ContentsIntroduction.................................................................................................................................................3

Product line description..........................................................................................................................3

Market segmentation..............................................................................................................................3

Product Description.....................................................................................................................................4

Suppliers......................................................................................................................................................6

Primary Suppliers.....................................................................................................................................6

Secondary Suppliers................................................................................................................................7

Shippers.......................................................................................................................................................8

Comparison of Shippers..............................................................................................................................8

Packaging.....................................................................................................................................................9

Markets.....................................................................................................................................................11

Demographic segmentation (all information is from the CIA fact book of 2009.).................................11

Population density.................................................................................................................................12

Race and Ethnicity.................................................................................................................................12

Religions:...............................................................................................................................................12

Economy overview................................................................................................................................13

Distribution of household and personal income in the US population..................................................14

Distribution of income by region...........................................................................................................14

Sales and Marketing..................................................................................................................................16

Competitors...............................................................................................................................................17

Barriers to Entry........................................................................................................................................19

Present and Proposed Organization Structure..........................................................................................19

Present list of Shareholders and Proposed Financing Requirements........................................................20

Industry Outlook........................................................................................................................................21

Government Support.................................................................................................................................21

Future Plans...............................................................................................................................................21

Appendix: Chiang Mai Links Catalog.......................................................................................................22

Introduction As with all businesses, it is quite difficult to start a company from the ground up. Fortunately with this product and market analysis we will be able to summarize who we are as a company and what products we are considering to export. Our company name is Chiang Mai Links; we chose this name because it seemed fitting to the location of the company and to the location from which our products will be exported. Our product is what some would call modern but with a twist of Thai artistry, as you read further into this analysis you will be able to get a better grasp of our product.

Product line descriptionThe products to be exported are a range of home designed statues and tabletop pieces. The pieces come from a supplier who designs and manufactures unique products by blending traditional Thai style decoration, with a modern influence, creating a unique and exotic product suitable in many modern homes.

The pieces use mostly wood, and occasionally some basic metals and mirrors in a rustic but neat style. Most pieces range in size from approximately 10cm x 5cm x 20 cm to 20 cm x 20 cm x 30 cm and are priced between 250 and 300 baht a piece at production cost.

We feel that the product is an interesting opportunity for export as it uses the advantages of local skills and talents with a low production cost while there is no, (or not many) similar products to be found in the target countries market (as opposed to traditional Thai sculpted goods).

Market segmentationThe target market is America; the market was chosen because:

a) Two members of the team have familiarity with the culture, having lived there for some time

b) It is an open market, amenable to importing

c) There is a high income level per capita

d) There is significant interest in this type of product

The product is aiming at the middle to high income market segment. This has the advantage of targeting a market who is both able and willing to purchase these products at a reasonable market price, and a market that is also more likely spend additional money to decorate their homes (as opposed to low income earners)

Product DescriptionHere are a sample of our products on offer. Please see the appendix for a larger sample catalog.

Price: USD$45Dimensions (Packed): 40cm x 40 cm x 10 cm Weight: 0.3khMaterials: Wood, metalComments: Modern wall lamp with use of wood to give an organic feel. Bulb sold separately.

Price: USD$45Dimensions (Packed): 30cm x 30cm x 50cmWeight: 0.5kgMaterials: Wood, metal, paper, plasticComments: Table lamp, warm and organic. Bulb sold separately.

Price: Set of 3 USD$60Dimensions (Packed): 40cm x 40cm x 60cmWeight: 1.5kgMaterials: WoodComments: Simple minimalist style multi purpose vases.

Price: USD$35Dimensions (Packed): 8cm x 10cm x 20cmWeight: 0.2kgMaterials: Wood, glassComments: Glass wave design vases which can also be used as candle holders.

Price: Set of 2 USD$65 Individual USD$35Dimensions (Packed): 40cm x 40cm x 40cmWeight: 0.5kgMaterials: WoodComments: Vase or candleholder base. May also be used as a decorative bowl. Glass inner sold separately.

Suppliers

Primary SuppliersThe following suppliers have a product range directly in line with our market vision and are actively involved in researching new designs for their products. They have been highlighted as particular interest and value to the company and it will seek to share information and improve relations primarily with these suppliers.

