e seon to none - wordpress.com · seon to none e introduction ... which offers new and used apparel...

we know fashionsecond to none

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INTRODUCTION 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MISSION STATEMENT 2

GOALS 2

TARGET MARKET 2

ECONOMIC TRENDS 3

SWOT ANALYSIS 3

KEY COMPETITORS 4

COMPETITIVE ANALYSES 4

PRODUCT LINE 5

PRICING STRATEGY 6

DISTRIBUTION 6

PRODUCTION 7

PERSONNEL 7

LOCATION 8

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY 10

PROMOTIONAL BUDGET 10

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS 11

FINANCIALS 14

WORKS CITED 20

ADVERTISING 10

Second to none is a consignment store, which offers new and used apparel and accesso-ries for young women. At first glance no one would ever suspect second to none to be a thrift store. The atmosphere resembles a funky vintage boutique, inspired by Urban Outfitters lay-out. We have distressed dressers with large 70’s style area rugs and overstuffed couches. The color palate is just as eclectic as the furniture, the boutique features a neutral color palate with pops of colors like lime green or fuchsia. Second to None is a consignment store based in San Luis Obispo, California. San Luis Obispo is located on the California Central Coast, just slightly inland. San Luis Obispo is only 10 minutes away from the Pacific Ocean, giving it not only a great climate but it also brings in many tourists. Downtown San Luis Obispo has been growing steadily for the last few decades; it is home to California University at San Luis Obispo Polytechnical institute. It is a huge col-lege town, and has a great shopping district. There is a mix of family owned and corporate businesses. There are already a few established thrift stores in the area, but virtually no con-signment shops. According to NARTS (National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops), Resale businesses have remained healthy during these though economic times, as well as one of the fastest growing segments of retail. More and more locations are being opened everyday and there has been a 5% increase in store locations in the last 3 years.

There are currently 25,000 resale, consignment and thrift shops nationwide. Resale is a multi-billion dollar industry. “Goodwill Industries alone generated 1.8 billion in retail sales from more than 2,100 not for profit stores across America in 2006.”

Resale shopping attracts consumers from all economic levels. There is no typical resale shopper, and no one is immune to the excitement of finding a unique treasure and saving money. According to America’s Research Group, approximately 16-18% of American’s will shop at a thrift store in a given year. 12-15% of American’s will shop consignment, 11% will shop factory outlets, 19% in Malls, and 21.3% will shop major department stores.

The resale industry to booming, thanks to value conscious consumers and Second to None wants to continue the trend. At Second to None we take customer satisfaction very seri-ously, we want to offer our customers the best value for their hard earned money. At second to none we are always accepting gently used clothing and we offer a 60/40 exchange rate. We pay clients to bring in clothing and we will pay them 40% of our retail price. We have very strict standards as to what we accept; we only take the best, so that we only offer the best. As the owner I also travel up and down California searching thrift stores to find new treasures. EBay is another place we obtain inventory.

INTRODUCTION


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MISSION STATEMENT

GOALS

TARGET MARKET


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At second to none, our mission is to provide our customers with the best fashion at the best prices. We are always searching for the most exciting fashion forward clothing so that our customers are able to have the best selection possible. At second to none we do not view dis-carded garments as trash; in our eyes gently loved clothing is just as good as brand new, if not better. Our clothes are truly second to none.

In the first year of business we do will focus on pushing brand awareness and increas-ing customer loyalty. We plan to increase sales by 10% within our second year of business and 15% in our third year. We will also be striving to increase our presence in the market place, and to obtain new customers. Within the first year we plan to build our customer database to include 200 clients, and double that the following year. Through our database we will keep track of our seller as well as our buyers. We will track their habits and work to better cater to their needs. We plan to remain in a single location for the first 3-5 years and expand will be based on sales and trends within the industry.

Our target customer is female and between the ages of 16-25. Our secondary age bracket is between 12-35. Our target market is fashion forward, yet value conscious individu-als. They primarily live in small communities and shop locally. They are aware of trends, but are not all fashion innovators; most of our customers are not able to afford the newest trends and wail until prices drop, making our customer a fashion follower. We do also appeal to a few fashion innovators, special individuals who are able to create new innovative trends out of recycled clothing. Our customers appreciate designer brands but are not necessarily brand loyal. They are educated either in high school, college or college graduates. Our customers are in middle to upper middle income brackets and are living on a budget, and pay close attention to their spending habits.

