Online Portal Where Costume Providers Can Showcase Their Products - Essay Example

August 2009 Business Plan - Online Portal/Site where costume providers (rental and sale) can showcase their products Abstract Business Plan - Online Portal/Site where costume providers (rental and sale) can showcase their products A business plan for the online portal is part of the overall fashion and clothing industry. What is this business plan worth' How one can evaluate the prospect of the business plan' What will make the plan a good one or a bad one' This paper is an attempt to provide a practical and business perspective approach to the entire business plan. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation has been arranged with the assistance of information gathered from various research articles and the data mined from the individual websites. (Please include any necessary acknowledgments that you seem applicable) ii Index 1. Introduction 2. Literature Review 3. Research Methodology 4. Results & analysis 5. Conclusion 6. Bibliography 7. Appendices iii 1. Introduction The basic idea of the online portal www.ClothesForShows.com is an attempt to create a common platform for the clothing industry. For most people to buy or rent any clothes is a cumbersome job. This is especially difficult when it comes to the costume items. It can be an individual or a group who wants the costume urgently and also the exact type for the theatrical portion. Ireland being a culturally active country, the need for quick access to the costumes either to buy or rent will always be required desperately. There are tremendous amount of requirement for quality costumes and of varied price ranges. There are numerous websites which will give you lot of options to purchase, rent or sell the costumes but it does not meet the need of each and every person. Either the prices are too high or the exact type of clothing is not available. In such cases what are your options' In fact there is none. The idea of this portal is to bridge the gap between the consumer and the vendor. There are many such vendors who are willing to perform online trade and as a matter of fact the count is quite large. All one needs is a common platform to trade. The business model is unique and one of a kind. Though this form of business is not unknown to the people, yet its usage in the costumes industry has never been thought of before. The idea of this paper is to look into the business perspective of the portal and analyse its various aspects, like SWOT, research methodologies and the analysis part which will provide the readers a proper overview of the viability of this project. The needs of costumes are required not only in Ireland but all over Europe, which is rich in cultural activities and hence the prospect lies in addressing such a need across Europe. However, initially the idea is to concentrate only in Ireland and that too in the field of costumes. Once the business has stabilized the other areas of theatre and drama will be taken into account also considering the prospect of spreading it against the other countries of Europe. The areas which are thought of are props, sets and theatre professionals. The basic idea or the USP of the business will remain the same. A common platform to rent, sell or buy the services as and when required. Also the prospect of identifying a large number of clients and vendors under the same roof is one of the USP for the business. 2. Literature Review There are quite a few websites which at present deal with the exchange, sell and buy of such costumes and other related services and products. There are costumes which are available for diverse range of occasions. These include the costumes required for television, film, Halloween, medieval or children's costumes. The modus operandi for such websites or online portals is relatively simpler. They have a few set suppliers or themselves are the agents of such products and services. In such case the stock is limited and the availability cannot be judged beforehand. Thus the consumers or the, would be customers face the problem of searching for the right product in time. This leads to confusion, delay and ultimately the effect is reflected in the quality of the theatres and dramas. Even the same applies to the individuals who want to buy or rent for any fancy dress parties or theme parties. This is a common phenomenon which is found not only in Ireland but across entire Europe. The business of theatre, drama and films is quite flourishing and requires a concerted effort to ensure a foolproof production. This is not always possible because the coordination and effort is not effective. Also the availability and affordability of such items are not up to the mark. The searching is never ending. It continues to be quite an effort for the consumer to locate the exact product. It will be a never ending process for the consumer. All these and more are expected out of the present scenario in the costume industry. It is quite possible for the consumer to feel claustrophobic in such a situation. The current websites provide the option to the people to search for the required costumes. But it is not necessary that the same will be available. Thus at times it becomes an impossible task. At present the companies like Stageworld Ltd., T9 Hire, The Vintage Wardrobe and Nifty Thimble Costumes are such companies which deal with hiring and selling of designer costumes and other related articles needed for theatres, films and marriage ceremonies. Other companies like them are also involved in such business, but they are not able to provide the effective and efficient solution to the consumers. The requirement at this time is a major breakthrough in the clothing and apparel industry. Making use of the technology to enhance consumer delight is what is required at this stage. It will bring across a paradigm change in the filed of costumes and other theatre related items. Europe by default is the fashion Mecca of the world. Milan, Paris and the other cities of Europe are the hubs of fashion spread across all though Europe. Thus it is all the more necessary to make the industry more synchronized and concentrated. Only technology can help the industry to achieve the same. At this juncture it must also be pointed out that most costume rental stores have a stock of a few 1000s which are not always sufficient for the industry. Also as mentioned earlier availability is never guaranteed. Most of the costumes are exclusive one of a kind of products, since the bulk of them are made by the individual designers. It is definitely that the stores strive to provide the very best of the services, price and quality to the consumers, but it is not always possible to market the same to all the consumers, since they are not aware of the services offered by the store. In context of the different forms of costumes the planned site will offer unique opportunity to market their product and services under a single roof. The basic idea of the portal is to provide the different types of costume traders the opportunity to showcase their product in one single portal. It is not necessarily that all the stores have their own website. They are the local stores which have a limited coverage and penetration in the market. It is also beneficial for the consumers and the theatre personnel to get the options in a single portal. 3. Research Methodology This will require your input. 4. Results & analysis Based on the above mentioned information and details of the costume industry it can definitely be established that there indeed is a huge gap in the market which needs to be filled up. The findings prove that individual companies do their part to attract the consumers but are not always able to serve to their fullest extent. The reason is not being able to reach out to a greater mass of people. It is not beneficial both in the terms of the customers and the rental companies. Thus the need arises to make a single window service to both the parties in this business. There are many types of costume traders in this business. This includes the costume sellers like CostumeXpress and Fancy Costume who are involved exclusively for selling their products. They have their own websites but are they able to cater to all the customers' The same applies to the costume rental companies like The Dublin Costume Co only provide the costumes for rental purpose. There are many consumers who prefer to rent the costumes only because of the duration of its necessity. The same applies for the people who have a small budget and for those beginners who want to prove their mettle in the filed of drama and acting. The portal is also earmarked for the designer and custom made costume designers like Helen Cooke - Hat designer and Ages Of Elegance. All these and more can be a part of the online portal. All they need to do is just logon with their respective username and passwords and manage their accounts. They can upload their catalogues, modify the prices and write about their costumes to attract the consumers. The consumers on the other hand will have a huge quantum of resources to choose from. They can view multiple options based on their budget and requirements. Be it an individual or a group the portal will be an encyclopaedia of costumes for the people of Europe. 5. Conclusion 6. Bibliography 7. Appendices Read More