How Much Lockable Display Case Owners Make: $185k+ Planning View
A lockable display case business owner can model $185,000 in annual owner pay if the owner fills the CEO and strategy role shown in the assumptions Under the researched Year 1 case, the business sells 5,400 units at a blended price of about $2,941, producing $1588M in revenue After listed product costs, sales commissions, white glove logistics, fixed overhead, and visible payroll, the pre-tax profit pool is about $106M before debt service, taxes, added hiring, and discretionary reserves That profit is not the same as owner take-home because inventory, growth, warranty exposure, and cash reserves can absorb cash
Owner income$185kNet margin64.5%Revenue for target pay$113MBusiness difficultyHard
Want to see what moves owner income most?
1
Qualified Orders
100u=$212K
More qualified commercial orders drive the biggest cash lift, since 100 extra blended Year 1 units add about $212K of contribution before fixed costs.
2
Ticket Mix
$1.8K-$7.5K
Selling more higher-ticket cases raises revenue per deal, so the same order count throws off more take-home.
3
Gross Margin
1pt=$1.6M
A 1 point gain in gross margin after landed cost, freight, and damage control can add about $1.6M, so small leaks matter.
4
Channel Cost
9%-6.5%
Lower sales commission and logistics spend keep customer acquisition cost in check, and channel mix decides how much of each sale you keep.
5
Fixed Overhead
$312K/mo
Fixed overhead runs about $312K a month, so every new dollar of gross profit has to beat that base load first.
6
Owner Pay
$185K
Modeled CEO pay is $185K, and owner take-home improves when the founder can step back from the work.
Want to test your owner pay target?
Owner income calculator
Estimate owner take-home and target-pay gap from revenue, margin, costs, reserves, and target pay.
!
Planning note: Research-based planning estimate only. Actual owner income depends on revenue, margins, payroll, taxes, reserves, and financing. It is not guaranteed salary, tax advice, or owner distribution advice.
Want to see the owner-income model in Lockable Display Case Sales?
Is a lockable display case business profitable with inventory?
Lockable Display Case Sales can be profitable, but inventory hits cash flow before it improves accounting profit. Stocked cases can speed delivery and help close deals with commercial buyers, yet they also add storage, handling, insurance, slow-moving SKU risk, and working capital needs.
Why stocked cases can help
Faster delivery can lift close rates.
Commercial buyers often want quick ship.
Held stock improves order control.
Better control can protect freight recovery.
Why inventory can hurt cash
Cash gets tied up in cases.
Storage and warehousing add cost.
Inventory labor and packaging add cost.
Slow movers raise markdown and shrink risk.
How much revenue does a lockable display case business need to pay the owner?
For Lockable Display Case Sales, the target-pay math says annual revenue has to cover $3.744M in fixed costs, $255k in visible non-owner payroll, and $185k in owner pay; at the stated contribution margin, that works out to about $113M in revenue, or roughly 385 units a year at a $2,941 blended ASP. That is about 32 units a month. Debt service, taxes, inventory buys, and reinvestment still reduce what the owner can actually take home.
Target-pay math
$3.744M fixed costs
$255k non-owner payroll
$185k owner pay
385 units yearly
Cash gotchas
32 units per month
Debt cuts free cash
Taxes reduce take-home
Inventory ties up cash
What gross margin do lockable display case sellers need?
For Lockable Display Case Sales, the answer is simple: you need a realized gross margin, not just a quoted one, because owner take-home depends on what survives packaging, warranty reserve, freight, damage, returns, and discounts. The Year 1 model points to about 810% gross margin, then about 720% contribution margin after 50% commissions and 40% white-glove logistics; see What Are The 5 KPIs For Lockable Display Case Sales Business?. At $1,588M revenue, each 1 percentage point move is about $1,588k of profit, so small margin leaks matter.
Margin to hold
Model shows 810% gross margin.
Keep margin after discounts.
Price for realized margin.
Track warranty and damage costs.
Where profit leaks
50% commissions reduce take-home.
40% white-glove logistics bites hard.
1 point on $1,588M equals $1,588k.
Freight and returns move cash fast.
Key Takeaways
More qualified orders spread fixed costs faster.
Blended Year 1 ASP is about $2,941.
Each added unit contributes about $2,116.
