Customer profile Demographic The primary market consists of men and women 20-40 years old, make 50000+a year, are young professional and who are high school graduates or higher. The secondary market includes men and women ages 10-19, and women ages 40-50. According to ZIPskinny, the population for the zip code 90069 consists of 20395 people with 11972 (58.7%) being men and 8423 (41.3%) being female. Of these people, 5650 (47.3%) men and 3590 (42.6%) women are in the primary target. This totals to 9240 (72.95 of both). There are 203 (1%) men and 2570 (30.4%) women and these people makes up to 2773 (31.4%) of the secondary target. When looking at the total population for the 90069 zip code, 10544 (51.7%) makes $50,000 or more, and 19048 (93.3%) are high school graduates or higher. Age Male Female Both % of Males % of All % of Females % of All % of All 0-9 years: 2.3% 1.3% 3.6% 1.5% 2.8% 10-19 years: 1.7% 1% 2.7% 1.1% 2.1% 20-29 years: 14% 8.2% 18.8% 7.8% 15.9% 30-39 years: 33.3% 19.5% 23.8% 9.8% 29.3% 40-49 years: 22.6% 13.3% 15.9% 6.6% 19.8% 50-59 years: 11.3% 6.7% 11.8% 4.9% 11.5% 60-69 6.8% 4% 8.7% 3.6% 7.6%
Transcript
Customer profile
DemographicThe primary market consists of men and women 20-40 years old, make
50000+a year, are young professional and who are high school graduates or
higher. The secondary market includes men and women ages 10-19, and women
ages 40-50. According to ZIPskinny, the population for the zip code 90069 consists
of 20395 people with 11972 (58.7%) being men and 8423 (41.3%) being female. Of
these people, 5650 (47.3%) men and 3590 (42.6%) women are in the primary
target. This totals to 9240 (72.95 of both). There are 203 (1%) men and 2570
(30.4%) women and these people makes up to 2773 (31.4%) of the secondary
target. When looking at the total population for the 90069 zip code, 10544 (51.7%)
makes $50,000 or more, and 19048 (93.3%) are high school graduates or higher.
Social IndicatorsEducational Achievement: Marital Status:
(among people 25 years or older) (among people 15 years or older)Less than 9th grade: 2.1% Never married: 55.9%9th-12th grade (nongrad): 3.6% Married: 24.2%High school graduate: 13.5% Separated: 1.6%Some college: 22.3% Widowed: 6.2%Associate degree: 5.7% Divorced: 12.1%Bachelors degree: 34.9% Stability/Newcomer Appeal:Graduate/Professional: 17.9% Same home 5+ years: 47%High school or higher: 94.3%Bachelors or higher: 52.8%
ZIPskinny.com
Economic IndicatorsHousehold Income Occupation
<$10,000 2% (among employed persons over 16)
$10,000-$14,9993.8%
Mgt./Professional 57%
$15,000-$24,9996.7%
Service 6.8%
$25,000-$34,99910.2%
Sales/Office 26.4%
$35,000-$49,9999.6%
Farm/Fishing/Forestry 0.2%
$50,000-$74,99917.1%
Construction/Extraction/Maint.
3.2%
$75,000-$99,99916.5%
Production/Transportation 6.4%
$100,000-$149,99915.6% Unemployment/Poverty
$150,000-$199,9996.4%
Unemployed 1.7%
$200,000+ 12% Below Poverty Line 1.9%
Median Household Income: $75,72
ZIPskinny.com
RaceHispanic/Latino: 1%
White*: 92%
Black*: 3.4
%Native American*: 0%
Asian*: 2.6
%Hawaiian/Pacific Islander*:
0%
Other*: 0.1
%Multiracial*: 1%
* Does not include individuals
in this racial groupwho identify as
Hispanic/Latino. ZIPskinny.com
The ZIPskinny charts indicate that the 90069 zip code will be successful because
we will have a highly saturated market with potential customers. We have chosen
this location because when looking at our primary customer and secondary
markets age, we can see that it consists of 58.9% of the market. This is that half of
the people living in West Hollywood, Los Angeles are potential customers. The
economic indicators also indicate that West Hollywood will be successful place for
us to open our business. We can see that most of the people in the area are fiscally
able to shop at our store, and that they are also the line of business that appeals to
our aesthetic. The educational level to the area is also appealing, since the Blur
store’s customer will have a high school education or higher.
Psychographic
Free time activities
Male FemaleThe Blur Store’s man enjoys staying fit or slim so they spend an hour or two in the gym from 3-5 times a week at 24 Hours Fitness.
The woman also enjoys staying fit so they spend an hour in gym for an hour from 3 -5 times a week at 24 Hours Fitness.
Along with the gym, he will so find outlets for his energy in playing Cricket ball, jogging, walking his dogs.
Along with the gym, the lady releases their stress by practicing yoga and cooking classes.
For Television, they usually watch E! and celebrity news, ESPN, political news about equal right marriages…., comedies like Will and Grace, Friends.
For the Television, they usually watch E! and celebrity news, the Oprah shows, Friends, Brothers and Sisters .
Family is also important too, especially with their mom. Sometimes they will have brunch on Saturday afternoon or dinner on Sunday night with their moms and take them out shopping.
They are usually fond with their dad. Brunch or dinner is usually occurred too. Sometimes they buy their dad a tie or a book .
When they reads, they usually read Vouge, Elle, GQ, news on local paper such as … and book to make themselves improve
For the ladies, they usually read books about relationship, Vouge, Elle, Harper Bazaar and book about independent women.
On their way to work, they listen to disc they made of Lady Gaga, Mix Dance to get to the mood for a new day.
When they are on the way to work, they usually listen to the Radio on 102.7
They drink coffee 3 4 times a day at Starbuck to start off their days, take a smoke break with Malboro’s Menthol or when they need to focus
The women also drink Starbuck 3-4 times a day and smoke Malboro’s or Camel Menthol Light
Currently. The Blur Store’s men shop for their clothes and accessories such as bags and shoes at Barney New York, Mario’s, Marc Jacobs, Saks Fifth Avenue … and vintage stores. The brands they usually wear is Marc Jacobs, Dior Hommes, Rick Owens…
Currently, they buy their clothes at Barney New York, Helmut Lang boutique, Saks Fifth Avenue… and vintage store where they can find old vintage little things for their closet. For clothes, they usually wear Helmut Lang, Alexander Wang, carrying bag of Proenza Schouler, Chanel or Givenchy
When getting ready, they use Kielh’s for Body wash and face scrub. He uses Paul Mitchell for their hair and Gillette shaving cream and Gillette Mach 3 razor when shaving their face. For cologne, he uses YSL Hommes or Dior Hommes
For her, she’s using Kielh’s for body wash and shampoo. She uses Mac and Chanel for make up. Sometimes, she goes to spa for facial, hair care and Brazillian waxing. For perfume, she uses Parisian by YSL or Chanel Number 5.
Day in the Life:
The Blur store customers will wake up around 7:00am. After waking up, the first
thing they will do is hop in the shower. After they has freshened up, he will spend
about 20 minutes selecting what he will wear for the day, and ironing if needed.
Got her, they need an extra 30 minutes for hair using Bumble and Bumble and
make up by Chanel. For men, they usually wear a pair of black skinny jeans by
Comme des Garcons, a Maison Martin Margiela pull over sweater that has
decorative collars, boots by Rick Owens or dress shoes by Prada. For women, they
usually wear a pair of dress pants by Jil Sander and man-like shoes by Alexander
Wang, a blazer by Helmut Lang and printed silk scarf by Dries Van Noten to soften
their looks. They then packs their lunch, eats their breakfast, and leaves for work
around 8:00am. They will usually be at work until 6:30pm. After they get home,
they change, and go to the gym at 24 Hours Fitness. He will spend about an hour
at the gym, and then return home, at which point they take another shower.
