Sample Retail Business Plan

This is an example of a business plan for a retailer (sole proprietorship), a shop specialized in wool/yarns, handmade accessories as well as magazines and literature regarding needlework. An additional point will be the trainings and workshops that will be provided onsite. These events will also help establishing a loyal customer base. This effect will be enhanced by strategic partnerships with restaurants, the community college and other potential venues for creative workshops.

The founder has longtime experience in and passion for handwork/needlework and has a large local/regional circle of friends, which will – especially during the starting phase – help with spreading the word. Additional promotion will be done via Social Media/online marketing.

The USP of this shop is mainly to be found in the fact, that it is the only one of its kind in this town. This combined with an already existing local network and the opportunity for onsite trainings and the creative skills of the founder herself makes this shop unique.

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Sample Retail Business Plan Overview

Executive Summary
Market
Competition
Risks
SWOT-Analysis
Clients And Suppliers
Location
Marketing
The Manager
Staff
Legal form
Financial plan

Sample Retail Business Plan – Executive Summary

[Sample Retail Business Plan] NAME will be a sole proprietorship and retailer, the first specialized shop for wool and handmade accessories in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town. The company will be called [Sample Retail Business Plan] COMPANY NAME. The founder will sell not only wool and handmade accessories, but also specialized literature and journals and offer training and workshops. She will give customers helpful instructions in a cozy setting. Detailed individual consultations take place on separate dates. Ongoing seminars that assist the customer in a particular technique are offered during the week. Workshops will be offered by [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME at weekends in a conference room in [Sample Retail Business Plan] place. These will be announced on the Facebook page in advance.

[Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME’s passion for handwork goes back over more than XX years. A side activity earlier, she now wants to teach her skills and pass on her knowledge, experience and creativity to other people who share the passion for knitting or crocheting. With a voucher system, which is available with a purchase of X Euro, clients have the opportunity to participate in free training.

[Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME offers wool in the lower to upper price segment, which are of different quality, of course. With this broad range, beginners, hobby-seekers and the more advanced will all be catered to.

Since [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME was born in [Sample Retail Business Plan] place, she has a large circle of friends in the [Sample Retail Business Plan] REGION town. Word-of-mouth advertising (recommendations) will help the founder in the starting phase to facilitate a vigorous launch.

Professionalism, the big network at the location [Sample Retail Business Plan] and the passion for handwork all make Founder Name the perfect founder of this company.

Products
Founder Name’s sole proprietorship [Sample Retail Business Plan] will be offering wool and handwork accessories in the [Sample Retail Business Plan] REGION. The wool product range is very diverse and offered in all price segments. The quality varies, so that [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME can cater to groups of all levels. A special service of the founder is that goods have certain temporal limitations. Despite the same item number wool sometimes shows significant variations in color, which is why this additional service is especially valuable to advanced course participants.

Besides wool, the shop sells handmade accessories. Not only clients interested in knitting and crocheting, but also those interested in decoration, furnishing, painting, handicrafts or similar domestic hobbies and pastimes will find something here. Clients who want to improve in a particular area can buy journals and magazines. [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME also provides useful instructions on the spot and brief consulting that could help clients in this trade. More complex consultations can be performed on an agreed date. Seminars take place in the shop of [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME in the week on select topics that can be attended by participants. At some weekends the founder hosts workshops and training sessions in a relaxed atmosphere in an available conference room. Lunch at a restaurant in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town is included in the workshops and training.

Unique Selling Points
[Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME has found the perfect place for her specialized shop for wool and handmade accessories in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town. There is no such shop in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town. The seminars, weekend workshops and training in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town make the shop’s offer unique.

The X-years of experience in knitting, which [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME is bringing to the company, is also a unique selling point, because it sets [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME apart from laymen offers or community college courses. These special and unique features make the business [Sample Retail Business Plan] startup stand out.

Purpose of the enterprise
The founder wants to attain status in the handwork and craft area beyond [Sample Retail Business Plan] town in the Rheinisch-Bergische district. [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME plans to achieve this with a sophisticated online marketing strategy incl. social media marketing and display marketing. Recommendation marketing will propel the company to a well-known player in the industry.

Following the successful business startup [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME will begin with the seminars to obtain customer loyalty. On the Facebook page [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME will regularly announce offers, dates and events (workshops, training) and thus appeal to Internet-savvy customers and keep up to date.