Freight and commissions can erase margin fast.
Compare low, base, and high owner-income scenarios
Owner income scenarios
Owner income rises fast as unit volume, product mix, and fee rates improve. Year 1 is the lean launch case, Year 3 is the base run rate, and Year 5 is the upside.
Scenario view of how modeled owner income changes by operating year.
Scenario
Low CaseLow case
Base CaseBase case
High CaseHigh case
Launch model
Year 1 is the lean income case, tied to the opening-year volume and pricing.
Year 3 is the modeled middle case, with a steadier operating run rate.
Year 5 is the stronger income path, driven by higher volume and lower fee load.
Typical setup
It uses 5,400 units, $15.88M revenue, and $10.234M EBITDA before reserve, tax, and payout deductions.
It uses 12,300 units, $39.04M revenue, and $28.625M EBITDA before reserve, tax, and payout deductions.
It uses 21,400 units, $73.74M revenue, and $55.798M EBITDA before reserve, tax, and payout deductions.
Cost drivers
5.0% commissions
4.0% logistics
$374.4k fixed overhead
CEO pay
reserve build
4.5% commissions
3.0% logistics
fixed overhead
reserve build
taxes
4.0% commissions
2.5% logistics
added payroll
reserve build
inventory cash
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
$10.2MYear 1 pool
$28.6MYear 3 pool
$55.8MYear 5 pool
Best fit
Use this to stress-test the launch if sales start slow or cash stays tight.
Use this as the normal plan if the model reaches its Year 3 mix and volume.
Use this to test upside if the business scales across all five product lines.
!
Planning note: Scenario ranges are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions.
Lockable Display Case Sales Core Six Income Drivers
Qualified commercial order volume
Qualified commercial order volume
Qualified order volume is the main growth lever here. Year 1 assumes 5,400 units, or 450 units per month, across five secure case types. At the blended economics, each extra unit adds about $2,116 in contribution after product costs, commissions, and logistics, so 100 more units adds about $211,600 before fixed overhead.
That matters because fixed costs are $312k per month. At the Year 1 pace, monthly contribution is about $952k before fixed costs, so owner pay depends on keeping orders qualified and shipped cleanly. Weak fulfillment, quoting delays, or service misses can turn volume into refunds and freight claims.
Track booked units, not leads
Measure booked units by case type, quote-to-close rate, and claim rate. Here’s the quick math: units × $2,116 shows how much contribution volume should create before fixed costs, so you can spot when growth is real and when it is just busy work.
Protect the margin by tightening quote speed, delivery handoff, and replacement rules. If quotes slow or freight damage rises, the same unit count stops funding owner income and starts funding rework. That is where profit leaks first.
Track units by case type
Watch quote turnaround time
Log refunds and freight claims
Price for delivery complexity
Average order value and case mix
Average Order Value and Case Mix
Case mix, meaning the share of each case type in orders, sets how much revenue you get per customer. Year 1 prices run from $1,800 for electronics counter boxes to $6,500 for luxury handbag wall units, and the blended Year 1 ASP is about $2,941. AOV, or average order value, is the first check on how fast a sale turns into cash and gross profit.
A bigger order can raise profit per sale, but only if the mix closes cleanly. A $6,500 wall unit brings $4,700 more revenue than a $1,800 counter box, but it also tends to add quoting time, freight complexity, finish approvals, and delivery expectations. If those extras slow sales or create rework, owner income falls even when topline looks better.
Raise AOV Without Breaking Delivery
Track AOV by case type, not just total sales. Use a simple mix sheet with unit count, quoted price, close rate, freight charge, and gross profit per order. That shows which products add cash and which ones look good on paper but drag the team.
Quote by case type.
Watch approval delays.
Price freight separately.
Protect high-margin mix.
Use the mix to plan labor and cash. If higher-ticket units need more finish approvals or white-glove delivery, bake that time into forecasted close rates and delivery dates. The goal is simple: keep the $2,941 blended ASP rising without letting service costs or delays eat the margin that pays the owner.
Gross margin after landed cost
Gross Margin After Landed Cost
Landed cost is the full cost to get one lockable display case ready to sell: unit materials, locks, frames, labor, packaging, warranty reserve, quality control, inbound freight, and supplier terms. In the model, listed product costs are about $302M against $1,588M revenue, and the stated economics say every 5 margin points on Year 1 revenue changes profit by about $794k. Margin is the owner’s paycheck.
