Business Plan for Designer Clothing in the US - Term Paper Example

Business Plan: Designer Clothing al Affiliation Table of Contents Introduction 3 Ownership and Initial Financing of the Business 4 Target Market 4 Textile Industry in the United Kingdom 4 Business Environment in the United Kingdom 5 Official Men Wear Industry the United Kingdom 5 The Organization 5 Policy on Cash Receipts from Sale of the Products 8 Production and Distribution 8 Logistics and Supply Chain Management 9 Marketing Plan 9 Performance Plan 10 Strategy for Launching the Product 11 Reference List 12 Introduction Entrepreneurship has always been of personal interest, especially a venture of designer clothes for the top end clientele in the UK. Through a lot of study and research, it was revealed that the people in Great Britain have always been particular on their suit preference, hence this step is undertaken to ensure that the target market for suits in the UK is matched with their specific preference on suits. In fact, engaging in the business of making, designing and selling of exquisite suites shall be pursued by the author of this paper in the future. However, in the present, the need in developing this business plan is justified in that an individual must unmask all his true entrepreneurial aspirations. Planning and evaluations are take precedence in business decisions, such that during the planning process, issues such as employment should laid before hand and in a clear way on the table. Once such options are clear, the next step might involve evaluation of realistic goals given the available resources. Before a business plan is designed there is also the need to cement a business idea, such as the one proposed in this paper, and according to Hougaard (2005), a business idea must be innovative, fulfills the need of the customers, unique, has clear focus and provides a long term profitability.   Business models vary in as many as there are businesses all over the world, and different founders, hence different schools of thought towards business plans. A good business plan should be of a dynamic model addressing the following; market need, image, target group, and the mode of operations. The purpose of this paper is to prepare a business plan that involves the design of male official clothing wear here in the US, and then the manufacturing of the cloths in China, and then exporting them to a store in the United Kingdom using the finest materials and the finest minds in clothing design. The brand name for the company’s name for the product is a catchy phrase containing certain initials of the name of the author of this paper, MARASHI. Ownership and Initial Financing of the Business The Business shall be registered as a limited company, and will enjoy all the trappings that accrue to limited liability companies. Ownership of the company shall initially be a private limited company with ownership drawn from family members and other select few friends. The proposed share capital for this venture shall consist of 100, 000 shares each valued at a nominal share price of $10. All the savings that have been accrued over the years by the author of this document shall be partly ingested into the business, and in the process, the author shall have a controlling stake into the business to ensure that all the ideas held for the business becomes fruitful. Target Market The target market for the company’s product shall be men between the ages of 17 to 35 throughout the country, who intend to make a fashion statement through their official wear to their workplaces or their places of learning. Particularly, men working in middle level positions are known to frequently purchase their suits as this form their attire for almost 40 hours a week. Textile Industry in the United Kingdom The textile and garment industry in the United Kingdom produces clothing for both consumer as well as industrial use. The industry is fragmented by a host of small to medium sized ventures that employ staff from amongst the local population. Some among these countries have thrive in this field and in this market, whereas there are others that have failed and wound up. Business Environment in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom is an industrialised country and it enjoys high standards of living as well as very low inflation rates, making the nation a prime location in establishing a business. The economic system in the UK much like the US and Western Europe is the market system, and the country enjoys a robust judicial system, besides the country uses English as their official language ensuring that communication barrier will never be a problem between the company and the offshore retail partners. Official Men Wear Industry the United Kingdom The target market is not the entire country, rather a budding class of young professional whose taste in official wear hinges towards customised wear. The company’s retail partners shall serve as the company market research outlet, and through further reinforced partnership, they will be collecting. The information sourced from the retailers will be transmitted to the designers and later relayed to the factories in China so that the product demand match the customer’s need and this is an important dictum that had earlier been mentioned in this paper. The Organization Initially the organization of the based shall be based on a very simple structure that may expand as the business continues to expand. At the head of the company, shall be manager, then he will be assisted by several managers each in charge of different portfolios, and these shall include; the accounts manager, operations manager, and quality assurance manager. This is a chart showing proposed organisation structure of the company. Each and every senior