Pattra Home Décor

Areerat Wansuan – 081 – 8852919Patcharawan Chaidoungduean – 081 – 7586901Email: pattra_decor@hotmail.com121/16 M.2 Bantawai Zone 6 Soi 15 T. KhunkongA. Hangdong, Chiang Mai Thailand 5020230

Products are small to medium sized tabletop home décor ranging from 10cmx10cmx20cm to 30cmx25cmx50cm in size such as statuettes and wall hangings consisting of glass and wood materials. Designs are modern and very unique and tend to vary quite rapidly. Prices ranging from 100B-350B.

RT. Mango Wood

Sirikanda – 086 – 1867226 or 053 – 433079 or 086 - 1867226Email: rungthip_rung@hotmail.com214/4 Moo 4 Chaiyo Plazaar T. Banwhan A. Hangdong, Chiang Mai Thailand 5020230Factory : 53/4 Moo 4 T.Huysai A. SankampaengA. Hangdong, Chiang Mai Thailand 5020230Closed Sunday

Products are small to medium floor standing and tabletop home décor ranging from 5cmx5cmx20cm to 35cmx35cmx40cm in size with decorative bowls, candle stands and vases consisting of mango wood, glass and rope materials. Designs are very modern while retaining the quality of the wood used. Prices ranging from 100B-200B for small products and 250B-400B for medium sized products.

C&R Manufacturer

May – 081 – 881746475 or 953 0 922346Email: chiangmai_sapaper@hotmail.comNext to Mango WoodClosed Saturday

Products are small to large sized stand lamps and candle lamps ranging from 10cmx15cmx20cm to 30cmx30cmx100cm consisting of metal, electric wiring and wood materials. Designs are rustic and modern, many using treated naturally shaped tree trunks or branches uncut used as part of a stand base

for lamps. Metal is used as a base and frame to structurally reinforce the design. Prices range from several hundred Baht for the smaller candle lamps up to 1,200B for the larger stand lamps.

Secondary SuppliersThe following suppliers have some products that are suitable to our business model, however we will focus most efforts on primary suppliers and the following suppliers will be used as a source of supplementary products to the company.

Praphan Art

Praphan Kantiya – 081 – 5307410 or – 081 – 9933908 or – 053 - 023670Email: praphan_art@hotmail.com133/16 M.2 Bantawai T. KhunkongA. Hangdong, Chiang Mai Thailand 5020230

Products are mostly traditionally based carvings of animals and buddhas and other traditional crafts, but there are some suitable small tabletop lamps and modern style statuettes of approximate size 20cmx20cmx40cm consisting mostly of wood materials and electrical for the lamps. Prices range from 150 to 350B.

By Parisara

Ati – 053 – 434471Email: simpleris@gmail.comWebsite: www.byparisara.com189/29 M.7 Bantawai Zone 3 Nongkhaew T. KhunkongA. Hangdong, Chiang Mai Thailand 5020230

Wide range of wood carved lamps mostly large sized about 30cmx30cmx150cm, ceiling hanging lamps, and vases about 30cmx30cmx50cm in size. There are many varying styles and only some will be suitable to our product range. Most products consist entirely of wood except the lamps usually involve some electrical equipment such as wiring. Prices are about 250B for vases and 500B to 1,500B for different types of lamps.

1 in 100 Bamboo

Sunan Maneekul – 081 – 6052133 or 053 – 433402Email: oneinhundredbamboo@yahoo.comBantawai Zone 3 T.KhunkongA. Hangdong, Chiang Mai Thailand 5020230

There is a fairly wide range of small to large bamboo products from partitions, to vases, to picture frames, but this company mostly produces furniture. Bamboo products are not a core of our business model, but the supplier can be used for sale of furniture to supplement our home décor business and can be ordered on customer demand basis. Products prices range greatly depending on product.

Shippers

Nana Design

Chanyapat Jaisu – 053 – 424500 or – 053 – 434227Email: nanadesign07@gmail.com175/1 M.2 T.KhunkongA. Hangdong, Chiang Mai Thailand 5020230

Provides door to door service including packing, loading, transport to port, export documentation such as bill of lading and customs handling, fumigation, and other related service charges. Gives quote of 41,200B per 20’ container and estimates shipping charges to be an 135,000B in low season (February to September) to ship to Los Angeles.

