A Plan in the Business of Entrepreneurship

Question: Write a report on "Business plan for a clothing retail store in Singapore". Answer: Executive summary: The clothing industry has been experiencing profitable growth in recent years. It has been seen that small and medium enterprises have been experiencing remarkable growth in the clothing industry. In this context, the researcher will discuss a business a plan for opening a clothing retail store in Singapore. The co-owners will operate the business in an effective manner. The venture will be named as Models boutique having a wide range of traditional and modern clothing for women. The stylish product collection and the affordable pricing will be the highlighted areas of the business. The organization will accumulate funds from equity investment, specific grants and owners investment. The primary competitive advantage is the absence of such clothing retail in the specific location. Moreover, the co-owners of the company have worked in the clothing industry for 20 years. Hence, the experience will facilitate them to establish a successful business in the domestic market. Singapore has 5.54 million population, and 49% of them are female (Akhtaruzzaman and Hasanuzzaman 2012). Hence, it indicates the growth opportunity for the Models boutique. The strong part of the business is that the organization will provide a huge discount on every product for market promotion. Moreover, Models boutique will include a huge range of new clothing collection for attracting teenagers and middle age women. Business Details: Models boutique is a small retail venture, which will sell the stylish clothing to women in the society. Models boutiques will be located in Singapore. The initial objective of the organization is to open a boutique and expand its business to the large demographic areas. The aim of the boutique is to become the leader among small businesses. Models boutique will include the potential franchise for the expansion of the business. The vision of the organization is to obtain profitable outcome from the business. The mission of Models Boutique suggests that the company will establish a brand value in the domestic market within five years of time span. The prime motive of the organization is to engage a huge number of women in their business to enhance the profitability in an effective manner. By discussing the products and services, it can be assessed that the fashion industry is youth focused (Asuyama et al. 2013). We will tailor our inventory to meet customers requirement. Models boutique will include both traditional and modern clothes for women in the society. We will focus on the style, color, and fits of the products in order to satisfy our clients. Industry and market analysis: Singapore has experienced $3.5 billion retail sales in 2015. There are roughly 5.54 million populations in Singapore (Davies 2012). 49.6% of them are women. Hence, it indicates the huge market potentiality for the clothing business. Models boutique will initially approach local customers. However, we will augment our accomplishment after building a strong brand image in the market. The industry size has been expanding as the population increases. The Huge market chain will facilitate to engage a huge number of customers in the business (Foerster et al. 2014). The structure of the business includes both macro and micro environments. Customers, shareholders, suppliers will be the key components of the business structure. The industry and market trends suggest that the clothing business will touch a new height within 2-3 years. The segmentation of market will be based on the demographic, social and cultural aspects. We will segregate the market as per the income level of families. At th e initial stage, we may face challenges to adopting the customers behavior towards our products and services. In the fashion industry, buyers behavior change frequently based on the current market trends (Gupta and Hodges 2012). By analyzing the competitors, it can be assessed that the Models Boutique has some tough competition in the market. Huge growth in the clothing industry has increased the market competition for Models boutique. The strength of the company is that the Model boutique will focus on the pricing model for engaging women in the society. On the other hand, the major weakness of the company is that Model boutique does not have a strong financial background like other branded clothing store located in Singapore. Customer and value proposition: The target customers are women of all ages. In the initial stage, Models boutique will focus on targeting middle-class families. However, the wide range of the collection will attract women from all communities. Models boutique will try to build a strong customers base in the business for obtaining profitable outcome of the business. The company will consider demographic, social and cultural aspects for segmenting the market in an effective manner (Hwang, Fang Tan and Sathish 2013). The target of the company is to attract the teenage and middle-age women in the society. The unique selling point of the products is that customers will get both traditional and modern clothes with huge discounts. Moreover, the organization will engage tailoring services for providing best fittings to the customers. The model boutique will be able to attract women by the unique design of the products. It will also provide ethnic wear for women. The model boutique will consider the cultural value of the customers. The organization will beat its competitors by a wide range of traditional and modern clothing collection along with a huge discount on each product. Market strategy: The market strategy consists of several factors including pricing strategy, competitive reaction, launching strategy, sales plans, brand improvement, product and marketing development and growth potentials (Kochhan et al. 2014). Models boutique will be launched with a grand opening. The opening event will include the media coverage, print advertisement, and clients direct-mail campaign. At the launching event, Models boutique will engage a famous face from the fashion industry for the brand enhancement. The primary sales tactics will be enhanced through several promotional activities including social media promotion, online promotion, printing promotion and digital media promotion (Kohpaiboon, Kulthanavit and Jongwanich 2012). Models boutique has a target of brand development within a year. The organization will include several survey methods for accumulating feedbacks from the customers. Consequently, it will facilitate in the brand development program. The products and marketing development will be executed in a systematic manner. Models boutique will implement new strategies for products and market development based on current market statistics. Finally, the pricing model will be implemented in the business considering economic condition of the society (Nattrass and Seekings 2013). However, the organization will be focused on the reasonable pricing strategy for enhancing brand promotion in the domestic market. Our goal is to keep the financial budget not exceeding 5% of the annual gross sales. Moreover, Models boutique will collaborate with local companies and various fashion malls. Operations plan: The operation plan includes the key operative activities, partnerships, business controls, IP issues, and scalability (Oh, Teo and Sambamurthy 2012). Models boutique will execute the business six days in a week from 9 am to 7 pm. The shop will be extended during the holiday seasons and special occasions. The