Retail Clothing Store example essay topic

Le " Annetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus LLC Final Project: Marketing Management 401 Professor Joseph Jang Lorenda B. Levy JoAnn Cain Cynthia Roberts Lisa Rooney Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Introduction 3. Mission Statement 4.

Vision Statement / Target Market 5. Differentiation 6. Marketing 7. Marketing 8. Marketing 9. Marketing 10.

Competition Analysis / Marketing Strategy 11. Organizations SWOT Analysis 12. Revenue Projections 13. Revenue Projections 14. Revenue Projection 15. Conclusion Le " Annetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus Executive Summary: Our names are Lorenda Levy, JoAnn Cain, Lisa Rooney, and Cynthia Roberts.

We recently graduated from Peirce College and earned our Associates Degree in Business Administration and are continuing our education to earn our Bachelors Degree in the same field. Several years ago the four of us decided on a whim that we would combined our assets and open a clothing store called the "Le " Annetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus", which is located in Center City and our second location is in the Northeast section of Philadelphia. It is a Retail Clothing Store that has been in business for the past five years. These particular stores are unique, because they offer an exclusive line of plus size clothing, shoes, accessories and other personal needs to both the male and female in unlimited sizes. We guess you would like to know what made us decide to establish a business for plus size people. Well!

Let me tell you a short story. There was once upon a time when we ourselves wore a size eight and were able to go into any clothing store, grab any item we were interested in, pay for it, and hurry back but as years progressed so did our weight and it made it more difficult for us to buy fashionable clothing that was appeasing to our taste. Then it came to us that "If we felt this way, then we were quite sure that there are others that feel the same", So we decided to do something about it, and that's how our business came into existence. Introduction: Le " Annetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus has been in business from 1998 to the current year of 2003.

We currently have forty employees in both of our retail stores. We also sell our line of merchandise on the Internet and throughout our Le " Annetti's catalog, which can be purchased at $5.00 a copy. Our Management Team consist of, The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lorenda B. Levy, Chief Finance Officer JoAnn Cain, Fashion and Business Consultant Cynthia Roberts, and Marketing Research and Analysis Lisa Rooney. Our business made profit but was not as productive as we desired it to be in the fiscal year from February-1998 - January 2000, because we were new to the business and was not that well known, but since then we have been successful in the 2001-2002 fiscal year. We have made a net profit of $350,000. We had to take into consideration of how we would model our business, so first we established what the wants and needs of the customers are, then we scrutinized wholesale manufacturers that are able to best provide us with the quality of goods at a reasonable cost.

Secondly, the merchandise that we purchase from the various manufactures at a wholesale cost will be placed into our stores to be sold to our customers at a retail price, so we concluded that we would model our organization Business to Consumer. (B 2 C) Mission Statement: The Le " Annetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus is a retail-clothing store specializing in unique, fashionable clothing, shoes, accessories, and other personal needs for the plus size person. Our mission is to provide an entertaining, fun, and knowledgeable atmosphere to customers who experience nothing but a pleasurable day of shopping. Feeling good about your-self is as much about storytelling and nostalgia as it is about the right clothing and accessories. The Le " Annetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus adds value by creating a 'comfortable's o cial setting in a retail location. We take care of our employees; that is, we pay them well and give them a share of profits.

We respect all customers who respect our store and people, and show respectful diligence toward those who choose not to show our people respect. We work as a team, not as a socialist Mecca. Our people are paid according to their skills and abilities. In addition, each employee will have the option of company-sponsored training courses and outside curricula that builds on their skill sets.

Our customers are our most important assets, and we rely on them for feedback. We do not, however, send out unsolicited surveys to unsuspecting customers. We will accept in-store suggestions and test them for results. We have a plan and our goals are clear: To create a fun, entertaining, and respectful retail environment that generates sales of clothing and other accessories for the fashionable plus size person. Vision: Our vision is to become popular nationwide as being known as an organization that gives plus size individuals the comfort of being able to continually come into our retail stores and feel welcome, not out of place. Our motto is!

"No Customers, No Production, No Profit" so our goal is to continue to satisfy our customers. We also realize, that we are in a world where there are an enormous number of Pre-teens, who are a forgotten number when left with clothes suited to their style and age. We are hoping that within the next two, or three years we will have this in place. Target: We knew which group of people we wanted to target but we had to take into consideration of the age group. Because 16 year olds are in high school, and many of them work, we decided that the main group of Individuals that we would aim to target would be the Middle, Upper Class, plus size individuals, both male and female, between the ages of 16 years of age, to adult, that finds it difficult to locate a retail store that caters specifically to their sizes in the fashion world. Differentiation: We found out during our research that 70% of retail stores today tend to cater to the petite size individuals and have a limitation in the larger sizes that they offer to the plus size consumers.