T.Y.L Shipping

053 – 023747 or 053 – 023705Email: tylcor_ccsdhl@yahoo.comWarehouse: 199/18 M.2 Bantawai T.KhunkongA. Hangdong, Chiang Mai Thailand 5020230

Service includes packing, loading, transport to port, export documentation such as bill of lading and customs handling, fumigation, and other related service charges. Gives quote of 40,000B per 20’ container and estimates shipping charges to be an additional $US2,700 (approximately 85,000B at current conversion rates) in low season (February to September) to ship to Los Angeles.

Comparison of ShippersT.Y.L has given a lower quote and directly focuses on the business of exporting, while it is a secondary business for Nana Design. T.Y.L Shipping is a licensed DHL exporter and so carries with it a reputation of higher reliability and accountability. It is also familiar with shipping large loads and has options for Less-Than-Container-Load shipments, which will be useful in the initial phases of the business. For these reasons we have decided to use T.Y.L as our primary supplier.

Packaging

Chiangmai links has decided to leave packaging and shipping operations to a professional shipping company. These companies usually use classic simple walled cardboard boxes, and use plastic wrap as well as foam beans to fill up the empty space in boxes and protect the goods. This traditional packaging system has proven to have several limitations, such as high occurrence of damaged products during the transport and a waste of space in the boxes due to inefficient packaging. Our company is aware of the importance of packaging strategy and wants to achieve the following goals:

- Protective packaging to reduce damage during transportation

- Adopt optimal sizes to reduce waste of space and facilitate transportation and the use of pallets.

Along these goals, Chiangmai links, aware of the global warming issues, had decided to take responsibility and use green alternatives to packaging instead of the traditional system. The packaging will have a slightly higher cost than with the traditional system but will allow a great economy of materials, enhance recycling and will encourage the development of this new kind of logistics. We will primarily use large sized rectangular boxes (41x28x24 inches at a unit price of (60 baht) as well as smaller boxes (24x24x10 inches) at a unit price of (40 baht). All boxes are made of recycled paper and 100% recyclable after usage. In order to enhance the safety of our products we chose to use double and triple walled cardboard boxes, a system that soften the shocks received during transportation.

41x28x24 inches 24x24x10 inches Multi-walls system

The other main area of concern consist of the inside filling. For optimal use, we will pack only a single type of product in a box, thus reducing the risk of movement during the transportation. Chiangmai links will use three different methods of inside filling:

- Plastic wrapping will be replaced by corrugated cardboard sheets. The cost is 100 baht per 2 meter roll.

- Inside filling will be made with brown crinkle cut, created by cutting used cardboard, thus making this alternative one of the cheapest.

- 100% recycled plastic air pillow will be used for our most fragile products. However either our company or the shipping company will have to invest in a special machine that creates these pillows. In average the machine costs 25,000 baht but has a low cost of materials and reduces waste on the long run.

Corrugated cardboard Brown crinkle cut Air pillow machine

As many of our products are somewhat fragile in nature, Chiangmai Links recognizes the importance of correct packaging to eliminate product damage, and it’s cost is factored into the sales price. In addition, close monitoring of the shipping company during the packing process will ensure receipt of goods at the destination in good working order.

MarketsChiang Mai Links will export its product to the United States of America, primarily to the east and west coasts. In order to analyze our market and have a good projection of our customers, we will do a demographic segmentation of the country, followed by an economic overview, for finally attempt to identify our target market.

Demographic segmentation (all information is from the CIA fact book of 2009.)