Occasionally they will go and meet some friends for happy hour at Aigo restaurant,
but more often than not, they will then make dinner at home. After dinner they will
watch some T.V. and check their online social networks, and talk to their friends
via text messaging or on their Iphone, and then go to bed around 11:00pm.
Day in the Life: Day Off
On their day off, the Blur Store customers will generally sleep in until
around 10:30am. They will then wake up, and shower. After showering they will
spend about 10-15 minutes getting dressed in a dressy pair of boots by Damir
Doma, skinny jeans by All Saints and sheredded t shirt for men by Raquel Allegra,
a Givenchy dress over a pair of leather pants by Rag & Bone for lady. They will
then go and do their grocery shopping at Ralph’s as needed, and will pick up their
dry cleaning from Melrose’s Cleaners. After that they will come home, put
everything away, and their remaining laundry. After lunch, they will usually go and
meet up with some of their friends and shopping on Melrose Avenue or coffee
house. If they don’t feel like they got enough physical activity for the day, they will
then go to 24 hours Fitness again. Upon returning home, they will take another
shower. Then they will go home and prepare for some event at night. They then
will spend the night out at some bar in West Hollywood with friends. After that,
they go home and sleep around 3 am.
PRIZM NE Market Segments
Based on the information obtained from Claritas.com, we have determined
that the Blur Store’s best fits into the American Dreams segment, the Bohemian
segment, and the Money & Brains segment.
American Dreams are in the range of 35 and older. Some of their life style
traits are that they live in the neighborhood that has multicultural population. They
shop at Old Navy and have above average income. They often own their home and
college graduates, their children live in upper-middle class comfort. So their
children fit into our secondary customer category because they have a little extra
money in their allowance. They are part of the Urban Uptown social group and
Young Accumulators lifestage group.
“American Dreams is a living example of how ethnically diverse the nation has become: just under half the residents are Hispanic, Asian, or African-American. In these multilingual neighborhoods--one in ten speaks a language other than English--middle-aged immigrants and their children live in upper-middle-class comfort.”1
Bohemian Mix are in the range age of younger than 55. Some of their life
style are that they shop at Express and read Details. The demographic traits
include they have upper middle scale income, often are renters and are college
graduates. They are a part of Urban Urban Uptown social group and Young
Achievers lifestage group.
“A collection of mobile urbanites, Bohemian Mix represents the nation's most liberal lifestyles. Its residents are an ethnically diverse, progressive mix of young singles, couples, and families ranging from students to professionals. In their funky row houses and apartments, Bohemian Mixers are the early adopters who are quick to check out the latest movie, nightclub, laptop, and microbrew.” 2
Money & Brains are in the range of 45-64 years old. Some of their life style
are they they often shop at Nordstrom and read Sunday Newspaper. The
demographic traits include they are wealthy, most owners and are college
graduates and higher. They are part of Urban Uptown social group and Affluent
Empty Nests lifestage group.
1 www.claritas.com/MyBestSegments
2 IBID
“The residents of Money & Brains seem to have it all: high incomes, advanced degrees, and sophisticated tastes to match their credentials. Many of these city dwellers are married couples with few children who live in fashionable homes on small, manicured lots”3
These market segments describe the Blur Store’s secondary target and a
part of our primary target perfectly. Bohemian Mix is a part of primary market and
a apart of our secondary market. American Dreams and Money & Brains are more
of our secondary market. But we have Beverly Hills right next door and West
Hollywood is a gay area so the place is perfect location for the Blur Store to open
its flagship store.
Behavior analysis While we were analyzing the behavior of the Blur Store we examined the
Strategic Business Insights (SBI) VALS types. After looking at the following chart,
we have determined that an Aden’s man is an Innovator, an Experiencer, and an
Achiever.
“Innovators are successful, sophisticated, take-charge people with high self-esteem. Because they have such abundant resources, they exhibit all three primary motivations in varying degrees. They are change leaders and are the most receptive to new ideas and technologies. Innovators are very active
3 www.claritas.com/MyBestSegments
consumers, and their purchases reflect cultivated tastes for upscale, niche products and services.Image is important to Innovators, not as evidence of status or power but as an expression of their taste, independence, and personality. Innovators are among the established and emerging leaders in business and government, yet they continue to seek challenges. Their lives are characterized by variety. Their possessions and recreation reflect a cultivated taste for the finer things in life.”4
The most attractive quality of the Innovators is that they are successful,
sophisticated, take-charge people with high self-esteem. This is important because
the Blur Store customers take pride in their career. Another attractive quality is
that they are change leaders, and are the most receptive to new ideas. This is
important because as we are a new company, we need people who are willing to
try something new. Because innovators are active consumers, we can be assured
that once they try our product, they will like it and continue to shop at the Blur
Store for their future purchases. And because image is important to them, by
creating new image of themselves or remind them an image that they’ve seen
before, we can create their pulse of buying.
“Experiencers are motivated by self-expression. Young, enthusiastic, and impulsive consumers, Experiencers quickly become enthusiastic about new possibilities but are equally quick to cool. They seek variety and excitement, savoring the new, the offbeat, and the risky. Their energy finds an outlet in exercise, sports, outdoor recreation, and social activities.Experiencers are avid consumers and spend a comparatively high proportion of their income on fashion, entertainment, and socializing. Their purchases reflect the emphasis that they place on looking good and having "cool" stuff.”5
4 www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals
5 www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals
We chose Experiencers because they are young, enthusiastic, and impulsive
consumers, meaning they will be excited and willing to shop at the Blur Store.
When looking at what was previously stated in the free time activities, and day in
the life section, we can see that the the Blur Store customers fits this description
perfectly. We can also see that Experiencers spend a high portion of their income
on fashion, entertainment, and socializing. This shows us what they place their
self-image on top and we can use this to attract them by promising they will look
amazingly fashionable when they shop at our store.
“Motivated by the desire for achievement, Achievers have goal-oriented lifestyles and a deep commitment to career and family. Their social lives reflect this focus and are structured around family, their place of worship, and work. Achievers live conventional lives, are politically conservative, and respect authority and the status quo. They value consensus, predictability, and stability over risk, intimacy, and self-discovery. With many wants and needs, Achievers are active in the consumer marketplace. Image is important to Achievers; they favor established, prestige products and services that demonstrate success to their peers. Because of their busy lives, they are often interested in a variety of time-saving devices.”6
Achievers place a high importance on their career, and family much like the Blur
Store customers. Achievers are important to our store because they are active in
the consumer marketplace. Again, this shows us that they will be able and willing
to shop at our store. Due to the Achievers busy lives, they are interested in saving
time so shopping for something new, fashionable and fast is there concern. By this,
the Blur Store can provide them a one-stop shopping for their wardrobes which
will be fast and still have fashionable ascent to it to help them express their image
of successful.
Buying Motivators
6 www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals
Charactertherapist.com
With this chart it has been determined that one buying motivator for the
Blur Store is esteem needs. “Esteem needs is our need for respect, recognition,
and a sense of our own accomplishment and worth.”7 We chose esteem needs
because Innovators are motivated by recognition of their accomplishments. So by
buying our products, we can give them chance to express their own self-esteem
and make them feel confident about their accomplishment and believe in
themselves
The second buying motivator for the Blur Store is self-actualization needs.
“Self-actualization needs I the need to grow and develop and to become all that we
are capable of being.”8 We chose this buying motivator because it goes with the
beliefs of Achievers in that they strive to be the best person that they can be. And
our products help them to accomplish that.
Target Market
Market LocationWe have decided to open the Blur Store in a retail space for lease of
Hilton&Hyland company. The address is 8363 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood,
Los Angeles, CA 900069. We have decided to open our store here because it is
avenue of fashion boutique for not only the people who live in the immediate area,
7 Business 10th edition8 Business 10th edition
but also for those who live in the surroundings area. Another reason why we have
decided to open in this area is because of the demographic area like we discuss
above, and the amount of people that communicate into this area to shop. We are
also surrounded by a lot of high end fashion boutique like Marc Jacobs, Alexander
Mcqueen, Diesel… and they are doing good in this economy so by opening our
store here, we will be successful too by the foot traffic of their customers. The
following photographs are satellite view of the retail space that our store will be in.