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ECONOMIC TRENDS

SWOT ANALYSIS


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Size of total market: Resale Industry represents 28-33% of the retail industry, 20,000 stores nationwide with $8 billion in annual revenue

Market share percentage: 12-15% for consignment

Current demand of our target market: Target Market wants the most recent Fashion at the best prices

Trends in the market place: The resale industry is growing rapidly; many resale retailers have experienced increased sales continually over that past 10 years

Growth potential: We can expand new locations in neighboring communities

Strengths •Lowprices •TrendyAtmosphere •FashionForwardApparel •Handpickedgarments •UniqueItems •Fitinwiththe“green”trendWeaknesses •Novendors •Relyheavilyonpersonalsellers •Stigmaassociatedwithusedapparel •NewbusinessOpportunities •RiseinIndustrytrends •AdditionalLocations •Createastrategicalliancewithneighboringbusinesses •IncreasedadvertisingbudgettoextendtotravelpublicationsThreats •Quickchangingtrends •Desireforthenewestapparel •Economichardships

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KEY COMPETITORS

COMPETITIVE ANALYSES


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•GoodwillIndustriesInternational •TheSalvationArmy •Curio-Women’sRetailClothingandAccessories(LocalConsignment Shop)

Our current top competitors are Goodwill Industries and The Salvation Army. Our cur-rent location is within a community that has few consignment shops and most of our target market already shops the Goodwill and The Salvation Army. If we were to expand to new loca-tions our competitive analysis would alter accordingly. We do have a major competitive advan-tage over our competitors; we offer our customers money for their merchandise as well as a quality assortment of merchandise within an inviting environment.

Goodwill Industries

Strengths •Oneoftheworld’slargestnotforprofitorganizations •Theyoperateover2,200storelocations •Carryavarietyofmerchandise •Establishedin1902Weaknesses •Theydonothavegoodqualitycontrol •TheircustomerserviceweakOpportunities •ResaleindustryisgrowingrapidlyThreats •Thepricesoftheirmerchandisehasbeenincreasingandqualityhasnot •The“thrift”industryhasaslightlynegativeimage

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The Salvation Army

Strengths •Theirworkspreadsfurtherthanretailstores •OneofthelargestsocialcareprovidersintheworldWeaknesses •Poorselectionofmerchandise •PoorqualitycontrolOpportunities •ResaleindustryisgrowingThreats •Faithbasedorganizationcouldbepoorlyreceivedincurrentturbulenttimes

COMPETITIVE ANALYSES


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PRODUCT LINE Our products will include a variety of women’s apparel and accessory items. Product Classifications:

•Tops •T-shirts •Blouses •Sweaters •Bottoms •Jeans •DressPants •Casual •Outerwear •Jackets •Vests •Shoes •Boots •Sandals •Athletic •Formal •Accessories •Handbags •Hats •ColdWeatherAccessories(scarves,gloves,etc.) •FashionJewelry


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PRICING STRATEGY

PRICING BREAKDOWN

DISTRIBUTION

we will be using a very typical consignment pricing strategy, we will be offering sellers 40% of the retail price if their merchandise sells within the first 60 days and 20% thereafter. We will also be shopping for merchandise personally through other thrift stores, EBay, and other internet store that sell overstock items. All merchandise will be handpicked by owner to ensure the best items are selected. Our pricing will be competitive with other consignment shops, and slightly higher than thrift stores.

•Denim(dependingonbrand):$10-$70.00•Outerwear:$15-$70•Tops:$5-$20•Shoes:$10-$30•Boots:$20-50•Handbags:$10-$50•Accessories/Jewelry:$3-$20

Our distribution channel is shallow yet diverse. We will have no vendors or manufac-turers all merchandise will be purchased second hand. Our merchandise will come from our customers as well as my own efforts to travel around to different thrift/consignment shops to find the best merchandise to resell. I will also be using online sites like eBay to purchase mer-chandise as well. Our services will be purely in store retailing, with no direct or online retail services

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PRODUCTION Quality Control: 100% owner’s responsibility. The owner will examine every piece of merchandise before committing to buy and will not allow damaged goods to be purchased or placed on the selling floor.

Customer Service: We will enact a relationship marketing strategy into our store and we will attempt to provide the best customer satisfaction we are able to. We will have a very in-viting store atmosphere. We will have restroom and dressing rooms available for all customers. We will not have any credit services or layaway programs available. Our return policy will be strict allowing only 7 days for a return with money back and 14 days for a store credit. None of our competitors offer return policies so we are being very generous in comparison.