- Population: 309,913,000 including 13% of foreigner- Annual growth: 0.99%- Fertility rate: 2.05 children/ woman- Birth rate: 13.83 births/1,000 population/year- Death rate: 8.38 deaths/1,000 population/year- Net immigration rate: 4.32 migrants/1,000 population- Urbanization: 81%- Age structure: 0–14 years: 20.2% 15–64 years: 67.0%

65 years and over: 12.8%

United States demographic pyramid, 2010

Population density

2000 U.S. population density within each county, in persons per sq. mile (lower 48 states only): Light to dark (yellow to blue): 1-4 (y), 5-9 (lt. green), 10-24 (teal), 25-49 (dk. teal), 50-99 (blue-

green), 100-249 (blue), 250-66,995 (black)

Race and EthnicityWhite: 75.0% (228.2 million)Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, of any race: 15.4% (46.9 million)Black or African American: 12.4% (37.6 million)Others: 4.9% (15.0 million)Asian: 4.4% (13.4 million)Two or more races: 2.3% (7.0 million)American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.8% (2.4 million)Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 0.14% (0.43 million)

Religions:

Economy overviewGDP: $14.266 trillionGDP growth: -2.4%GDP per capita: $46,442GDP by sector: agriculture: (1.2%), industry: (21.9%), services: (76.9%)Inflation: 2.2% Population below poverty line: 13.2% (2008)Labor force: 154.5 million (includes unemployed)Unemployment: 9.7%

Foreign trade data(for 2009):

Exports Imports

Total $1.057 trillion $1.558 trillion

Goods agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0%

agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys)

Main partners Canada, 13.2%; Mexico, 8.3%; China, 4.3%; Japan, 3.3%.

China, 15.4%; Canada, 11.6%; Mexico, 9.1%; Japan, 4.9%; Germany, 3.7%

FDI stock: $2.398 trillionGross external debt: $13.77 trillion

Distribution of household and personal income in the US population

Distribution of income by region

In the last decade three different academic models of social classes in America have been made. The first one was realized in 2002 by Dennis Gilbert who divided the population in six categories, from the rich “capitalist class” to the poorest “underclass”. Two years later another scholar, Leonard Beeghley, provided a somewhat similar study of American social classes, but used only five classes from “the super rich” to “the poor”. Finally in 2005, William Thompson & Joseph Hickey created an academic model that is a good compromise of the first two models. In order to analysis our market we chose to adopt the latest model:

Class Typical Characteristics

Upper class 1% Top-level executives, celebrities, heirs; income of $500,000+ common. Ivy league education common

Upper middle class (15%) Highly educated (often with graduate degrees) professionals & managers with household incomes varying from the high 5-figure range to commonly above $100,000

Lower middle class (32%) Semi-professionals and craftsman with some work autonomy; household incomes commonly range from $35,000 to $75,000. Typically, some college education

Working class (32%) Clerical, pink and blue collar workers with often low job security; common household incomes range from $16,000 to $30,000. High school education

Lower class (14% to 20%) Those who occupy poorly-paid positions or rely on government transfers. Some high school education

Property of William Thompson & Joseph Hickey

Sales and Marketing

Chiang Mai Links seeks to focus on product differentiation, selling products of medium to high quality at a medium to high price. By offering ‘more for more’ while trying to keep costs low, we can cater to a market looking for a product that is unique, but still affordable.

CompetitorsIKEA

IKEA is a Swedish company that was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad who decided to create a furniture shop with drastically lower prices than its competitors. He reached his goal by an all new concept: The shop and the warehouse ate located in the same place, the customers walk around one floor of exhibition where they chose the products desired, they then go to the ground floor where cashiers and warehouse are located, after payment the customers goes home with the materials needed to then self-assemble their furniture. As of 2010, IKEA has 301 stores in a total of 37 countries, and they translate their catalogs in 27 languages. The company offers a range of more than 9,500 products, including tabletop decorations and small furniture items that will compete with our company’s products.

In the USA, the first IKEA store was opened in 1985 and as of today, 37 stores are spread across the country. These stores have different competitors’ advantages over our company: very low prices and a much wider range of products. A family trying to decorate their house will have a tendency to go to an IKEA shop where they find all types of furniture and decoration for the entire house. However Chiangmai links has a clear cultural and design advantage: IKEA’s products tend to be based on a very sleek and pure design, often lacking personality and a touch of culture. Below is an example of the same type of products in both companies:

IKEA: large vase $29.99 Chiangmai Links: $22

Ethan Allen

Ethan Allen is an American company founded in 1932 and now has almost 300 stores in America, Canada and the UK. The company design themselves most of their catalog; they also manufacture most of their products in America to reach high customer satisfaction by top-notch quality. The current catalog offers products from a vast number of style, modern art, ancient Greek vases, Asian handicrafts… The company defines itself has “A strong American brand with global reach. A design authority with a modern attitude. A high-quality manufacturer. An innovative retailer. A destination for the one-stop shopper. A full-service Design Center staffed by design professionals who make house calls.” In order to ensure all this services, Ethan Allen’s products are expensive and therefore are aimed at America’s higher social classes. Chiangmai links will have the advantage of offering some similar products for a much smaller price.

Pier 1 Import

Pier 1 Import was founded in 1962 in Texas. They import home décor and light furniture from different parts of the world, depending on the current trend. Most of their 1,000 stores are located in America and Canada, as well as Mexico. The company attempted to enter the European market in the early 1990’s but was forced to withdraw less than a decade later. The company used to offer cheap products with rather poor quality and usually a lack of real design which didn’t correspond to the European’s market sophistication. However in America the company is quite successful and has made real efforts on the quality of their products, doubled by a significant raise in their prices. Pier 1 import will have a much better exposition to customers than ChiangMai links due to the extensive number of shops, but our company does not aim at the exact same market: Pier 1 Import mainly targets middle classes while our company will aim at higher classes of revenues and usually more educated and globally knowledged customers. However Pier 1 Import will become a more serious competitor when our company will enter its expansion of targeted market in the next few years.

Crate and barrel

Based in Illinois, Crate and Barrel is very similar to IKEA in their products and their prices. Most products have a very modern style, sleek and often in basic colors such as black, white or gray. They offer mostly ceramic and glass objects. However Crate and Barrel differs from IKEA by having a large number of much smaller stores (more than 170 stores in America while IKEA only has 37 stores). Thus the company benefits from a close relation to their customers while Chiangmai links will have smaller exposition when entering the market. However, as with IKEA, Chiangmai links offers more cultural products with a clear personality.

Rooms to go

Rooms to go is a much younger company, founded in 1990; however they are the top-selling furniture shop in the US and own more than 150 showrooms. The company’s website gives a clear mission statement: “By offering stylish furniture at everyday low prices, original room packages, superior service and fast delivery, today Rooms to Go is America’s favorite place to buy furniture.” The company has a good price-quality relation for its furniture; however decorative items remain quite expensive, for example vases are sold for an average of $50. The main advantage of Chiangmai links is that Rooms to Go’s current catalog doesn’t include Asian styles products. They currently focus on African trends and on the same modern art style as IKEA, Pier 1 Import and most of our other competitors.

Online direct-import shops

A growing number of online shop offer Thai decorative items for very attractive prices. These companies are all based in Thailand; the customer can access pictures and description of the products on the website, then place an order and pay by credit card. The product is then shipped directly from Thailand for a reasonable price. Examples of this type of companies are Eastern serenity (http://www.easternserenity.com/), Narai Phand (http://www.naraiphand.com/). Even if the products offered are very similar and cheaper than the one proposed by our company, we have the advantage of

being on location, the customer can actually see and hold the products to make an accurate decision, furthermore there is no shipping delay, when the customer desires an item they can own the object in a few instants instead of waiting two weeks for the shipment from Thailand.

Barriers to EntryThe barriers to entry for a furniture and home décor exporter are very low and should be considered one of the major threats to operating in the business. Once a supplier is found and shipping is arranged, the main barrier to entry is the cost of a container load, and with some services offering less-than-container shipping, the barriers have come lower. Thus we determine it is important to build an open and trusting relationship with our suppliers and develop unique products by working together.

The main non-tarrif barriers to entry are materials requirements, assuring that fumigation of wood products are correctly handled. With Thailand as a well established international furniture export origin country, there are many experienced companies and individuals working in metal, glass and wood inspection and materials treatment, so this does not pose a problem.

Thailand also benefits from a significant number of Free Trade Agreements and as a result many exports are not subject to tariffs except a relatively low customs duty.

Present and Proposed Organization StructureChiang Mai Links is designed to be a small company with low overheads and personal contacts.