Googlemap.com
Market History
“Officially founded in 1984 as the 84th city in Los Angeles County, West Hollywood is a young, vibrant community with a colorful and entertaining past! Today, West Hollywood is one of the greatest gay friendly vacation destinations, is the pet friendliest city in Southern California and is Los Angeles’ hottest destination for the entertainment industry. From its 19th century beginnings as a virtual “no man’s land,” the region soon became prime location for a railway, and in 1894, a man named Moses Sherman bought the land and designated it as the headquarters of the Los Angeles Pacific Railway Co. This venture sparked the need for housing, and West Hollywood (then a town called “Sherman”) started to see its first bout of immense growth. The little town grew fast, and by 1912 it was dubbed “The Queen of the
Foothills” and guidebooks praised its climate, ideal location, and quality of community.”9
“….In the 1970’s the gay movement influenced West Hollywood’s direction, as gay and lesbian citizens became more assertive of their rights and felt free to ‘come out of the closet’. Because West Hollywood was unincorporated, it flew under the then-homophobic Los Angeles Police Department’s radar, and a thriving gay community was established. Due to the gay influence and citizens with money to spend, commercial and residential sections of the city were revitalized, and these new attractive properties made for a new vibrancy throughout the city making West Hollwood one of the best destinations for gay friendly vacations. Along with gays, Russian Jews sought out West Hollywood as a refuge, a mix of elderly citizens and young families flocking to what is now the East Side of West Hollywood.”10
“…At present, the City has grown to 39,000 residents and remains as Los Angeles’ hottest destination for the entertainment industry with its boutique hotels, celebrity-owned restaurants, unparalleled nightlife and shopping, and events like the Vanity Fair Oscar Party and the largest Halloween Street Party in the world. West Hollywood continues to be an example for progressive, creative individuals on the cutting edge of trends and new ideas, working together as a community in one of the most sprawling cities in the country.”11
The highlighted parts about West Hollywood are very important because it shows us that it is a growing a growing community, not only commercially but also residentially. An increase in residents means an increase in potential consumers. An increase in the amount of business in the area, specifically the fashion boutiques, means that more people will be drawn in from the surrounding areas. This will also increase the amount of potential clients. And since West Hollywood is Los Angeles’s hottest destination for the entertainment industry, we have a lot of different clientele from all over the States too. Last but not least, we have a gay
9 Weho.org10 IBID11 IBID
community that would fit best for our unique style so we think this location is perfect for the our store
Geographic Analysis
West Hollywood is bordered on the north by the Hollywood
Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, on the east by the Hollywood District of Los
Angeles, on the west by the city of Beverly Hills, and on the south by the Fairfax
District of Los Angeles. The irregular border of the city is highlighted in the city
logo and was largely formed from the unincorporated Los Angeles County area
that had not become part of the surrounding cities. West Hollywood benefits from
a very dense, compact urban form with small lots, a mix of land uses, and a
walkable street grid. Commercial corridors include the nightlife and dining focused
on the Sunset Strip, along Santa Monica Boulevard, and the Avenues of Art &
Design along Robertson, Melrose and Beverly near the Pacific Design Center.
Major residential neighborhoods in West Hollywood include the Norma Triangle,
West Hollywood North, West Hollywood West, West Hollywood East and West
Hollywood Heights. The city breaks down eleven preferential parking zones which
further define residential areas. Major intersecting streets provide amenities
within walking distance of adjacent neighborhoods. According to ZIPskinny.com
for the 90069 zip code, the latitude is 34 and the longtitude is -118. There are
14,422 housing units. The land Area is 2.12 square miles and the water area is 0
square mile.
Because of the location of West Hollywood, it opens us up to a large amount
of potential consumers. We are not limited consumers in the current and
surroundings area, but we are also susceptible to those commuting to work. The
fact the Melrose Ave is a two way street filled with fashion boutiques, it makes the
location easily accessible to those driving through.
Climate
As we can see from the following climate charts, West Hollywood, LA experiences a stable temperatures and type of precipitation through out the year. The temperature can get up to 90+ but it is rarely occurred. Also it is hardly windy and rainy too. The following tables display the average monthly climate and weather indicators in West Hollywood, LA. Temperatures are measured in Fahrenheit.
Los Angeles C.O. Temperature
Jan Feb Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec Annual
Avg. Temperature 58.3
60.1 60.7
63.3
65.8
69.7
74.3
75.1
73.7
69.7
63.0
58.3 66.0
Avg. Max Temperature 67. 69.4 69. 72. 73. 78. 84. 84. 82. 79. 72. 67.8 75.1
Due to the stabilized temperatures, we have an advantage to keep up
the style for them to wear because in the cold weather, people usually just
need a warm coat and can wear anything underneath it. But because we
have warm weather, we have the ability to sell them more clothes to update
and change their style everyday.
Market ScopeAccording to weho.org West Hollywood, Ls has 3284 business (2003)
and growing much more now. Some of these businesses include Interactive
Corp (aka TicketMaster), Hyatt Corp, Target Corp and a lot of fashion
boutiques and many more. Some zip code surrounding area are 90210
(Beverly Hills), 90046 (Hollywood Hills), and 90048 ( Fairfax District).
Beverly Hills, 90210Like West Hollywood, we can see the Bohemian Mix and
Money&Brains market segment. According to ZIPskinny.com, the
population for the zip code 90210 consists of 21396 people with 9692
(45.3%) being male and 11704 (54.7%) being female. Of these people, 1957
(20.2%) men and 2598 (22.2%) women are in the primary target, and 4086
(19.1%) are in the secondary market. When looking at the total population
of the 90210 zip code, 16047 (75%) people make $50,000 or more and
19698 (89.8%) people are high school graduates or higher.
Hollywood Hills, 90046 Like West Hollywood, we see the Bohemian Mix market segment.
According to ZIPskinny, the population for the zip code 90046 consists of
49831 people with 26410 (53%) being male and 23421 (47%) being female.
Of these people, 12457 (37.1%) men and 9617 (41.2%) women are in the
primary market, and 8222 (16.5%) are in the secondary market. When
looking at the total population for the 90046 zip code, 19234 (38.6%) make
$50,000 or more, and 44,997 (90.9%) are high school graduates or higher.
Fairfax District, 90048Like West Hollywood, we see the Bohemian Mix and Money&Brains
market segment. According to ZIPskinny, the population for the zip code
90048 consists of 21,734 people with 10,166 (46.8%) being male and 11,568
(53.2%) being female. Of these people, 4,453 (20.5%) men and 9,145
(42.1%) women are in the primary market, and 3497 (16.1%) are in the
secondary market. When looking at the total population for the 90048 zip
code, 10340 (47.6%) make $50,000 or more, and 18,204 (89.8%) are high
school graduates or higher.
Market Size and Growth Rate
Point2homes.com
According to Point 2 Homes, the total population for the zip code 90069 is 23228. From the total population we can see that 13613 (58.61%) are male, and 9615 (41.39%) are female. The population has increased by 696 (3%) people since 1990, and 929 (4%) people since 2000.
Beverly Hills, 90210
Total Population 25552
Male Population 12105 (47.37 %)
Female Population 13447 (52.63 %)
Percent Change Since 1990 8.0 %
Percent Change Since 2000 5.0 %
Density (Persons per sq. mile) 2403.00
Median Age 44.46
Point2homes.com
West Hollywood, 90069
Total Population 23228
Male Population 13613 (58.61 %)
Female Population 9615 (41.39 %)
Percent Change Since 1990 3.0 %
Percent Change Since 2000 4.0 %
Density (Persons per sq. mile) 10598.00
Median Age 39.87
According to Point 2 Homes, the total population for the zip code 90210 is 25552. From the total population we can see that 12105 (47.37%) are male, and 13447 (52.63%) are female. The population has increased by 2,044 (8%) people since 1990, and 1,277 (5%) people since 2000.