executive in the company shall be assigned specific roles and duties The Managing director is the overall head of the business functions of the company and shall be the spokesperson for the company, delivering timely update on the progress of the company to the board, as well as directing the functions of every department of the company on a day to day basis. The quality assurance manger is in charge of the quality of the products, and must ensure that the products from the overseas factories in China match the designs that were developed for the products. This means that the quality assurance manager shall act as the de jure supply management manager. In the wake of poor quality products subcontracted in China finding their ways in other markets, the manager shall ensure extra virility, so that only the finest of the company’s products find their way to British retail shops. The accounts manager shall be in charge of daily transactions as well as period outlay of financial reports of the company’s operations. The sales and marketing manager shall be tasked with continual exploration of new market through the Great Britain’s Isles. Operations manager’s role is to be in charge of daily operations of the company, which include the designers and other roles which shall be assigned to him/her by the company’s managing director. The role of staffs here in the United States shall require only skilled employees, as the semi skilled and unskilled labour force has been subcontracted in China, in fact the office in the United States shall merely be a liaison office. This is because the goods imported from China shall be sent directly to the company’s warehouse in England before the final distribution to the various retail outlets throughout the United Kingdom. The total number of employees in the United States shall only be 12 together with the members of the top brass. The office in the United States shall operate between 3.00 AM to 11.00 AM every five days of the week. The time of operations in the United States has been tweaked in this manner in a bid to cater for the company’s customers across the Atlantic Ocean. In the process, the company shall maintain a culture in which the staff shall converge for a meeting daily for briefing and brain storming. Obviously, the managing director shall lead all such daily meetings and in their absence, the position shall be delegated to one of the four managers. An organization culture that is interactive and encourages frequent communication between the team workers is poised to have a high success in the future. Financial Planning and Control Financial planning and control shall follow a rigid budgetary process that is established with the realms of this report, and an earlier research carried out on the costs as well as the market potential of the targeted customers. That target market in the UK is actually buoyant and the company expects an initial sales level of 120 000 units in the first year of operations, and which will rise with steady market and continued improvements in design and in quality. The products will be directly distributed to retailers, and therefore the company shall have in place cash, credit and sales policies to take care of such mass purchases. The selling per unit of men’s suits has been pegged at £ 300 and it is fairly considering that the suits have been made from the finest quality of materials, and designed by top garment design minds in the industry. This selling price is almost half the price of more established brand names, even though they will of more or less the same quality. Policy on Cash Receipts from Sale of the Products The company intends to initially transact with 100 retailers, and who have accepted to purchase the products in equal portions from the company. 1. The company anticipates an even sale of 1000 units every month. 2. Of the sales, 60% are expected to be received in cash in the month the sale, and the remaining part to be collected in the following month. Production and Distribution 1. Each product will be delivered to the UK warehouse office at a cost of $150, and this is inclusive of the total freight and insurance cost. 2. Throughout the year, the company’s warehouse in England shall receive 12, 000 inventories every month, and these shall be later distributed to the retailers throughout the country. 3. There is no inventory that shall be available at the end of every month, but at the beginning of every month the inventory levels shall be 1, 000 units. 4. The costs of distribution of the product to the retailers shall be 10% per unit of the product sold. Process and Systems Customers are expected to take their respective seats on the space provided and thereafter the waiters serving all around shall take orders individually and deliver such information to the kitchen, thereafter such information will be passed to the cashiers via the respective sub manger. The process of taking of an order is expected to take not more than 10 minutes and thereafter a 5 minutes time lag between receipt of order in the kitchen and delivery to the customer. An effective customer service in this industry ultimately determines the rate of customer retention capabilities. A rigorous health and safety plan must be carried with the aid of the local authority and a number of safety measures and codes in conformity with the standards. Logistics and Supply Chain Management The process of making the products shall initially commence from the liaison office in the United States, where a team of designers shall develop concepts of the product from amongst the local appeal in designer suits in the UK. Then the company shall establish a reliable contact with a company in Hong Kong, Guangzhou or Shanghai so that they may produce the first bunch of 1, 000 