Business Plan on Boutique

INTRODUCTION- Business Plan on Boutique

A business plan is a formal statement of business goals, reasons they are attainable, and plans for reaching them. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.

Therefore this paper presents business plan for a start-up retail establishment.

NAME OF BUSINESS: Peace Boutique

LOCATION: Nasarawa

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Peace Boutique is a start-up retail establishment that will sell fashionable clothing to both men and women of this generation. Peace Boutique will be located in downtown Nasarawa town, Nasarawa state, which is a popular for in the state with numerous establishment such as the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, Nasarawa Local Government, Police stations, Courts, School of Health, several secondary schools etc with a very high population density which creates a booming market for cloths. While our initial goal is to open one boutique, expansion plans include potentially franchising our retail store and/or building a well-recognized brand name. In turn, we would hope to penetrate a sizable portion of the online retail market.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

The fashion and retail industry tends to be overly youth focused. However, by closely following generational fashion trends as well as our own customers’ purchasing preferences, we will tailor our inventory to meet the specific needs of our clientele. We will solely focus on the our styles, colors and fits to flatter the demand of our esteem customers / meeting the needs of their figure will be our specialty.

MARKET ANALYSIS

The demand for clothes in line with the trending fashion is increasing on a daily basis creating a value for more investors to make use of the ever growing market to make a profit. The total sales reported in the U.S. retail industry in 2014 (including food service and automotive) exceeded $4 trillion with this global trends which is applicable to every locality makes the market a very viable one. Peace Boutique will initially seek customers locally, but will increase our reach as we build our brand and secure our image.

STRATEGY & IMPLEMENTATION

Peace Boutique recognizes the importance of marketing. And to that end, we plan to promote our retail business with an ambitious, targeted marketing campaign, which will include a grand opening event, local media coverage, print advertising and a direct-mail campaign. Our goal is to keep our marketing budget to no more than 5% of our gross annual sales, and we will partner with local organizations such as the Local Government Staff, Federal Polytechnic community, and Indigenous Association as often as possible.

MANAGEMENT

Peace Johnson Ochenehi is sole-owners and will manage Peace Boutique with the help of Mathew and Jane. Mathew Makowu has worked several years in the retail industry, including four years as the manager of an antique furniture shop. She earned a BA degree in finance from Lagos state University.

Jane Ukachukwu experience lies in the fashion industry. She’s worked with designers, wholesalers and retailers for roughly 10 years. Jane Ukachukwu holds a BA in fashion merchandising from Caritas University.

FINANCIAL PLAN

Our company will earn revenue from our customers’ purchases of our products. Peace Boutique’s first-year income statement illustrates a profit margin of at least fifty-two percent, with a net income of N2,800,000 per annum – after taxes. Finally, we have determined our break-even point will equal no less than N1, 500,000 in total annual sales. Peace Boutique project her annual profits to reach N3,000,000 by year three.

Our company will generate revenue from the retail sale of clothing and other merchandise. First year sales are projected at N2,850,000, and we expect sales to surpass N3,250,000 by the end of year three. We will achieve month-to-month profitability within the first year.

SOURCES & USE OF FUNDS

Peace Boutique requires N2,400,000  to launch successfully. We’ve already raised N1,200,000 through personal investments and a small community grant.

Peace Boutique is currently seeking additional funding from outside angel investors and business loans. Start-up funds will be used for renovations, inventory and operating expenses such as rent, utilities and payroll. Further, our initial investment will also be used to purchase retail equipment and inventory software – all of which will produce future benefits for the company.

KEY ASSETS

Peace Boutique key assets is the sole-owners, Peace Johnson Ochenehi who bring tremendous experience and expertise to this business.

Once Peace Boutique is launched, our primary asset will be our brand, which will convey style, quality and a great shopping experience. In the long term, it is this brand that will separate Peace Boutique from other retailers both locally and nationally.

PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

Description

Booming Boutique will sell a combination of widely recognized name brands as well as clothing lines from select fashion designers. We will closely follow generational fashion trends as well as our own customers’ purchasing preferences. Moreover, we will tailor our inventory to meet the needs of all ages both old and young, men or women. Solely focusing on the styles, colors that fits every human figure will be our specialty. While apparel, such as business clothing, casual wear, jeans and formal wear will be our main staple, we will also offer some accessories such as belts, scarves, and hats.

Profits will be earned via the sale of our merchandise. Our pricing structure will remain flexible, as we will implement suggested retail pricing on common brands as well as the standard practice of keystoning prices. Additionally, we will utilize a value-based pricing structure, which measures the value of our products to our customers such as easy access, quality, customer service and styles flattering to our target consumer. End of season sales, holiday and overstock sales, multi-buy savings and promotional coupons will be implemented at strategic intervals.

FEATURES & BENEFITS

One key feature that separates Peace Boutique from all other local boutiques and chain department stores in the area is our commitment to providing this  generation stylish, quality clothing options. Because our primary concern will be ensuring our consumers are happy with the fit and style of their purchase, we will provide products tailored to all shapes and sizes of all sex. In addition, we will make every effort to have petite and plus size versions of our merchandise in stock. If they are not in stock, ordering them will be easy, cheap and efficient.

COMPETITION

Competition is a very important factor to consider in every business hence Peace is very much aware of this fact, though there are several shops / boutique offering related services but Peace boutique with its style and professionalism intends to overcome the challenges and compete favourable.

TARGET CUSTOMER

Peace Boutique is a business-to-consumer retail company. The entire population of people living in Nasarawa and its environs is our target customers.

SALES STRATEGY

Peace Boutique plans to generate sales via strategic marketing efforts. These concentrated efforts will be targeting new and returning customers as well as single-visit tourist consumers. We will also implement a referral program rewarding customers who refer new customers with discount. Following our grand opening, we will conduct a direct-mail campaign to targeted consumers that we have signed up through our in-store mailing program.

Peace Boutique will accept cash and payment via major credit and debit cards. Cash layaway plans will also be permitted. Returns and exchanges must take place within 30 days of purchase and receipts are mandatory.

Our sales staff will include both owners and 2-3 part-times sales associates. Combined, Jane and Mathews having numerous experience in the fashion and retail industries. Comprehensive training will be provided to each sales associate – to include selling merchandise as well as how to provide fashion advice to customers.

GOALS

The following is a list of business goals and milestones we wish to accomplish our first year of operations.

• Complete renovating, stocking, hiring and initial marketing.
• Host a successful grand-opening event.
• Penetrate and raise awareness in 60 percent our targeted consumer market.
• Achieve a profit margin of 50 percent.
• Build a solid customer base and mailing list.
• Generate repeat and referral sales.
• Become a profitable business with expansion potential.
• Establish a solid reputation as quality retail establishment.

Our first major milestones will be securing funds and setting up our business. This is our major focus right now. In five years, we hope to have established our retail business within the community and within our industry.

FINANCIAL PLAN

REQUIREMENTS

Booming Boutique will need N2,400,000  to get our business off the ground. We are currently seeking funding from outside investors and business loans.

At this time we have raised N1,200,000 in equity capital We are seeking investors for an additional N1,000,000 in equity investment and N200,000 in loans.

INCOME STATEMENT PROJECTIONS

Based on our marketing plans, location, store size and product offerings, we expect to collect annual sales of N3,250,000 in year one, N3,750,000 in year two and N4,200,000 in year three.

Our average cost of goods sold will be 40%, which leaves us with a gross margin of 60%. Our minimum monthly fixed costs are N500,000 per month,. We will become profitable on a monthly basis before the end of our first year.

CASH FLOW PROJECTIONS

Our business will collect immediate payment from customers, so our cash flow statement will be substantially similar to our income statement. Our cash flow statement clearly demonstrates our ability to cover all bills.

ASSUMPTIONS

Our projections are based on the assumption that the economy, consumer spending habits and population growth in Nasarawa will continue for the foreseeable future.

We must also assume that our present and future suppliers will continue to sell inventory to us at prices that allow us to maintain our present margins. It is also important that we are able to hire reliable employees at reasonable wages.