Hollywood Hilss, 90046
Total Population 51656
Male Population 27351 (52.95 %)
Female Population 24305 (47.05 %)
Percent Change Since 1990 8.0 %
Percent Change Since 2000 5.0 %
Density (Persons per sq. mile) 9390.00
Median Age 38.34
Point2homes.comAccording to Point 2 Homes, the total population for the zip code 90046 is
51656. From the total population we can see that 27351 (52.95%) are male, and 24305 (47.05%) are female. The population has increased by 4,132 (8%) people since 1990, and 2,582 (5%) people since 2000.
Population
Total Population 22462
Male Population 10542 (46.93 %)
Female Population 11920 (53.07 %)
Percent Change Since 1990 7.0 %
Percent Change Since 2000 5.0 %
Density (Persons per sq. mile) 11683.00
Median Age 39.00
Point2homes.com
According to Point 2 Homes, the total population for the zip code 90048 is 22462. From the total population we can see that 10542 (46.93%) are male, and 11920 (53.07%) are female. The population has increased by 1,572 (7%) people since 1990, and 1,123 (5%) people since 2000.
Attractive Features of this Market
The large target primary and secondary market available in the selected
location is an attractive feature. Not only are there a lot of potential
consumers that live in West Hollywood, and the surrounding areas, but
according to weho.org, there are more than 45,000 people who come to
work and shop in West Hollywood every day.
The PRIZM NE market segments are another attractive feature of this
market. The descriptions match the target market of the the Blur Store
customers perfectly.
The geography of where the Blur Store will be located is also ideal. The
West Hollywood is a gay area which will fit our unique style of clothes. Also,
Melrose Ave is the fashion boutique Avenue which has a lot of foot traffic.
The climate is an attractive feature because it allows customers to walk
around and shop for new clothes everyday and not have to get all covered up
with all of the layers to prevent the cold.
The actual merchandise we will be selling is also an attractive feature. We
carry high end fashion clothes that fit men and women all together. We don’t
have the line between men and women. The merchandises all come from
really small to really big so everybody can buy it. And no stores has our
unique style of selling clothes like us in the area.
Difficulties and Problems in this Market
One problem we may encounter is that the economy is struggling, and
recently many stores have had to close their business in the West Hollywood
area. This will make it difficult to start up an unknown, new business.
Another problem that we may encounter is that often times, men are usually
shy to buy women clothes and call it unisex. They usually have their wife,
girlfriend, or mother shop for them. Because this is a unisex clothing store
with no male or female sections in it, it will be harder to draw the men in the
primary and the secondary market in too.
Our location is surrounded by high end fashion designers like Alexander
Mcqueen and Marc Jacobs, there are might be chances for them to steal
away our customers.
The market size and growth rate is also a problem we will have to overcome.
The population is not growing at a fast rate, and in some instances it has
decreased. If the population continues to decrease it can affect our longevity
in the market.
We are next to Beverly Hills which also has lots of high end fashion
boutiques and people might go there instead of West Hollywood to shop. So
Beverly Hills might also steal our clientele.
Existing Demand for this Product
This is currently an underserved market. Our store is the only place you can
shop for high end unisex style clothing.
Out merchandises are mostly from famous designers in Paris that don’t have
stores in the area yet and only few limited boutique carries it in the areas.
The clothing in the Blur Store is almost non-existent in this market. The
clothes we will sell will have more of a unique unisex look to them, which
our target market is currently ordering from online.
When men shop, they often prefer to get in and get out. Since the only place
men can go to shop is the mall, it makes it difficult for them to find what
they are looking for in a short period of time. So our store’s staff will be
trained to be extremely friendly and sensitive to our male customers
because so of the clothes we are selling might look like female’s clothes.
Last but not least, most of the clothes in our store is a little bit harder to
wear than other store’s products, we will have staff giving advices about
what products should go with what and we can increase our sales by making
the customers buy more products in the store to create the whole outfit.
Competitive Analysis
The competitionIn the surrounding area, we have identified Alexander Mqueen, Marc Jacobs
and Diesel to be The Blur Store’s primary competition.
Alexander Mcqueen Alexander Mcqueen is our competition because they are high end
fashion clothes and sell men’s and women’s clothes for the same
primary target market (20-39). Because the location of Alexander
Mcqueen is next to us so they have the chance to draw in our
customers.
8379 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs is our competition because they are high end fashion
clothes and sell men’s and women’s clothes for the same primary
target market (20-39). Because the location of Marc Jacobs is opposite
to us so they have the chance to draw in our customers. Beside part of
our primary customers are gay men and Marc Jacbs is one of the most
influent gay men in the fashion world, they have the chance to draw
our gay customers too.
8400 Melrose Pl, Los Angeles, CA, 90069
Diesel Diesel is our competition because they are middle end fashion clothes
and sell men’s and women’s clothes for the same primary target
market (20-39). Because the location of Diesel is opposite to us and
next to Marc Jacobs so they have the chance to draw in our
customers.
8401 Melrose Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Indirect Competition
Our indirect completion is the saturation of restaurants and coffee
shops located in the area. According to our PRIZM NE market
segments, our consumers spend a lot of their discretionary income on
casual or formal restaurants, and social activities. Some of the
restaurants that are located in area include Ago, Ketchup, Koi, Carney
and many more. And other coffee shops are Starbucks and Coffee
Beans.
Composite S.W.O.T The Blur Store has compiled a condensed and co-related charting of
non-redundant areas of strategic interest and implication with our new
business venture. The emphasis resides in how the Blur store compares to
its major competitors and illustrates the strategies to overcome obstacles as
well as those to better leverage company growth. Our top competitors, as
previously stated, are Alexander Mcqueen (A), Marc Jacobs (M), and Diesel
(D).
StrengthsCompetitors
Companies have brand loyalty (M,D) The quality of their clothes are
almost couture (A) Exterior and interior of store are held
to creative standard of the designers. (A,M,D)
The price are fairly high (A)The Bur Store
New business will create new brand loyalty
Our unique style has its own customers.
Exterior and interior personalized to target market
Our prices are high end price but lower than some of the competitions.
WeaknessesCompetitors
Geared towards female shoppers, with limited selection of merchandise for men (A,M,D)
Their national image can create same feeling for customers. (A,M,D)
Lack in advertising for male clientele (A,M,D)
The Blur store Because it is geared towards both
men and women, it will have a hard time bringing the customers equally in gender and in the secondary female market
Privately owned lacks experience in dealing with customer satisfaction
All advertising will be geared equally for men and women in unisex style, which is hard because some of the clients wont like it
OpportunitiesCompetitors
Internet shopping (A,M,D) Promotions can be easily run with
national advertising (A,M,D) Located opposite or next to us which
will help to bring in more consumers (A,M,D)
The Blur Store Emphasize in-store promotions Focus on local advertising to better
serve the community Location allows people to avoid the
hectic atmosphere of a mall setting.
ThreatsCompetitors
Corporate ran business threatened by locally owned business (A,M,D)
Economic decline is causing people to spend less money
Advertising towards women which male consumers tend to want to avoid.