Track True Landed Margin
Measure margin by case type and by order, not just by sticker price. Watch materials, freight, warranty claims, and supplier terms separately so a cheap quote does not hide a weak payoff. If inbound freight, damage, or rework rises, take-home income drops fast because less gross profit is left to cover commissions, white glove logistics, fixed overhead, and owner pay.
Keep a weekly table for unit cost, landed freight, and gross profit per case. If a 5-point margin swing is worth about $794k on Year 1 revenue, even small waste matters. Tighten specs, cut packaging damage, and push supplier price holds before you add volume.
Customer acquisition cost and channel mix
Channel mix and CAC
When acquisition costs rise, the owner feels it first in take-home pay. This model should measure customer acquisition cost (CAC) as contribution profit per acquired account, not gross revenue. In Year 1, 50% sales commissions equal about $794k, and trade-show marketing is stated at $85k/month, so the channel mix can wipe out margin fast.
Different channels do not pay the same. Paid search, direct B2B leads, marketplaces, dealer referrals, and commercial accounts each bring different close rates, fees, and deal sizes. One percentage point of commission or channel fee changes Year 1 profit by about $1.588M, so pricing and channel terms hit owner income right away.
Measure profit by channel
Track each source by leads, close rate, average order value, commission or fee, and fulfillment cost. That shows contribution profit per channel, which is the real test of whether a lead source helps the owner get paid.
Compare profit, not just volume.
Cut channels with weak net margin.
Review commission terms before scaling.
Watch trade-show payback by deal.
Here’s the quick math: contribution profit per order = sale price minus product cost, freight, commissions, and channel spend. If one channel closes more deals but costs more to win them, it can still leave less cash for payroll, debt service, and owner draw.
Freight, shipping, and damage control
Freight and damage control
Heavy display cases can drain take-home fast. Year 1 white glove logistics is 40% of revenue, or about $635k, so shipping is not a small line item. Packaging is also baked into unit cost, from $20 for bulk shipping materials to $100 for heavy-duty palletizing, and bad delivery terms can turn margin into claims, refunds, and lost repeat orders.
Here’s the quick math: if freight quotes, liftgate fees, weak crating, or unclear replacement rules push shipping over plan, owner profit falls dollar for dollar. This driver includes packaging, crating, liftgate service, white glove delivery, and damage replacement rules. The key inputs are order count, case type, delivery method, and quote accuracy.
Track freight before it hits profit
Measure freight as a percent of revenue and track damage claims by case type. If a quote is missing liftgate service or inside delivery, fix it before the order ships, not after the margin is gone.
Quote freight by case type.
Log damage rate monthly.
Separate pallet and crating costs.
State replacement rules in writing.
Review liftgate and access fees.
Watch whether logistics stays near the 40% of revenue benchmark. If packaging or replacement promises keep rising, cash flow tightens and owner pay shrinks even when sales look strong.
Inventory, overhead, and owner labor
Inventory, overhead, and owner labor
This driver is the cash locked in stocked cases, the monthly overhead needed to run the business, and the value of the owner’s own work. $312k/month in fixed overhead means profit has to turn into cash fast before distributions are safe. Even if the income statement looks strong, inventory sitting in storage can drain cash through handling, insurance, utilities, and slow-moving SKU risk.
Visible payroll already includes $185k CEO pay, $135k industrial design pay, and $120k security engineering pay. If the owner’s labor is replaced with paid sales or operations staff, take-home drops unless that labor creates enough extra orders or faster delivery to justify the cost. The real test is cash left after stock, overhead, and labor.
Track cash tied up in stock
Measure inventory by SKU, not just by total value. Track units on hand, storage cost, handling, and which cases are moving slowly. Stock can speed delivery, but it also traps cash that could fund owner distributions, so stale inventory should be priced, bundled, or cleared before it becomes a cash drain.
Compare the cost of the owner’s time with hired help. If paid sales or operations staff can cover quoting, follow-up, or scheduling without hurting close rates, the owner can step back and keep income cleaner. If they cannot, the owner’s labor is the cheaper line item, and overhiring just cuts take-home.
