Growing Muslim Population in Halifax and Canada - Essay Example

In Halifax and Canada in general, there is a small but significant and growing Muslim population. There are also many Muslims students that come to the city. These Muslim women have significant disposable income yet there are no clothing stores that deliver clothing just for them. For the younger ones especially they buy Western style clothes that fit their requirements. However there is an opportunity to start an Islamic high fashion store that provides beautiful Islamic clothing. 138 a. Key partner/s The key and unique partner to this business endeavor would be an Imam (Muslim priest) or a Muslim scholar who would serve as a Consultant to ensure that the clothing style that will be made by the company is appropriate for Muslim women. This is critical because the competitive advantage of the company is its ability to serve a certain niche with a cultural and religious overtone. The company cannot afford to make a mistake especially during its initial phase because when it will lose its credibility in that segment either by mistake or ignorance, it is already doom to fail because Muslim women are its sole market. The consultancy capacity of an Imam or a Muslim scholar is in addition to other traditional partner of a business such as its shareholders, financing institutions and employees. b. Key activities Key activities of the business would involve the design, manufacture/sourcing of the materials needed, promotion and selling of Islamic high fashion clothes for women. Key resources Know-how on what are appropriate clothing designs for Muslim women. Fabrics to sew or create such design. Employees who have knowledge and expertise in sewing Islamic high fashion clothes. Capital to start and operate a business. c. Value proposition Being culturally and religiously correct does not mean that people has to dress dull. The Islamic high fashion clothing line that will be introduced by the company in the market will be stylish but culturally and religiously aligned with the dressing prescription of Islam for women. d. Customer relationships Customers will the center of the business. Such, the business will take the pain to consult Muslim scholars about the appropriateness of the clothing line in addition to the effort of making the clothing line stylish and comfortable. Channels The channel of establishing customer relationships and distribution shall be highly selective since the target market is highly specialized. Marketing efforts in establishing customer relationship will only be limited to Islamic communities where the target markets are concentrated. Since the proposed business is targeted towards a market with a high disposable income, the channel of distribution will also be situated in high street fashion retail stores to make the product appropriate to the status of its market. e. Customer segments The segment of the market that the company is targeting is the Muslim women belonging in category A and B in terms of economic capacity. d. Cost structure It is anticipated that the target market is less sensitive to cost and thus, the price of the Islamic high end clothing will be priced at premium. f. Revenue structure Revenue shall be derived from the sales of the Islamic fashion wear for women. Essay The idea of putting up a clothing business that caters to a specific market has a very good chance of success provided that it will be done right. The business has a high likelihood of success because of the utter lack of competition in Islamic clothes in the western world particularly in Halifax that caters to Muslim women with high disposable income. Doing the business right meant designing the clothes that meet the specification of Islamic culture and religious prescription with an added flair of style and comfort. This could be addressed by hiring a Consultant who is steep in Islamic culture and religion to ensure that the business is serving its market right. The marketing thrust of the company shall be focused on Islamic communities for efficacy and cost effectiveness of the promotional effort. In addition to appropriate advertising campaigns, a fashion show is also intendend to novelty to the promotional approach of the company towards its target market. This is possible since other countries such as Malaysia and Philippines have also conducted fashion shows of Islamic clothing line for as long as extra will be taken by the organizers in making the show appropriate and in accordance to Islamic prescription. This approach is suitable for its market who have high disposable incomes. To reinforce the marketing efforts of the company and to enhance the brand and image of both the clothes and the company, the distribution channel of such Islamic fashion clothes will be located in high end retail stores. It could also establish an online presence to cater to other Muslim who would be interested to wear high end Islamic clothes without violationg the cultural prescription on proper dressing. Establishing an online presence is very promising for the company because there is a big probability that women in Arab countries with high disposable income will order from the company online thus expanding the market base of the company. It is however important that the company must establish its brand for it to be trusted by its customers especially those who are steep in Islamic culture. Revenue will be derived from its core business of selling high end Islamic clothes for women. It is however anticipated that in the future, the revenue stream from online sales could outdo sales from the physical stores. 2. A website that lets you know where to buy clothes that you see in movies or even lets you buy similar clothes. a. Key partners Movie outfits that produces the movies. Movie stars. Various clothing outlets. Own sewers. b. Key activities Sourcing of clothing line found in movies and promoting them to have a sale. First priority is to acquire the actual clothes used to be auctioned by the company. Key resources Retailers. Movie outfits. Own sewers. Initiative to look for alternative. It would be best if the actual clothes in the movie could be procured. c. Value proposition Dress like a movie star or have a feel how the dress worn in the movie feels like. Be admired for having the latest fashion trend. d. Customer relationships The reliability of the company to acquire or reproduce the clothes shown in the movie shall be the main tool of the company of establishing relationships with its customer. Channels Channels of distribution can range from establishing small clothing booths during premiere shows of anticipated movies. Novelty shops can also be tapped as resellers. Malls can also be retailers e. Customer segments Customer segmentation is dependent on the audience of a particular movie. The target audience of a particular movie shall be its target customer for a particular business cycle. The company therefore has no definite market segment. f. Cost structure Significant amount of cost could go to the sourcing of clothing line in addition to the clothes that will be sold. Inventory could amount to cost and therefore has to be avoided. g. Revenue structure Source of revenue will be from the core business of selling clothes shown in a movie. Essay Unlike selling Islamic clothing line for women where the operation of the business is pretty straightforward, selling clothes that is shown in the movie can be quite complex because it involves an interplay of various shareholders in the business. The business had to maintain good relationship with movie outfits which could be tough due to competition and exclusiveness of the personalities involved. The alternative of finding similar clothes could be equally tough because the requirements of a particular clothe is specific. In addition, it has be found in the shortest time possible because the demand is only good while the movie is still in vogue. Such clothes will lose its value after the movie several weeks that the movie has shown. The company could also resort to having its own sewers as an alternative to having the clothes seen in movies. The business proposition to the customer is to cater to the desire of the customers to dress themselves like movie stars as they saw them in the movie. Or, imitate the fashion statement of their favorite movie stars and also to be admired for being trendy. The turnover of the clothing line could be fast as it is dependent on the recall of the movie. Once the movie has been forgotten, most likely the clothing wore in the movie will not also be saleable. This could work to the advantage and disadvantage of the company. The fast turnover will allow the company to sell more clothes. The disadvantage is that it cannot keep inventory because what is in vogue today will no longer be in demand in the future. The channels of distribution of such product line will be through malls and theaters. Novelty shops for such purpose could also be tapped as retailers. The business could be taxing due to its fast turnover rate of its product line and difficulty of sourcing the clothes but this could be profitable If the company if effective in sourcing the clothes shown in the movie, because it could command premium prices for such clothes Read More