The Blur Store Proximity of Corporate ran
businesses Economic decline makes it harder to
open a new business successfully Unisex style is harder to wear then
other products
Marketing Environment
Economic and Political issues
National: United States
Ben Bernanke, The Federal Reserve Chairman, has stated, “a moderate
recovery has begun.” He also told Senator Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota,
“right now the market is essentially signaling a lot of confidence that our political
system will deliver a sustainable trajectory of fiscal policy over the next few
decades.”He declared “The deficit will start to recede somewhat over the next two
years as the stimulus winds down and the recovery brings in more revenue.” This
is promising for companies like The Blur Store. We are opening our companies in
the recovery time. This is an advantage for us while the economy is in recovery
because that means our customers will have higher discretionary income to spend
on luxuries such as clothing and we fit right in because we are selling high end
fashion clothing. According to the New York times that personal consumption
spending has been raising at an annual of 1.2 percent and since the middle of 2009
consumer spending has been raising at a rate about 2.5 percent. So this is also
promising for us because customers have more money to spend.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Republicans big election gains will
make the new Congress more business-friendly, with incoming leaders in the GOP-
controlled House pledging less government involvement in the private sector and
more scrutiny of new regulations. Making an appearance of the Republican’s
election day, President Obama stated: "And so I've got to take responsibility in
terms of making sure that I make clear to the business community, as well as to
the country, that the most important thing we can do is to boost and encourage our
business sector and make sure that they're hiring." This is promising for The Blur
Store. This leads us to believe that opening our business right now is the right
time. Government encourages businesses to hire people so we can create more
jobs and help to recover our economy.
State: California
California has one of the highest layoffs rate in the nation. All the tax and fee
for public spending are killing all the small businesses during the recession.
Luckily, the economy is in recovery so the jobs market start to raise again and the
following chart shows the rate of job gains and losses
.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov
According to this chart, we can see the gross job gains in California start to
pick up while the gross job losses is start to decline. This is a good sign for us
because the economy start to recover and this is a good time to start business
because people have their jobs back and start to shop again.
In a recent article in Forbes.com, a French billionaire plowed $20 million
dollars in hopes to fix the California politics as a way to increase accountability and
decrease public spending. We are hoping that with a lot of helps, California’s
governor will cut down the tax for businesses and encourage more and more
business to open. According to an article in CaliforniaWatch.org, the
unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in September, compared to 9.5 percent a year
earlier, nationally. California's jobless rate was 12.2 percent, compared to 11.8
percent last year. This is one of the issues of California that the job market is down
and a lot of people got laid off. But by opening the business now, we can create
more jobs and it is a promising market since the economy will start to recover.
When looking at the unemployment rate, the recession hit the whole country
really bad and California is not a reception. The following chart show the
unemployment rate of California.
SoCalBubble.com
According to the chart, 2008 unemployment rate hit almost 12%, the highest
ever. But according to LA times, 36% get hired back after the recession. This
shows us that more people in California get more stable jobs and willing to spend
their money again. That’s why this is a good time to open business. The next chart
will give us a more general view off the whole scene.
BLS.gov
Based on the previous chart, the retail trade layoffs number is very large,
which shows that we have a lot of people closed down their business, especially in
2009. Since the economy start to pick up again, this is the time to open the
business again so people can get hired and create more jobs. And also, if we start
our business now, we can be monopoly and be the first one in our unique style and
start to expand our business while people start to copy us.
County : Los Angeles
According to Los Angeles County Economic Development Department, there
are +0.2% annual change in the Fashion/Retail Employment rate. This shows us
the fashion industry still growing in the county even though there was a recession.
Even though the unemployment rate is increasing, the personal income-tax of
California is still raising. The following chart will prove this us.
City-journal..org
As we can see, California was the 4th state which has highest personal
income-tax. According to City-journal.org, between 2003 and 2007, California state
and local government spending grew 31 percent, even as the state’s population
grew just 5 percent. The overall tax burden as a percentage of state income, once
middling among the states, has risen to the sixth-highest in the nation, says the
Tax Foundation. Since the economy is already bad, by opening our store in
California,
According to the LA times, Edmund G.”Perry” Brown. Jr who took over the
government of California in 1975, famously opposed new freeway construction and
water projects and even tried to rein in the state’s university system. He stated
that public funds should be spent on inflating workers’ salaries and pensions, or
else on expanding social services, often provided by public employees, and not on
infrastructure or higher education. The new progressives were as unenthusiastic
about welcoming business as about building infrastructure. Fundamentally
indifferent or even hostile to the existing private sector, they embraced two
peculiar notions about what could sustain California’s economy in its place. The
first of these was California’s inherent creativity—a delusion held not only by
liberal Democrats. David Crane, Governor Schwarzenegger’s top economic
advisor, said that California could easily afford to give up blue-collar jobs in
warehousing, manufacturing, or even business services because the state’s
vaunted “creative economy” would find ways to replace the lost employment and
income. California would always come out ahead, he said, because it represented
“ground zero for creative destruction.”
Top 20 employers in California
# Employer City Number of Employees
1 32ND ST NAVAL STATION San Diego 42,951
2 LONG BEACH FINANCIAL MGMT Long Beach 42,000
3 UCLA HEALTH SYSTEM Los Angeles 35,543
4 UCLA Los Angeles 27,489
5 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS Davis 20,295
6 LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF Monterey Park 20,000
7 NESTLE USA Glendale 20,000
8 UNIVERSITY OF CA-SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco 17,383
9 EDWARDS AFB Edwards Afb 15,978
10 UNIVERSITY OF CA-BERKELEY Berkeley 13,721
11 SHARP MEMORIAL HOSPITAL San Diego 13,500
12 UNIVERSITY OF CA-IRVINE Irvine 12,186
13 CEDARS SINAI MEDICAL CTR West Hollywood 10,000
14 CISCO SYSTEMS INC San Jose 10,000
15 NAVAL CONSTRUCTION BATTALION Port Hueneme 9,790
16 LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL Loma Linda 9,000
17 LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT Los Angeles 9,000
18 APPLIED MATERIALS INC Santa Clara 8,500
19 US NAVAL AIR STATION Lemoore 8,300
20 AMGEN INC Thousand Oaks 8,000
Acinet.org
It is important to note who the top 20 employers are. As we can see, 32nd St
Naval Station is the number one employing company in Ohio with 42,951
employees. They are not even our indirect competition and so does most of the
o Non-competition Agreement for Small Businesso Aging Accounts Payable formo Balance Sheet Deposito Cash Disbursements and Receipts formo Check Request formo Daily Accounts Receivables formo Depreciation Scheduleo Employment Position Announcemento Invoiceo Petty Cash formo Purchase Ordero Purchasing Cost Estimateo Records Management formo Yearly Expenses formo Yearly Expenses form by Quarter
According to CalGOLD which is California governments online to desktop
website of the governor’s office of economic development, these are things you
need to submit:
FederalEmployer Identification Number (EIN or SSN): Employers with employees, business partnerships, and corporations, must obtain an Employer Identification Number from the I.R.S. Businesses can obtain appropriate Federal income tax forms from this location.
Contact:
U.S. Department of TreasuryInternal Revenue Service300 N. Los Angeles StreetLos Angeles, CA 90012800-829-1040
Notes: EIN Application Form (SS-4) can be obtained from local IRS or Social Security Offices. The San Fernando Valley IRS office is located at the Federal Building, 6230 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys (1st Floor)
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
Proof of Residency Requirement: Employees hired after November 6, 1986 must provide proof of eligibility to work in the United States.
Contact:
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization ServiceFederal Building
Notes: The INS will provide employers the requirements for establishing proof of residency of employees.
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
State: CaliforniaCorporation, Company or Partnership Filings: If you are considering becoming a corporation, (either stock or nonprofit), a limited liability company or a partnership (limited, or limited liability), you must file with the Secretary of State's Office.
Contact: Secretary of StateCalifornia Business Portal1500 11th StreetSacramento, CA 95814916-657-5448
Notes: Also, if you are conducting business as one of the following, you must file a bond with the Secretary of State's Office: immigration consultant,credit services organization, dance studio, discount buying organization, employment agency, employment counseling service, invention developer, job listing service, nurses registry, or auctioneer or auction company.
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
Discrimination Law: Harassment or discrimination in employment is prohibited if it is based on a person's race, ancestry, national origin, color, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, religion, physical disability (including AIDS), mental disability, marital status, medical condition (cured cancer), and refusal of family care leave. Discrimination in housing, public services and accommodations is also prohibited.