units in different popular designs. Thereafter, the products will be shipped to the UK, and be stored in a warehouse, the quality manager shall perform random sample of the product and check if they surpass the quality standards in the country. Thereafter, the products will be distributed to the various retailers across the country, who will then constantly keep the US office posted on the changing customer tastes or any other information that is important for this business. Marketing Plan Technology is an important component in any modern business, and its existence must be exploited by those businesses that seek to reduce costs, and maximize their revenue. In marketing Marashi suits in Britain, technology provides an ample opportunity for the company to market the product at cheap rates than the traditional forms of advertisements. Most businesses all over the world have recognized efficiency as a component that will satisfy consumers’ needs, institute growth and profitability for its organization and technology can create a symbiotic relationship the company and all our partners in the chain management. This plan shall entail a comprehensive way in which the company shall not only reach its retail partners but also the consumers of the brand name, Marashi. The plan shall entail a full blown strategy to attract the techno savvy populace through direct promotion of the products through the various social networking sites, and which include YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ amongst others. the company shall also engage in door to door marketing of the producer to ensure that the product presence nets as much retailers as possible. Print and television media shall also be engaged to a sparing detail, and in fact, the product shall be advertised as authentic UK product. Customer The customer is pivotal to any venture, and in this case the company shall take into consideration the value of the customer towards the advancement of this business, and as a result all other factors such as discounts, convenience shall be taken into consideration to keep the company’s customers happy. A happy customer is a loyal and a loyal one is a retained, and through the principle of transitivity, it can be stated with authority that a happy customer is a retained one. The company will be particular about the layout of the stores that shall be partners, so that the company’s product shall always be given sufficient exposure. In addition, the space should be such that the layout provides consumers with sufficient room for the consumer to walk through and compare materials and quality. Performance Plan The performance plan entails consideration of a number of factors that uniquely describe and define the performance and the utility of the areas under the balanced score card. These factors include the following; financial aspect, customer perspective, internal business processes and innovation and learning perspective, and Biazzo & Garengo, (2012) point out that the presence of a number of indicators coupled with the critical success factors, given the position of a company in the industry should be crucial and the defining statement of the balance scorecard. In Additional there exists other techniques that complement and add value to this tool of performance planning, for instance the staff survey instrument and since the staff would be few, such a process would be easy to conjure. To improve on the number and the level of customer service, to build a large customer base, small pieces of market would be constantly conducted. Economic theory assert that businesses are set up with the main motive of making profit, and such as a key financial goal reduction of operating expenses would be the main focus of the company. As an internal process objective, the firm would put up the tempo by accepting money from online platforms. To constantly gauge and improve customer service from the employees, as it is the foundation upon profitability, psychometric assessments would be constantly carried out. Strategy for Launching the Product The product shall be launched in a big way through the online social sites that are popular within the age group of the product’s target market. This through the assistance of an extensive marketing process shall ensure that the product becomes a successful brand in the future, of concern is building the brand through YouTube awareness, unlike YouTube paid, this form of advertisement involves viral sharing of the a video of this product. Conclusion and summary This report provided an overview of the process that is entailing in outsourcing for manufacturing in countries that labour and material is cheap and then selling in a top demand country, the United Kingdom. This business plan covered important components that will make the business tick when it eventually comes to life, its lifeblood, and the customers, has been beautifully covered and their interests well factored for within the body of this report. Further the report shows that the first year of setting the business will be turbulent one, but the margin from the first year of operation shall compensate for the anomaly. The total costs of operations in producing and delivering the products to the market is 165 sterling pounds. Therefore all that is remaining is the administrative costs, and the proposed salaries for the entire staff shall be approximately forty percent of the sales value. . Reference List Biazzo, S., & Garengo, P. (2012). Performance measurement with the balanced scorecard a practical approach to implementation within SMEs. Berlin, Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24761-3. Hougaard, S. (2005). The business idea: The early stages of entrepreneurship. 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