In X to XX years, the shop in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town will be fully integrated in the retail market. Partnerships with local restaurants for weekend workshops and other strategic partners such as the community college or the like are an integral part.

Sample Retail Business Plan – Market

In order to outline the conditions of entry for the companies, an analysis of the retail trade in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town is in order. The points X.X. refer to competitors and X.X. – to the target group.

[Sample Retail Business Plan] town has around XX.XXX residents and the retail sector is typically divided into small and medium enterprises. The company fits perfectly into the retail structure of the town. Currently there are about X.XXX companies in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town and the focus is on the industrial sector.

Source: [Sample Retail Business Plan] LOCAL INTERNET ADDRESS

[Sample Retail Business Plan] town has XX.XXX households. The buying power in [Sample Retail Business Plan] year in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town was around XXX,XX million Euro. This is X.XXX Euro per capita. The buying power index (D=XXX) in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town is XXX,X. In comparison, the index of the state of Ntown h Rhein-Westphalia is slightly lower (NRW) at XX,X.

Source: MB-Research International Market data

Demand (buying power) in retail in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town amounts to XXX,X million Euro (XXXX) according to data of the local administration. Here the town was analyzed in XXXX based on both the population, as well as another potential X.XXX people from the neighboring region. In the areas of games, sptown s and hobbies the volume of demand in XXXX was X, X million Euro, and hobby shops –  X,X million. Home textiles accounted for X, X million in the area of furnishing.

Based on the volume of demand for hobby shops / home textiles, the data of the separate parts of [Sample Retail Business Plan] town are as follows:

Urban area [Sample Retail Business Plan] town X, X million Euro / X, X million Euro

[Sample Retail Business Plan] town central and east area X, X million Euro / X, X million Euro

Dabringhausen X, X million Euro / X, X million Euro

Dhuenn and Tente each with X, X million Euro / X, X million Euro

[Sample Retail Business Plan] West X, X million Euro / X, X million Euro
[Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME reaches most people from the urban area [Sample Retail Business Plan] of the town.

Source: [Sample Retail Business Plan] LOCAL INTERNET ADDRESS
When asked about the buying behavior of residents in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN and the surrounding areas it emerged that XX% of those surveyed go downtown daily and XX% several times a week. Once a week XX% of respondents go downtown. The visits to the downtown of [Sample Retail Business Plan] town are for XX% basic shopping and for XX% – just for a stroll. As for toys and hobbies, which include the business of [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME, XX% of all respondents shop in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town before going elsewhere. Remscheid is in second place with XX%.

Source: [Sample Retail Business Plan] LOCAL INTERNET ADDRESS

[Sample Retail Business Plan] GRAPH REMOVED
Graph X – Source: Retail trade concept, [Sample Retail Business Plan] location.de

The market entry conditions for [Sample Retail Business Plan] startup are to be regarded as very positive. The population takes advantage of the multitude of retail offers in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town and the majority goes shopping downtown several times a week so [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME has both regular customers and can rely on plenty of passing ones. The company will grow in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town in the next few years, becoming an established, successful retail market player.
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Sample Retail Business Plan – Competition

In [Sample Retail Business Plan] town and within XX km there are X wool retail businesses. The following table lists the competitors.

[Sample Retail Business Plan]
LIST REMOVED
Source: Yellow Pages and Google Search [Sample Retail Business Plan] WEBSITE

The [Sample Retail Business Plan] COMPETITORS in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town specialize in the product “Iceland wool” and sell only two specific varieties of wool. The commercial register of the city [Sample Retail Business Plan] lists companies under the concept Wool X. The [Sample Retail Business Plan] COMPETITORS, who specialize in clothing, carpets and home textiles also have [Sample Retail Business Plan] COMPETITORS.

No results were found in the commercial register of the city of the search “domestic hobbies” or “knitting”.

When looking at the numbers we see there is no threat of competitors for [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town. There are other wool shops within a small radius of less than XX km, but these are not within walking distance, so [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME loses no passing trade to competitors here.

The competition is therefore manageable for the founder due to the ideal position of the company based in a busy city with passing trade.

The founder can also stand out by creating her own website. The range of ongoing seminars, workshops and training sessions on the weekends is based on solid, deep customer loyalty, so [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME can already start building a customer base.

The founder starts the company under very competitive terms and with ideal location factors in a niche market, so that economic success will become fact in a very short time.

Target Group
The target group includes all people in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town and its environs, who appreciate domestic hobbies and in particular knitting and wool. We begin by outlining knitting as a trend and later expound on the subject of knitting as a trend in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town.