Contact: Department of Fair Employment and Housing1055 West Seventh Street, Suite 1420Los Angeles, CA 900171-800-233-3212
Notes: Employers must post the Harassment or Discrimination in Employment notice (DFEH 162) and provide their employees with a copy of the DFEH's information sheet on sexual harassment (DEFH 185) or a statement that contains equivalent information. Employers must also provide notice for an employee's right to request pregnancy disability leave or transfer, as well as notice to request a family and medical care leave (CFRA). Employers with 5 or more employees must maintain all personnel
records for a minimum of 2 years.
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
Occupational Safety and Health Information: Businesses with employees must prepare an Injury and Illness Prevention Plan. The state provides a no-fee consultation service to assist employers with preventing unsafe working conditions and workplace hazards.
Contact: Cal/OSHA Consultation Services455 Golden Gate AvenueSan Francisco, CA 941021-800-963-9424
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
Registration Form for Employers: Required to file a registration form within 15 days after paying more than $100.00 in wages to one or more employees. No distinction is made between full-time and part-time or permanent and temporary employees in meeting this requirement.
Contact: Employment Development DepartmentEmployment Tax Customer Service Office
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
Sales & Use Permit (Seller's Permit): All businesses selling or leasing tangible property must obtain a Seller's Permit.
Contact: State Board
Notes: For Additional information about
of EqualizationSales/ Use Tax Division
RESALE CERTIFICATE go to this website: www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/faqresale.htm
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
State Income Tax Information: Businesses should obtain the appropriate State income tax forms from the Franchise Tax Board.
Contact: Franchise Tax Board333 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Room 200Burbank, CA 91502-1170800-852-5711
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
State Income Tax Information: Businesses should obtain the appropriate State income tax forms from the Franchise Tax Board.
Contact: Marin County Public WorksBusiness Entities DivisionP.O. Box 942857Sacramento, CA 942571-888-635-0494
Notes: All businesses are required to submit a Business Income Tax statement annually.
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
Wage/Hour Laws: Businesses with employees must comply with laws establishing minimum standards for wages, hours and working conditions.
Contact: Department of Industrial RelationsLabor Standards Enforcement
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
Workers' Compensation Information: Businesses with employees must maintain Workers' Compensation Insurance coverage on either a self-insured basis, or provided through a commercial carrier, or the State Workers' Compensation Insurance Fund.
Contact: Department of Industrial RelationsDivision of Workers' Compensation320 W. 4th Street, 9th FloorLos Angeles, CA 90013213-576-7389
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
County: Los Angeles Business Personal Property: Property used in the operation of a business such as machinery, equipment, trade fixtures, etc. is taxable and subject to assessment. Business operations need to file a Business Property Statement annually with the Assessor declaring property on hand as of January 1 of each year. Generally those businesses with personal property and fixtures with a cost less that $100,000 are not required to file a property statement.
Contact:
County of Los AngelesOffice of the Assessor
Notes: The Valley office is located at 13800 Balboa Blvd., Sylmar, 91342.
Business Personal Property Assessments500 West Temple StreetLos Angeles, CA 900121-888-807-2111
Phone: 818-833-6000
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
Fictitious Name Filing (DBA): Required if fictitious name is used.
Contact:
County of Los AngelesBusiness Name Filing and Registration12400 East Imperial HighwayRoom 1007Norwalk, CA 906501-800-815-2666
Notes: Notes: Additional location: 14340 Sylvan Street, 1st Floor Van Nuys, CA 91401 818-374-7191 Name search can be completed on the Internet.
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
City: Los AngelesBurglar Alarm Permit: A permit must be obtained from this department for any businesses requiring a burglar alarm or security system.
Contact:
City of West HollywoodRevenue Department8300 Santa Monica BoulevardWest Hollywood, CA 90069323-848-6400
Business License (Business Tax Certificate): Required for all entities doing business within city limits. See "County Unincorporated" for businesses located outside of city limits.
Contact:
City of West HollywoodOffice of Business Licensing8300 Santa Monica BlouvardWest Hollywood, CA 90069323-848-6400
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
City of West HollywoodPlanning Department8300 Santa Monica BoulevardWest Hollywood, CA 90069323-848-6400
Applies to: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Store
Sub-City: West Hollywood
According to weho.org, business license tax certificate application process:
Step 1: Confirm that your business is located in the City of West Hollywood
Step 2: Download Application Forms on weho.org:
Business License Tax Certificate Application Form Exemption Application Form Building Contractor Business License Tax Form
Step 3: Submit application with payment to Revenue Management Division
Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday 8.am 4.pm
Apply for The Avenues: Businesses located in the district pay an annual assessment that provide funding for the district's work program which focuses on marketing and promotion of the area as a premier shopping destination for home furnishings, fashion and arts related industries.
Contact info: The Avenues 8687 Melrose Avenue Suite M-38 West Hollywood, CA 90069
Social issues
Educational level
Educational Achievement:(among people 25 years or
older)Less than 9th grade: 2.1%9th-12th grade (nongrad): 3.6%High school graduate: 13.5%Some college: 22.3%Associate degree: 5.7%Bachelors degree: 34.9%Graduate/Professional: 17.9%High school or higher: 94.3%Bachelors or higher: 52.8%
ZIPskinny.com
According to ZIPskinny.com in the 90069 area code, for people who are 25 years
or older, 93.4% percent of them have a high school degree or higher, and 52.8%
percent have a bachelors degree or higher. Both of these percentages are higher
than the U.S average. The education level of our clientele is important because
the higher the education level, the higher discretionary income they will have.
Higher education levels also insure a higher-level job. As stated in the customer
profile, based on our demographic age for the The Blur Store’s customer, we can
see that the education levels for West Hollywood, Los Angeles are in our favor.
Family size and structure
Family size of the location is very important because it helps us to clarify who The Blur Store’s customers are. The following charts show us the family size of West Hollywood in order to clarify our customers.
RELATIONSHIP
Total population 20,395 100.0In households 20,395 100.0
In group quarters 0 0.0Institutionalized population
0 0.0
Noninstitutionalized population
0 0.0
HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE
Total households 13,640 100.0Family households (families) 2,675 19.6With own children under 18 years 621 4.6Married-couple family 2,045 15.0With own children under 18 years 440 3.2Female householder, no husband present
391 2.9
With own children under 18 years 128 0.9Nonfamily households 10,965 80.4Householder living alone 8,355 61.3Householder 65 years and over 1,413 10.4
Households with individuals under 18 years
672 4.9
Households with individuals 65 years and over
2,409 17.7
Average household size 1.50 (X)Average family size 2.39 (X)
The above charts give us the family size and structure for households in West
Hollywood, Los Angeles. It is important to know the family structure because it
helps to solidify who the The Blur Store’s customers are. The primary market of
our store is man or woman, living on their own, or their significant other, with no
children, either rent or own. According to the chart, there are 61.3 percent of the
people who own house and live alone, and 80.4 percent of nonfamily households
which most of them will fall into our primary target category. However, it is
important to know how many households have children, because these young
tweens and teenagers will grow up to be our primary market. As we can see, 4.9
percent of the households in the West Hollywood area have individuals under 18
years old. Now, this is not much but as time goes along, the population will
increase so these numbers will raise. This shows us that our company has the
potential of longevity within this market.
Birthrates
The following chart shows the birthrate of the area our store will be located to prove that our location has the potential clients for the future.
www.laalmanac.com
As we can see, the birthrates of Los Angeles are almost the same with
California. This shows a strong sign of increasing of the population around the Los
Angeles County in which our store is located. It benefits The Blur Store to have an
increase in the birthrate for Los Angeles County because it shows that our
location is in a growing community. This shows us that we have potential clientele
for years to come
Housing
The above picture is an example of the type of home that would be found in
West Hollywood, LA. According to homes.com, the median cost for homes in this
location is $340,000. On average, these condos are 1 bedroom, 1 ½ bathrooms,
these condos can be bought or rented. The following chart will show us more
details about housing in West, Hollywood, LA.
