to make profits when revenue does not change. Therefore, it has been verified that incorporating break-even analysis into the daily operations of small-scale retail enterprises is important ^[4].

Nevertheless, there are some obvious defects in this paper that need to be investigated by the academic community. The empirical data used to establish the analysis model are only taken from the stationery supermarket on campus. Therefore, it is only a case study of this one and cannot be extended to other operating conditions, competition environments or degree of demand flexibility. In addition, the assessment of whether the optimisation plan works is based mainly on the analysis of short-term financial situations and changes in business operations. The long-term influence of these measures on consumption habits, the change in supplier prices and other reasons for the economy is not certain; thus, it is difficult to predict how much will be spent on living expenses in the future. Therefore, in the long run, more time should be spent verifying whether these expenses are being controlled by the state and empirically checked.

Based on the above problems, a direction for future research in the academic field has been proposed. Next time, more small retail stores on campus will be included in the study, such as convenience stores, bookshops, printing shops, etc. To compare these various types of retail formats, we should determine whether the break-even method is suitable for different cost structures and increase the application cases of break-even analysis in small-scale retail expense control. A comparison of many companies can help us learn about other general problems in the sector related to expenses and thus enrich the theory and practice of the Cost-Volume-Profit method for small retail.

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