The proposed structure covers the basic functions of any organization and has roles of specific importance to aid the functioning of the company’s core competency.

The Export logistics Manager is responsible for analyzing and accurately forecasting consumer demand at the destination site. The responsibilities include arranging for export with shipping companies and following up on delivery, maintaining good relations with export end customers and liasing with the design and marketing manager when seeking potential new buyers in the destination country.

The Supplier relations co-ordinator is responsible for accurate scheduling of inbound logistics and maintaining good supplier relations. The responsibilities include monitoring of production schedules to meet target quantities, finished goods quality control and liasing with suppliers and the design and marketing manager on new product designs.

General Manager

Export logistics manager

Supplier relations co-ordinator

Design and Marketing manager

Finance and Human Resources manager

The Design and Marketing Manager is responsible for marketing the product to overseas buyers and creating new designs based on current fashions. The responsibilities include maintaining the company website and catalog and keeping it up to date, creating new design ideas on paper or on computer aided design programs and liasing with suppliers and the Supplier relations co-ordinator to put new design ideas into production if possible, and liaising with the Export logistics manager in seeking new buyers and markets in the destination country.

The Finance and Human resources Manager is responsible for employee pay and benefits and arranging payments from and receiving payments to the company. The responsibilities include correct forecasting of cash flows and arranging of a line of credit, correct and timely payment of suppliers, confirmation of payment from buyers in liaison with the Export logistics manager, accurate and timely pay of all staff, managing corporate and individual taxes, and arranging non pay benefits and corporate events.

Finally, the General Manager is responsible for the co-ordination of all business units and needs to be available to assist in each of the business functions as needed. Given the sporadic nature of the business, the general manager may at times need to focus attention on suppliers to meet production schedule and liaise with the shippers and customs in times of shipment. During tax times the GM will help arrange the data and paperwork necessary for correct filing and in the absence of other duties should focus on acquiring new markets and developing advertising and promotional campaigns.

Present list of Shareholders and Proposed Financing RequirementsChiang Mai Links is intended to be a small, privately owned incorporated firm operated by five people at the early stages of development. Until there is sufficient data that would recommend a large expansion, the company intends to stay small in the long term.

The company determines initial capitalization of 3 million baht. Overhead is designed to be kept low by arranging production of goods right before shipping time thus minimizing inventory holding costs. By using suppliers with their own warehousing functions, it increases the wholesale cost to us which decreases profit margin, but we determined that at this level of demand it is a cheaper option than operating a separately owned warehouse. This option will only be considered in the future if there is proof that there is sufficient demand for certain goods that validate pre-stocking that good.

At this stage it has agreed financing will be provided by an equal buy in of 5 parts, 600,000 baht each. Profits will be kept as retained earnings and reinvested into the business for the first year, after which 50% of profits will be distributed to the owners based on percentage of stock owned (which if there is no change, translates to a 10% total profit per person). This is in addition to a standard salaray paid.

Industry OutlookHome décor and furniture are commodities at their base. There will always be a demand for these goods because there is always a need for them. As stated previously, the demand for furniture and home décor has been slowly and steady increasing in the United States for the most part of the past few decades and there is no indication that this will decrease. Also, the number of imported furniture is increasing at a faster rate than US domestic products due to increased quality of overseas providers.

Thailand is well known for the quality of its wood and skilled artisans and has a good reputation in the domain of quality produced furniture. By seeking new designs and ways to differentiate our products, the company seeks to capitalize on a growing trend for niche products, as home décor, particularly in the more affluent areas of the west and east coasts of the US, are becoming more of a fashion statement.

Government SupportThe business is designed as a private venture of 4 foreign nationals and one national of Thai citizenship and is not intending to use government subsidy or support in its business model.

Future Plans The future plans consist of establishing a solid and reliable overseas market slowly but surely, growing to a point where are consistently shipping a minimum of one container load per month to our markets in the US. This is estimated to take 2 to 3 years maximum at which point the current business processes and organizational structure should still be sufficient.

Future growth models are subject to revision over time. The current growth model will be to find openings in other regional markets in the US, expanding from the more affluent west and eastern coasts into the Midwest and South.