HOUSING OCCUPANCY
Total housing units 14,422 100.0Occupied housing units 13,640 94.6Vacant housing units 782 5.4
For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use 186 1.3
All of the designers are well known in the fashion world but not a lot of people know about the
androgynous style of them. Due to the fact that all of these brands are well established in the market
place, they are in the introduction and growth section of the product life cycle curve. We got Jean Paul
Gatier Perfume, Givenchy and Alexander Wang clothing lines are in growth stage of the product life
cycle. And the rest of the designers are in introductory stage.
Price
Our Casual Wear will consist of Shirt, Pants, Sweater, Cardigan, and Jacket.
Shirts: 99.99-399.99
Pants: 99.99-999.99
Sweaters: 199.99-499.99
Cardigan: 199.99-499.99
Jacket: 299.99-999.99
Our Accessories will consist of Handbags, Tote, Backpack, Clutch, Wallet,
and Harness.
Handbags: 199.99-1199.99
Totes: 299.99-699.99
Backpacks: 99.99-499.99
Clutch: 199.99-499.99
Wallets: 99.99-299.99
Harnesses: 99.99-499.99
$100 $200 $300 $500 $700 $900 $1,000 $1,200 0
5
10
15
20
25
FootWear
Price Zones
Dept
h of
Inve
ntor
y
Our footwear will consist of Boots, Oxfords, Sandals.
Boots: 199.99-1199.99
Oxfords: 199.99-499.99
Sandals: 99.99-499.99
Our Perfume will have the range from 39.99-99.99 and all of the categories: Perfume, Cologne
will be combined into one category only since we don’t have the sections between man and woman.
Place
The owner, who will visit the showrooms, and place the orders there, will do
all of the buying. We will then receive all of our shipments from the manufacturer’s
warehouses. Some of the products will be sent oversea by ship from China and
others will be sent by planes from Europe or Japan depends on where the
warehouses are. The products then will go to custom and get to the warehouses by
trucks. The shipment will be sent to us via Fedex or UPS from the warehouse.
Alexander Wang ‘s warehouse is from China. Warehouse of Yohji Yamamoto, Junya
Watanabe, Comme Des Garcons are from Japan. Jean Paul Gatier, Vivien
Westwood, Gareth Pughs, Givenchy warehouses are from England. Rad Hourani
and Complex Geometries are from Canada and Zana Bayne warehouse is in San
Francisco.
Promotion Mix
Advertising Strategy
We plan on taking a very aggressive stance on advertising, in order to get
our name out. The form of media advertising we have chosen is Internet and print
ad. We plan on a running quarter page ad on BlackBook, LA2day, and Inmag.
These are local magazines. For internet, we plan on giving our name out there
through famous fashion bloggers by featuring them in the store and send them
items in the store so they can show it on their blogs.
Direct Marketing Strategy
We plan on getting a ¼ column in the Los Angeles County Yellowbook. With
this we will also receive their online service, which allows customers to look
ip our address and phone number. It will also have a link to our Facebook
Page.
An initial ½ page flyer will be mailed out to household in the zip codes
90069, 90210, 90046, and 90048. We will also send out mailers in March,
June,, September, and December and all the holidays informing everyone of
our upcoming sales.
Within the 1st year of operation we will mail out a 20 page color print catalog
detailing our merchandise. We will do it March, June, and September and
December as our new merchandise arrives. And we also send out new items
from new collation arrival for the feature blogger so they can post about our
store in their blog to get our name more out there.
The phone application that we will create will have a digital version of our
catalog, and it will allow people to order clothes directly from their phone
through their mobile app. Also, we will create a game that allow our
customer to create their own avatars and dress their avatar with items are
currently in the store.
Internet Strategy
As customers shop with us, we will retain their emails at our POS terminal,
and at that point, we plan on sending out emails based on sales and
promotions that we have going on. We also plan on personalizing our emails
based on our customers shopping habits, and special dates such as their
birthday, or anniversary.
We plan to have a Facebook page, which our customers can become fans of.
Our page will have a digital version of our catalog the first year we are in
business. Our page will also discuss the current trends that are going on. We
will also be able to update our consumers about promotions and sales that
are taking place.
Along with our actual Facebook page, we will also run an advertisement
through Facebook. We can measure the success of this form of
advertisement because it tracks how many clicks you are receiving.
We will send out email to ask famous fashion bloggers to ask them if we can
send them our clothes to them as an example so they can wear it and they
will post it on their blogs that they get the clothes with the unique style in
our store
We will also create a website that we actually sell our clothes and advertising
too. The bright side of this is that we don’t have to use a lot of money to spend our
advertising cost.
URL, ISP Host and Search Engines:
The URL for the website is:
Theblurstore.com
Theblurstore.wordpress.com
ISP Host:
For web hosting, we chose GoDaddy.com. We chose it because they are
inexpensive, reliable and their customer service is good.
The price for GoDaddy.com is:
- Hosting is 6$ per month
- Domain name is 10 per year
- Design is about 1500 average depend on hour12
The domain name of GoDaddy.com is top in the world13. It is very convenient and
hardly crash so the maintenance of the web site will easier and if there is
something happen, they will let us know or fix it right away.
Search Engines:
We will use Google and Yahoo. The reason why we are choosing them because they
are reliable, give the search very accurate and quick. We are avoiding Bing.com
because Bing.com has been given bad feedbacks about how bad their results are.
Keywords that we will license for the search engines are:
Androgynous, Androgyny, Blur store, Unisex, Unique, High quality, High End, Blur,
Fashion, Store.
Budget Sheet :
Apply for hosting: 6 $/monthApply for domain name: 9 $/ yearSet up a basic website with ecommerce capability with contracted designer : 5000$Develop the website with interactive animated flash: 5000$Maintain, security and update: 4000$/month
Total for the 1st year: 58081$Total cost for the next year and so forth:
48081$
Compare to:National ad for Elle Magazine 1 page 4 colors14:
185000$National ad for InStyle Magazine 1 page 4 colors15: 136000$
12 www.GoDaddy.com
13 www.internetnews.com
14 Elle.com
15 InStyle.com
As we can see, the cost of running our official website for one whole year is 3 to 4 times cheaper
compare to running one time ad on Elle or Instyle Magazine. By using our official website as an
advertising tool or to create more sales, we think this is a real advantage for our company.
Tactical Plan
Gantt Chart: 12 Months Pre-Opening Spread Sheet
Task # Of Days
Jan.2013
Feb.201
3
Mar.
2013
Apr.201
3
May201
3
Jun.201
3
Jul.201
3
Aug.
2013
Sep.201
3
Oct.201
3
Nov.
2013
Dec.
2013
Business Plan Approved 14-28
Loan Secured 14-28
Get Business Licenses 14-28
Sign Lease 7-14
Attend New York Fashion Week 7
Attend Paris Fashion Week 7
Construction on Interior/Exterior 60-120
Safety Inspection 3-10
Order Interior Fixtures/Furnishings
30-60
Establish Contracts with Vendors
30-60
Order Inventory 60-90
Set Up Store Displays 20-30
Attend New York Fashion Week 7
Attend Paris Fashion Week 7
Begin Promotions and Advertising 60-150
Begin Hiring Process 60-90
Train Employees 30-60
Friends and Family Opening 1
Soft Opening 14
Grand Opening 7
Gantt Chart: 12 Months Pre-Opening Outline
We plan on getting this business plan approved in two or four weeks
beginning on January 5, 2013.
After we get the business plan approved, we will secure the loan, which will
take another two or four weeks beginning on February 1, 2013.
We will then get all of the business licenses required as previously stated in
the marketing environment. This will take two to four weeks to complete,
beginning February 16, 2013.
The owner will attend New York Fashion Week, following up with Paris
Fashion week to get contact with the designers. This will take up two weeks.
This will begin on 14 February, 2013.
We plan on getting this business plan approved in two to four weeks
beginning on March 3, 2013.
After we get the business plan approved, we will secure the loan, which will
take another two to four weeks beginning on April 1, 2013.