Our retail stores will offer unlimited sizes to both the male and female gender. The fashions that are offered to the plus size customers are usually unappealing, straight flowered, tank dresses for women and plaid pants for men. We will offer them detailed designs, appliqu " ed embroidery, and fashionable prints unlike any other that has ever been offered to them. Our line of shoes though they may be narrow, or wide width would also be made up of a nice selection of designs, colors, and styles.

We will also provide them with all the personal necessities and or accessories, for example: bras, jocks, pantyhose, scarves, handbags, etc. In our investigation we have not found a retail store in existence that provides this level of service on the same premises, where Plus Size customers have the advantage of doing one stop shopping. Marketing: We had to also come up with a strategy of how we would market our business, so we figured due to our budget, we would use the TV and radio as two sources of communication we would use them to our advantage on Thursday and Friday's. We chose these two days in particular because most consumers get paid around this time and are more willing to spend their money, so when advertisements are exposed to them in this timeframe it is still fresh in their minds. We would also put a colorful ad in the newspaper in the same timeframe as we would our TV and radio advertisements.

We will have our employees stand outside our place of business to hand out fliers along with a 30% off coupon. Then we thought we would do something that was a little more unique, for example just as retail stores display their windows with mannequins displaying their apparel, we also have mannequins to display our attire, but the distinction from the others is that we have specially made mannequins made up in plus sizes to place in windows, whereas in other retail stores even though they claim to be plus size stores they display their attire on petite size mannequins. Our saying is, "Either you " re a plus size store, or you " re not". It's in our opinion, that if you " re out to target the plus size customer then go all the way by making them also feel proud of being able to walk up to the window and getting an idea of what an outfit may look like on them by having mannequins of similar sizes as a window model.

We have also place our businesses on the web site. It is designed to give the consumer brief description in regards to our business and merchandise. It would also have live plus sizes individuals to model a selection of male and female attire. We specialize in offering a line of clothing and shoes for plus size individuals both males and females.

Please be patient with us we give you an idea of what type of merchandise we sell. We offer from a long line of sports, casual, and evening wear. Our merchandise consist of, men and women shorts, shirts, blouses, jogging suits, swim suits, casual and evening, two and three-piece skirt and pants suits. We sell casual and evening dresses, men and women pajamas, elegant lounge wear, socks, stockings, fishnets, knee-highs, thigh-highs, and pantyhose. We offer various shades and colors in our stockings, such as taupe, nude, jet black, off black, navy blue, white, etc; and textures, such as sheer, ultra sheer, and opaque. We also sell women's half and full slips, girdles, garters, men and women personal necessities and accessories, such as bras, panties, jocks, perfumes, colognes, jewelry, hats, scarves, and handbags.

In our organization, when we use the phrase "Sizes Unlimited" that's exactly what we mean, our sizes range from sizes 14 - 64, but if for any reason a customer comes into our place of business and need a larger size than what is offered in our stores they are guaranteed to have it. We will order it and have it readily available for them in 24 hours. Our shoes and sneakers come in various styles, colors, and sizes for both men and women they can purchase them in sizes 5-B -13 , if larger sizes are requested they can also be ordered and available within 24 hours. One important factor about our merchandise is the quality. Our apparel is made with the finest materials, such as rayon, silks, gabardines, cotton, linen, knits, wools, leather, etc. The same applies to our shoes and sneakers, Our shoes are made of high quality leathers, suede, alligator skin, etc.

Our sneakers are mostly made of leather. We guarantee our customers if they can find the same quality of clothing elsewhere, we will sell it to them at a 5% discount. The holiday season is one of the productive and profitable times of the year, so we began our holiday sales at least a week before our competitors, which includes a free promotional gift and a 10% - 30% off discount on merchandise purchased by our customers. We offer "LeAnnetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus" credit cards with a limitation of $300.00 for adults that can be used to purchase merchandise online or on site within our retail stores. We also offer a Jr. credit card with a limitation of $200.00 for our young adult starting from 16 - 18 with a contractual agreement signed by their parents stating that they will assume full responsibility for their monthly payments. We accept valid VISA, MASTERCARD S, AMERICAN EXPRESS, and DISCOVER as another payment method.

"LeAnnetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus" retail stores are open 9: 00 am - 8: 00 pm Monday-Fri and 10: 00 am -10: 00 pm on Saturday. We are located in the Center City and Northeast section of Philadelphia, which is considered two of the busiest sections of the city. According to the Census Bureau, as of July first 2001 Philadelphia is a population of 1,491,812. Therefore, although public transportation, such as the trolleys, subways, buses, and Market-Frankford El Lines are convenient for our customers, we provide free parking for those that choose to drive their vehicles, which is that of all ethnic cultural groups.

