Merchant cash advance for retail
that buys the season.

Retail is a sell-through business in seasonal clothing. You buy inventory months before you sell it, pay vendors on terms that rarely flex, mark merchandise with margin that absorbs every fee and discount, and pray the customer walks in on time. The retailers who grow are the ones who can buy heavier than competitors during the right buying window — not the ones with the prettiest store. Funding access is the single biggest determinant of whether a retailer can write the open-to-buy that wins the season.

Banks were not built for retail. They look at the inventory on your shelves as a depreciating asset, the seasonal swings in your deposits as risk, and the buyback obligations from your vendors as off-balance-sheet exposure. SBA programs sit closer to the shape of the business but take 60 to 120 days to close — a calendar that misses every meaningful buying window. Goliath underwrites from card processing and operating cash flow, both of which a healthy retail business produces every single day, and funds in 24 to 72 hours.

What we fund inside a retail business

Pre-season inventory buys for holiday, back-to-school, spring, summer, and resort. Vendor commitments that unlock volume pricing on a six-month order. New-location buildouts including lease deposits, fixtures, point-of-sale technology, and opening inventory. Renovations and store refreshes the landlord won't reimburse until project completion. Marketing and customer acquisition spend including digital, direct mail, and grand-opening events. Technology upgrades — POS migrations, ecommerce platform builds, inventory management systems, customer data platforms, BOPIS and curbside infrastructure. Payroll bridges through the post-holiday lull. Emergency capital when a vendor cancels terms on a major shipment.

A particular focus over the past three years: BOPIS, curbside, ship-from-store, and the technology stack that turns a physical retailer into an omnichannel operator. Most independent retailers underinvested here through 2020 and 2021 and now compete against direct-to-consumer brands and big-box operators with vastly better fulfillment infrastructure. We've funded dozens of independent stores rebuilding their digital and fulfillment layers with funding sized to specific projects rather than to a vague "growth" category.

What we don't ask for

We don't require an inventory audit. We don't pull hard credit during pre-qualification. We don't ask for tax returns or P&L statements from your accountant. We don't pledge inventory as collateral on advances under $250K. We don't notify your landlord, your vendors, or your card processor. We underwrite from operating bank statements and processor batch reports — the variables that actually predict whether a retail business pays back.

Retail bank statements have a signature most algorithms misread. Daily batch deposits from card processing cluster around the close of business and weekends. Outflows spike on Tuesday vendor payment runs, on the fifteenth and end of each month for rent and payroll, and irregularly on inventory deposits and reorder cycles. Seasonal retailers show months of explosive deposits beside months of near-flat activity. Generic models read seasonality as risk. Our underwriters read it as a buying window and price accordingly — many retailers see different terms for an April advance and an October advance because the repayment math actually differs.

The strongest retail files share a few characteristics: a consistent card-processing batch volume floor across off-peak months, a sell-through history with vendors that shows commitment and reorder cadence, payroll outflows that scale with revenue, and an NSF count that stays low even during a vendor-heavy month. We can fund through messier files — retailers with one bad season, retailers carrying a small balance from a prior advance, retailers in active vendor negotiation. Less-clean files price differently but rarely fall outside what we can structure.

Retail segments we fund every week

Independent specialty and boutique retailers from $300K to $20M annual revenue. Multi-location operators consolidating advances or funding new stores. Apparel, footwear, and accessory boutiques across women's, men's, kids, and contemporary. Home goods, furniture, lighting, and decor. Sporting goods, outdoor, and adventure retailers. Jewelers across diamond, fashion, and estate. Pet specialty including supply and grooming combo concepts. Liquor, beer, and wine retailers with off-premise licenses. Convenience and quick-stop operators with attached gas, deli, or vape categories. CBD, vape, and smoke shop operators. Pharmacy and health-and-wellness retailers. Gift, stationery, and seasonal stores. Franchise units of national specialty brands.

Common retail funding scenarios

A primary vendor offers a 12% discount on a $180K six-month commitment if the deposit lands by Friday. We fund the arbitrage and the math earns its own cost back within sixty days. A second location's lease comes available below market and the landlord wants a signed LOI and deposit by month-end. We fund the deposit and the buildout commitment inside a week. A processor reserve gets imposed after a chargeback dispute and Friday's payroll is at risk. We bridge the gap and the reserve releases over the following six weeks. A national brand drops a wholesale order with 30-day terms but you need to pay your factor at 15. We bridge the gap and the position retires when the receivable clears.

The shape repeats: a specific window, a specific dollar amount, a specific repayment math that absorbs the cost inside the opportunity. Retail capital should never feel like debt; it should feel like inventory or like a buying decision. That is the frame we operate inside.