We anticipate that the lease signing will take one to two weeks and the lease
will actually signed on February 14, 2013.
Once the lease has been signed, we will then start the construction, which
we believe will take up to four months. The construction starts right away
after we sign the lease which will be on February 15, 2013.
After the completion of the interior and exterior construction, we plan to
conduct a safety inspection on June 30, 2013. We will then take up to 10
days to fix any needed adjustment to the store.
While the construction is taking place, we plan to order all of our interior
furnishings and fixtures, including the LCD screens. This will take
approximately one to two months to complete. We plan on starting this on
May 1, 2013 and having everything delivered on June 30, 2013.
Also on May 1, we will begin contacting our vendors to establish our
contacts with them. This is also anticipated take one to two months to get
all of the vendors.
Once our vendor contract negotiations are complete, we will begin to order
our inventory that will be in the store for opening. This is planned to take
three to four months from the beginning of the ordering process to the
delivery to the store. The process will begin on May 31, 2013 and the
merchandise will arrive in the store by August 31, 2013.
After all the fixtures have been delivered, and the merchandise has been
delivered we will set up and stock the store. This will take three weeks to
one month to complete. This will begin on September 1, 2013.
The owner continue to go to New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion
Week for following collections. This will start on September 7, 2013. This
will take 2 weeks.
We will begin running our advertising on August 1, 2013 and it will continue
through to the store opening. For more details on advertising and promotion
please see the Reach and Frequency Plan and Advertising Budget.
The hiring process will begin on August 1, 2013 and will last for 3 months.
We will be conducting the interviews at the store.
The training process for the first round of employers hired will begin
October 1, 2013, and for the second round of employees on November 1,
2013.
We will conduct a friend and family test opening on November 3, 2013. This
will allow us to open our doors to those who are close to us, and get their
feedbacks to make any necessary changes for the grand opening.
After that, we will conduct a soft opening for 2 weeks. This will begin on
November 15, 2013. This will allow us how many people will go in the store
with the advertising we are running and allows us to measure the reach of
our advertising plan to our customer.
The grand opening will take place on December 1, 2013.
Grand Opening
Family and Friends
The grand opening for family and friends will take place in the evening on
Sunday, December 1, 2013.
The doors will open at 12:00 p.m.
We will have an open bar with two bartenders, along with 3 caterer waiters
assisting with the serving of hors d’oeuvers.
We will also use this as a test run for our employees, as they will be working
with those in attendance.
At this time we will offer a 10% discount for those who plan to purchase
anything.
At 2:00 p.m. the owner will give a speech, including the vision for the store,
and thanking everyone for coming.
The party will conclude at 5:00 p.m. after a successful and fun afternoon.
For the Public
The Blur Store door will open to the public at 10:00 a.m. on Monday,
December 2, 2013.
We will have balloons on the outside of the store front in order to attract
customers to come in.
As a promotional item, we will pass out key chains to our customers as they
enter the store that will be in the shape of our character logo and address.
We will invite our feature bloggers in close by areas to come by and check
out our stores to take picture, we will give them 25-40 % depend on items
and they will take pictures of our store to post on their blog.
The day will end at 9:00 p.m. when we close our doors for the evening.
Gantt Chart: 12 Months Post-Opening Spread Sheet
Task # Of Days Jan.2014
Feb.2014
Mar.2014
Apr.2014
May2014
Jun.2014
Jul.2014
Aug.2014
Sep.2014
Oct.2014
Nov.2014
Dec.2014
Renew Lease 1
Attend New York and Paris Fashion Week
14
Renew Business Licenses
10-20
Updates & Repairs for Interior and Exterior
10
Safety Inspection 1
Run in-store promotion/sales
30 X4
Place Inventory Orders
1 X 4
Change Store Inventory layout
1 X 4
Employee Training Seminar
7 X 2
Monthly Meeting 1/month
Gantt Chart: 12 Months Post-Opening Outline
On January 5, 2014 we plan on resigning our lease. This should only take
one day.
We also will need to renew our business licenses, which will take ten to
twenty days. We will begin this process on Feb 1, 2014. The owner and
buyer will go to Fashion Weeks to meet with designers and see new
collections. This will happen twice a year, in February and September.
Once a year we will do some store maintenance which will consist of making
updates and repairs to the interior, and if needed to the exterior as well. We
anticipate that this will take about 10 days to complete. We will begin May
1, 2014.
The annual safety inspection will occur on June 14, 2014. This will take one
day to complete. We have planned to do it on this day so that if the repairs
run over their allotted time period, there is a cushion of time before the
inspection.
We plan to run in-store promotions and sales quarterly. They will last for the
whole month and will be ran starting March 1, 2014, June 1, 2014,
September 1, 2014, and December 1, 2014. The reason for this is so that we
will have a boost in revenue to do our quarterly buying, and to make room
for the new merchandise that will be coming into the store.
While we are running our promotions and sales, we plan to place our
inventory orders. This will be done quarterly on March 1, 2014, June 1,
2014, September 1, 2014, and December 1, 2014. This will allow us thirty
days to receive the shipment so it will be ready to stock when we do our
quarterly inventory store plan change.
Our inventory store plan change will be held quarterly. The merchandise will
be switched out after the store has closed on April 1, 2014, July 1, 2014,
October 1, 2014, and January 2, 2014.
We plan to have biannual training seminars in order to keep our employees
up to date. These training seminars will take place every day for one week
an hour before the store opens, and will be mandatory. The will be held the
first week of March, and the first week of September.
Our employee’s happiness is important to us. We want to hear their opinions
and suggestions of how things are running on a day-to-day basis. We also
want to have a chance to recognize those employees who are excelling
within our company. In order to do this, we will have a meeting the second
Tuesday of every month for an hour before the store opens.
Reach and Frequency Plan/ Advertising Budget
Medium ReachFrequenc
yType/Size
Cost per Month
Cost per Year
Yellowbook
All of Los Angeles County
Daily
¼ Column, and
located on Yellowboo
k.com
$110 $1,320
Mailer
Zip Codes: 90069, 90210,
90046, 90048 (4,000 people)
March, June,
September,
December
½ Page in Black and White On
Color Paper
$1,700 $6,800
Catalog
Zip Codes: 90069, 90210,
90046, 90048 (4,000 people)
January, April, July,
October
30 Pages in Color
$60,000 $240,000
Phone Applicatio
nAll Smartphones Daily Electronic $150 $1,800
E-mailAll customers that requested e-mail
updates
Every Friday
E-mail
$30(Cost of internet
per month)
$360
Facebook
50,000 people ages 18+ in West
Hollywood with a 25 miles surrounding
Daily Banner
($0.95 per click)
$285 (If 10
people click on
the advertise
ment every day
)
$3,467.50(If 10 people click
on the advertisement every day for a
whole year)
BloggersSend new clothes to bloggers so they can post it on their blogs
Quarterly Blog Post$1000
quarterly$4000 Cost of
clothes
WebsiteUpdate Daily (see
the Internet Strategy for more details)
Daily Website $4000 $48,081
Total (with out E-mail):Months With Mailer
Months with Catalog$2,575
$66,575$305,828.5
The above yearly cost is subject to change based on how many people
actually click on the Facebook link. We have also decided to exclude the cost of e-
mail in this budget because it will be included in the utilities budget. This has been
determined on the basis that the cost of e-mail is included with the monthly cost
for Internet.
Pricing Plan
Pricing Objectives and Pricing Strategies
The Blur Store will increase dollar sales by using the psychological pricing
strategy.
o It is our hope that by using odd number pricing and price bundling
our customers will be inclined to purchase more while shopping at
The Blur Store. The more that is purchased the more our dollar sales
will increase.
The Blur Store will maximize long-term profit by using the captive product
pricing strategy.
o We will be able to use captive product pricing because we are
carrying our own private label. This will allow us to set the prices
however we feel is appropriate, and can adjust the prices as need be.
This will allow us to maximize our long-term profit.