In reality what makes us successful over our competitors is the fact that there is an overwhelming amount of plus size people in our nation and, because our competitors limit their product by focusing on the petite consumers it gives us the advantage edge. It is for this reason that we have loyal customers, who continue to serve us, and our name is rapidly becoming known nationwide. Competition Analysis: Direct Mail and Web Sales: . Big and Tall Plus and Fashions For Us the Plus sell plus size apparel and accessories to our target market. They are large corporate entities, each with powerful online and retail presence. Fortunately, they have not opened any retail stores in the Center City Philadelphia / Northeast Philadelphia area, so we count them solely as direct mail and Web competitors.

We hope to achieve. 5-1% of their gross yearly direct sales. Retail Sales: . Big and Tall Plus #1 will be our toughest competitor, for they have already established themselves in the plus size fashion community. They have a very experienced and knowledgeable staff of expert climbers, and they are located in malls on the outskirts of Philadelphia near the Interstate that leads directly to Philadelphia. They carry 75-80% of the same fashions and accessories that we sell...

Fashions For Us the Plus #2 sells limited fashions, they do not promote, and they do not market their products extensively. On the other hand, they sell food and carry more Generation X apparel than Big and Tall Plus. Their biggest weakness is small store size. Marketing Strategy: . We will build strategic partnerships with other retail service companies... We will differentiate Le " Annetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus from competitors through aggressive advertising and promotional campaigns that demonstrate our community support and commitment...

We will build retail store awareness through our direct mail and Web campaigns, leading to greater word-of-mouth marketing... We will become the number #1 Retailer for Plus size people Marketing Research: . We will obtain market research through in-store customer comment cards and the local Chamber of Commerce. Organization SWOT Analysis: Strengths. Extremely strong relationships with distributors... Excellent staff who are well trained and customer attentive.

They also get great discounts, increasing job satisfaction... An efficient, stylish retail store. Weaknesses. The struggle to build brand equity... The inability to provide instant gratification by having all sizes in stock... Forecasting fashion is difficult but necessary to profitability Opportunities.

A growing segment of the market that is increasingly bothered by having to travel to Philadelphia for nice plus size clothing and accessories... An industry that seems immune to recessions... The ability to operate on lean overhead relative to competitors. Threats.

The introduction of a competitor to the Philadelphia market with a similar business model... Completely misjudging where fashion is headed... Constant delays in the shipment of product or the unavailability of many of the advertised designs. Competition and Buying Patterns: . Fashion Bug Plus: This is a women's only clothing and shoe store. They have a nice selection of clothing but a poor selection of shoes.

The shoe styles tend not to be cutting edge. The price point for the shoes is $30-$120... Saks Fifth Avenue: This is a large, complete, department store. The store however, suffers from cluttered displays and a general sense of disorganization. Shoes here are $30-$120... Nordstrom's: This is a national franchise that only sells shoes, for both men and women.

This company will sell knock offs, shoes just like name brands, but with their name on it. While this store has a huge selection, the quality of the shoes leaves a lot to be desired. This is somewhat understandable as the shoes typically sell for $13-$50. While the shoes are often good copies of famous brand, the execution is sometimes off. Many of the shoes that are made out of leather and look like they were dipped in wax, giving them a tacky appearance. Revenue Projections: Financials: This section will offer a financial overview of Le " Annetti's as it relates to the marketing activities.

Le " Annetti's will address break-even analysis, sales forecasts, expense forecasts, and how those link to the market strategy. Break-even Analysis: Break-even Analysis: Monthly Units Break-even 258 Monthly Revenue Break-even $15,500 Assumptions: Average Per-Unit Revenue $60.00 Average Per-Unit Variable Cost $24.00 Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost $9,300 Sales Forecast: The first month will be used to set up the storefront. Employees will be hired and inventory will be purchased. There will be no sales activity during the first month.

The second month will begin to see sales activity and it is forecasted that around month four sales will really begin to pick up. The reason for this is that word will get out about Le " Annetti's and more and more people will be coming in to check out the extensive selection. It took an enormous amount of assets and planning if we intended to be productive and profitable. It took time, determination, knowledge, planning, patience, motivation, dedication, consistency, loyalty, and teamwork. We had to first have a vision in what our goals were and what we hoped to achieve.

Then we had to have a plan of what steps and procedures it would take to get it started and what resources we would need. We had to also be sure that we were not investing by beginning a business that was similar to our competitors, because we took the time to do the research and layout our market plan for our business, which has helped Le " Annetti's Unlimited Fashions Plus to be successful thus far. No