Knitting as a Trend
Knitting has been an established part of European crafts since the XX century. In the XX century it was forgotten for a few decades and banned from the classroom, but has experienced a strong comeback in recent years. The international platform Ravelry has around X million members worldwide. The German-language department alone has X.XXX members. Countless events and festivals are organized and there are new trends like Urban Knitting (knitting lampposts, etc.) and train-socking. Amateur designers as well as professional knitters can sell their products on platforms like etsy.com or dawanda.de.

Source: Donaukurier
http://www.donaukurier.de/nachrichten/bayern/Regensburg-Stricken-liegt-im-Trend-Die-neue-Wolllust;artXXXXXX,XXXXXXX
[DIAGRAM REMOVED]
Graph X – Source: Wirtschaftswoche

According to a survey on handwork (XXXX) Germans pay around X billion Euro a year for knitting, sewing and crocheting accessories. The younger generation also identifies with knitting, so [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME can benefit from a larger, growing market.

Source: Wirtschaftswoche

http://www.wiwo.de/technologie/digitale-welt/die-woche-im-netz-myboshi-der-haekel-hype-aus-dem-internet/XXXXXXX.html

Knitting and handwork in [Sample Retail Business Plan] town

Knitting is a trend. In [Sample Retail Business Plan] town it is a passion for many. On XX. February XXXX a few women organized a knitting meeting in the library of [Sample Retail Business Plan] town. [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME also took part in this event to get an impression of the interest in this hobby and similar events. [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME found that demand for sewing accessories, wool and especially professional journals and professional assistance is enormous. There was also no place to meet regularly to knit. The public library in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN is a friendly gesture of the city, but cannot serve the huge demand of knitting enthusiasts in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN on a permanent basis. With the establishment of [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME’s shop, [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN can now meet this demand.

Source: Facebook page of [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN, [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN administration data and founder’s own survey

[Sample Retail Business Plan] INTERNET ADDRESS

Sample Retail Business Plan – Risks

One risk is that this is the founder’s first company and she’s coming from a different, non-economic area of activity. A thorough calculation of the financial plan and a market analysis of the location in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN render this risk relatively low, since [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME has all the information, facts and figures needed, thus attaining detailed insight into the relevant retail segment in [Sample Business plan] TOWN. The support of the Chamber of Commerce, the Employment Agency and other assistance ensures [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME will be as well-prepared for the startup as possible.

The company is exclusively dependent on the entrepreneurial talent of [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME. A failure of the founder leads simultaneously to a loss of business. However, this risk is not a major one, because [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME is physically healthy and shows the will and the power to run the business with passion and energy.

There is the further risk that [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME will get too little passing trade. However, this danger is mitigated by ongoing seminars, weekend workshops and trainings that bind existing customers to her business. Ads in meaningful print media and exhibition visits can also help to become known around [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN. Since [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME has a large network and a large circle in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN, she can already count on the first customers here.

There is a danger of future supply difficulties due to political tensions between Turkey and Germany. Since the federal government is in constant contact with the Turkish government and has been holding EU accession negotiations with Turkey for years, one can speak of a minimal risk here. The political situation in the export country Turkey may also be regarded as low-risk.
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Sample Retail Business Plan – SWOT-Analysis

The following table shows the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the startup. This marketing tool (SWOT-Analysis) helps companies carry out an actual state analysis regardless of the field of activity and define a goal-based strategy. It is possible to increase opportunities using strengths and limit risks by analyzing the weaknesses.

Sample Retail Business Plan – Clients And Suppliers

Clients
[Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME has a large circle of acquaintances in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN and knows many potential clients personally. Born in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN, she is well-known and can win clients as early as the first weeks and months following startup. [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME attracts additional clients via the communication channels listed in X.X.

Suppliers
[Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME receives supplies from entities based in Turkey – bezieht ihre Ware von Lieferanten mit Sitz Türkei.

Sample Retail Business Plan – Location

The small [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN with its approx. XX.XXX inhabitants has a well-developed structure of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and traditional companies. The [Sample Retail Business Plan] startup therefore fits the concept of the town ideally. [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN is about XX kilometers northeast of [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN and close to [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN E. The motorways X and X offer a very good connection to the motorway network in the north-south and east-west directions.

The National Trade tax is currently below the regional average at XXX percentage points.

[Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN is a lively town close to nature offering various educational, cultural, sport, and leisure facilities. The town is also popular as a residential area and new residential areas are being created in a central location. The town modernizes its downtown traffic, parking, pedestrian, shopping, adventure, and free-time facilities so that it becomes even more attractive and its retail sector thrives.

Source: [Sample Retail Business Plan] SOURCE
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Sample Retail Business Plan – Marketing

Price Policy
In order to guarantee quality, the [Sample Retail Business Plan] startup buys supplies only from selected, known and proven companies. To build the customer base, it is important to convince and retain customers.

While the first factor tends to reduce the price, the second factor increases it. Therefore, profit margins will always adapt to the features of the local customer groups and also reflect the prices of similarly situated enterprises in Germany.

Communication Policy
At first [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME will resort mainly to print advertising. Therefore, it would make sense to place ads in relevant city magazines and district newspapers, for example, in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN General-Anzeiger (print run: X.XXX, of which X.XXX copies sold).

Source: [Sample Retail Business Plan] SOURCE

Since [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME has a large network of acquaintances, friends and family in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN, they will open the business with an official ceremony attended by potential customers, neighbors and other interested parties. The celebration will be advertised through posters and advertisements in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN.

[Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME will also organize online marketing focused on email and social media marketing. A strategically developed online presence will help the company enhance its reach and popularity in the first months and grow steadily. The founder will also create a website and has already reserved two URLs ([Sample Retail Business Plan] DOMAIN). Later it will be possible to subscribe to a newsletter on the site, so the founder can be active in the field of email marketing.

Social Media Marketing
In the area of social media [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME concentrates among other things on increasing her Xing network and creating a Facebook page. On Facebook there are numerous groups that deal with the subject of wool, knitting and handwork. The [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN’s Facebook page will help increase awareness of the new business on social media.

Another way to become known as an expert in wool, knitting and handwork is to write expert articles for your own website (blog section), for relevant blogs and regional newspapers such as the Rheinisch Bergische Gazette.

The reciprocal linking between the websites simultaneously increases search engine relevance. As search engines like Google assess particularly active websites highly, the comments feature is a good opportunity to get a higher ranking on the one hand and to strengthen the confidence of the reader on the other, thus building up expert status.

Referral marketing
It is statistically easier to keep an existing customer than to acquire a new one. Therefore [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME will focus on getting customers through referrals of existing customers. Recommendations demonstrate the high quality of a service and are therefore particularly valuable for the founder.

Sample Retail Business Plan – The Manager

The founder is ideal for this enterprise, boasting both the technical and social skills relevant. [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME has had a passion for domestic hobbies for over XX years and has accumulated significant expertise and experience in knitting. Therefore, the founder is very well equipped for self-employment.

As a trained retail saleswoman [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME has the entrepreneurial expertise which is necessary for establishing a business. As a seminar instructor at community colleges in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN, [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME has gathered valuable industry experience in recent years and has also been active as an expert in the knitting group in the library in [Sample Retail Business Plan] TOWN. It makes the founder very happy to teach others to knit and work with wool, new techniques and to give course participants assistance. In addition, [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME is also active in a private knitting circle.

Both professionally and personally [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME is fully suitable for self-employment in retail. [Sample Retail Business Plan] FOUNDER NAME will become self-employed in every event and achieve professional realization with this startup.

Sample Retail Business Plan – Staff

There are plans to hire more staff only if continuously high utilization is achieved. If there is a consistently high number of customers over X-years a shop and office assistant may be hired part-time to carry out typical customer service, client communication, accounting and administrative tasks.

Sample Retail Business Plan – Legal form

The establishment in the form of a sole proprietorship is inexpensive and the bureaucratic and accounting expenses are manageable. In addition, no corporate tax is owed. The sole proprietor is liable with her private assets, but the key is in good and risk-averse management.
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Sample Retail Business Plan – Financial plan

Clarifications
The capital contribution in the amount of XX.XXX is sufficient for the initial capital requirements of the company, since the startup grant secures its liquidity. The company will also be organized so that the partners only get their money when the customer pays.

The other cost parameters, particularly marketing, rent and travel expenses will be planned so that no borrowing will be necessary. The company’s existing network of contacts can help it jump on the bandwagon at once because the founder knows enough potential customers. Driven by significant investments in marketing, sales volume will rise rapidly.

Capital
The manager will contribute capital in the amount of XX.XXX,- Euro to the enterprise.