Inventory Control: The inventory strategy will be very rudimentary, yet successful. The store will have limited inventory and nothing will ever be purchased in bulk. Merchandise will be purchased as needed and will not be replenished quarterly but rather monthly.

PERSONNEL Due to the fact that we are a small and upcoming business, Second to None will have limted staff. The owner will perform all managerial functions and there will be 4 sales associ-ates to assist customers. The associates will typically be between the ages 16-25 and required to work 10-30 hours per week. The associates will be paid $9.00 per hour, which is higher than minimum wage and higher than what our competitors pay thier staff. All employees will be required to undergo sales and customer service training, and will be expected to keep up with current fashion trends.

ORGANIZATIONAL FLOW CHART

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Owner

Sales Associate Sales Associate Sales Associate Sales Associate

LOCATION•665squarefeet•MonthlyRent:$1430/month($2.10/sqft)•LocatedintheHeartofDowntownSanLuisObispo•MeteredParkingAvailable

738HigueraSt.SuiteJSan Luis Obispo, CA 93401


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LOCATION DEMOGRAPHICS

Population•City-44,176(2006)•County–264,900(2006)Age Breakdown•Under5-5.0%•Under18-19.3%•Over65–14.4%•Sex Breakdown•48.7%Female•51.3%MaleRace Breakdown•White-72.8%•Hispanic-18.3%•Black-2.1%•Other-4.3%High School Graduates 85.6%Higher Learning Degree 26.7%Median Family Income $64,087City Sales 7.75%Property Tax Rate 1.1% of taxable valueCorporate Income Tax 8.84%Personal Income Tax 9.3%Housing Statistics •TotalResidentialUnits-20,300 •MedianHomeSellingPrice-$629,348 •AverageRent(2-bedapt.)-$1,20


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For the night before our grand opening we will invite our sellers, and a few business men/women from the community. The event will be catered with hors’ devours and drinks. The event will give people the first look at our store and merchandise. Everyone in attendance will receive a 20% off their first purchases. For the actually day of the grand opening we will hire a band/disc jock to set up on the sidewalk and play music throughout the majority of the day. We will have a few tables set up outside with drinks and snacks, and we will have one of our sales associates standing on the sidewalk handing out 20% off first purchase coupons. We will also begin a promotional offer which will run for the first six months so that frequent buyer/sellers, we will be offered rewards punch cards, where they can receive 20% off and en-tire purchase after spent/sold $200 (punch for every $20 spent/sold).

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

PROMOTIONAL BUDGET


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ADVERTISING Our advertising budget is rather low because we are a new business. We do intend to maximizeourAdvertisingstrategywithourminimalbudget.Weplantobuildallianceswithlocal hotel concierges to refer customers which is no cost to us, but is simply time invested in going to each hotel and networking with them. We plan to place an ad on the community web site www.sanluisobispo.com along with placing an ad in a few of the chamber of commerce brochures.WewillalsorunadsinthenewslettersforbothCalPolyandQuestaCityCollege,aswell as the city newspaper. We will rely heavily on our location to assist in bringing in new cus-tomers, we have an excellent location with many established businesses. As business increases we will invest in advertising in neighboring communities.

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Invitations/Promotional materials $200.00Food & Beverages (night before/day of) $500.00DiscJockey $500.00Decorations $150.00 Total: $1350.00

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second to nonee

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

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second to nonewe know fashion

20% off your entire first purchase

please join us for our grand opening on June 19, 2009 in downtown San Luis Obispo

738 Higuera St. Suite JSan Luis Obispo, CA 93401

This will be the coupon our customers will receive at our grand opening event.

This is an example of an advertisement that might run in a local paper or be featured in a community brochure

have you ever walked a day in someone else's shoes? now is your chance....

second to none738 Higuera St. Suite J

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

This is an example of an advertisement that might be used as a transit/billboard ad in the future


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fashion as unique as you are

second to none738 Higuera St. Suite J

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

12we know fashion

second to nonee

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we know fashionq

second to none738 Higuera St. Suite JSan Luis Obispo, CA 93401

This is an example of an advertisiment that may be used on a web page or in a print ad

e seon to none - wordpress.com · seon to none e introduction ... which offers new and used apparel...

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