trade store will include two floors of a building. In the business, two full-time co-owner and 5 employees will be hired for executing the business in an effective manner. Models boutique will protect the merchandise from the home manufacturers with a showroom in the city. Moreover, the organization will include whole-seller merchandise for the business. On the other hand, Models boutique will effort together with its sales regional representative. The company will also organize fashion shows in order to enhance the promotional activities. A cost inventory level will be set in the business in order to control cost, track inventory, and management stock levels. Models boutique will be very strict to avoid the intellectual property issues (Park and Noh 2012). The company will employ a team for handling brand logo, store design, and others. A standard bar code will be employed in the inventory system. Moreover, it includes the related software. Staffs will execute the annual inventory audits in the business. They will hire external auditors for the enhancement of the process. Entire accounting and finances will be executed through Peachtree software. Figure 1: Operation Plan Management team and company structure: By discussing the organizational structure, it can be assessed that Models boutique will involve small staffs as the business venture is small. In this context, co-owners will take the leadership role within the business. Moreover, they will be liable for meeting efforts, buying merchandise, managing inventory, daily operations and other administrative works (Staritz and Morris 2013). Small sales staffs will facilitate co-owners with assisting customers, protecting sells, and common upholding of stock in the business. Both key owners will handle daily responsibilities in the business. One of the co-owners will handle several operations including inventory management, staffs supervising and bookkeeping. On the other hand, other co-owner will execute the process of merchandise buying for the stores. Moreover, he will be responsible for upholding the intense alertness of trends within the business. Owners will also manage the public relations in order to enhance the business effectiveness in the market. Models boutique will involve total 5 sales staffs. However, the management believes that the particular business operations do not require any high-qualified employee. Consequently, it makes easier for the recruitment system. The organization will provide a bonus to employees in every year. Resources: The prime resource for the business is workforce. However, Models boutique does not engage the huge workforce. Initially, the organization will open its stores in a building including two floors. However, it will be expensive to open a store at the heart of Singapore (Yusuf and Nabeshima 2012). Hence, Models boutique will spend a large amount of capital on business premises. On the other hand, it will engage a team to decorate store properly so that it can attract customers in an effective manner. At the initial stage, five employees will be hired for the store, and they will be provided wages on an hourly basis. Models boutique will employ enhanced software and technology in the business for enhancing its effectiveness. It will engage whole sellers for managing the production of the business in an effective manner. Financing: Models boutique requires $282,000 to start-up their venture in the market. The founders of the business contribute $50,000 to the start-up cost. Models boutique is currently seeking for funds from business loans and outside investors. At this moment, the Models boutique has total $50,000 in equity capital and added $12,000 for a specific grant. Co-owners have invested $25,000 each into Models boutique. Hence, Models boutique needs investors for accumulating $170,000 in equity investment and $50,000 in loans. Funds will be utilized in several sections including construction management, computer equipment, sales counter, and overall decoration. Financial projections: The financial projection includes segments as follows: Income projection: Models boutique is expecting to collect annual sales of $285,000 in the 1st financial year, $375,000 in 2nd FY and $525,000 in 3rd FY. This collection will be based on marketing plans, products offering, store size, and locations. The average cost of goods sold will be 40% that indicates a gross margin of 60%. It can be assessed that the minimum fixed costs are $15,500 per month. Hence, the organization needs to produce sales of $25,833 per month to break even. Ii indicates that Models boutique will be in a profitable position on a monthly basis before the end of the 1st FY. In the third year, Models boutique will receive net income of $105,000. Hence, the income statement indicates companys profitability states in the business. Cash flow projection: Models boutique will accumulate instant payment from clients in the market. Hence, the cash flow statement will be significantly similar to the income statement. The cash flow statement evidently indicates Models boutiques ability to covers all bills timely. Balance Sheet projection: Models boutique will launch its business with $200,000 in equity capital and $50,000 in loans. Suppliers term in inventory and the credit amount will appear on the balance sheet as short-term liabilities. The balance sheet will not include the jewelry consignment from vendors. It will be expensed as sold. Figure 2: Financial Projection Risks and strategic options: Models boutique may face some challenges in launching the business in the market. There are some risks for the business. The primary risk for the business is that Models boutique may not be able to attract customers with their business policy, as there is huge competition in the market. The threat from new companies may affect the business. Hence, Models boutique needs to focus on the risk monitoring process in order to identify the potential risks in the market. At the initial stage, the organization will take time for building a good relationship with the suppliers, vendors, and others stakeholders. It indicates a barrier for the market entry (Nattrass and Seekings 2013). By analyzing the critical success factors, it can be assessed that Models boutique will focus on their cost effective pricing model to build huge customers base in the market. On the other hand, the healthy relationship with suppliers and other stakeholders will facilitate the company in enhancing business opportunity in the domestic market. Key milestones: Models boutique needs to incorporate the sell in the market. The key milestone for the organization indicates its growth in the domestic market. A strategic approach to the business facilitates organization in enhancing the productivity in an effective manner. In a growing market, the company needs to progress the business by overcoming several challenges. For achieving the key milestone, the business needs to consider several aspects including prototype completion, formalization of partnership, securing key customers and obtaining finance (Gupta and Hodges 2012). The business will hold a customers base in order to experience profitable outcome from the business. the organization will uphold healthy relationship with the suppliers and shareholders of the business to progress the business in an effective manner, With the involvement of collaborative approaches, the organization will be able to expand its business in large demographic areas. References: Akhtaruzzaman, M. and Hasanuzzaman, S., 2012. 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