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Dave Geib, Gordon Milne, Athira Sivan, and Emma Zdeigbloski.
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Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 1
Table of Contents
I. Introduction........................................................................................................................ 2
II. Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 3
III. Mission Statement:............................................................................................................ 4
IV. Situational Analysis:.......................................................................................................... 4
Economic Forces:
Competitive Forces:
Figure One – Market Share:
Figure Two – Multi-Firm Profit:
Figure Three – Multi-Firm Wholesales Sales Revenue:
Figure Four – Multi-Firm Shareholder Values:
Figure Five – Multi-Firm Manufacturing Capacity:
Legal and Regulatory Forces:
Technological Forces:
Socio-Cultural Forces:
V. SWOT Analysis: ................................................................................................................. 9
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Opportunities:
Threats:
VI. Business Resources:.........................................................................................................11
VII. Business Strategy:.............................................................................................................12
VIII. Financial Projections and Budgets:..............................................................................14
IX. Marketing Plan: ................................................................................................................14
X. Conclusion: ........................................................................................................................16
XI. Works Cited: ......................................................................................................................17
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 2
Introduction
Grouchers™ is a relatively new company under new leadership that plans to form an
extremely strong relationship with our customers through the promotion of green and healthy
transportation options that will also provide fun. Our company has grown into a large firm due to
the loyal consumer market base through our infallible stability and quality. We have revolutionized
urban commuter culture through decreasing the utilization of cars and other environmentally
unsustainable transportation methods. We have a clear goal and failure is not an option.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 3
Executive Summary
We are a rather large company that aims to develop a business model with a goal of decreasing the numberof
cars in urban areas and replace them with bicycles. This will help our consumers in many ways primarily regarding their
health and wellbeing. This will also have a secondary effect of improving the environment of the city through an increase
in the air quality as there will not be as many cars on the road.
We strive to create a fun and friendly image that draws in consumers and invokes trust in our products. Our
target market and audience ranges from the youth populous to the novice or commuter rider all the way to professional
cyclist due to the diversified and wide offering of bicycle types that we offer. Our youth bikes are high quality starters for
children looking to learn how to ride a bike or even for the aspiring cyclist that is in all of us. It is the pinnacle of our
design process, being the project that was focused on the most by our development team. We invested a significant
quantity of capital into the youth bike with the intention of making it the best on the market. Our mountain and road
bikes can be ridden with confidence through the roughest of terrains both professionally and recreationally.
We look to base our company in the Philadelphia theater of operations which includes the tristate area of New
Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. We also have plans to expand to New York in the future and ultimately move to
national distribution in highly populated areas of the mid-west, west, and south.
Although we have competition in the fields of all of our products, we are confident that our specific targeting
of urbanized areas will give us an edge in the market. Our product is quite superior to that of the other companies and
that is why we have the smallest market share as we run a niche market. We capitalize on the sales of road bike on
urbanites who must transit the city in an efficient manner. Our advertising also takes advantage of the same people who
want to get out of their comfort zone and go mountain biking. Their familiarity and trust with the Grouchers™ road
bikes will increase their inclination to purchase further Grouchers™ products.
An obstacle that we might encounter is the stagnation of the current market economy that we are operating in,
which would lead to a lesser target market. Our business plan, however, provides a failsafe as we aim to capture most of
or the entirety of the youth bike market.
It is important for us to consider the future moves of the competition and attem pt to negate their decisions
through our decisions so that we can begin to be the best bike manufacturer out in the market.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 4
Mission Statement:
Grouchers™ aims to provide high-quality, safe bicycles to its customers, a safe bet and smart investment for
investors, a creative and uplifting place to work for its valued employees and a unique and profitable opportunity for its
shareholders.
Situational Analysis:
Economic Forces:
The economics behind bike manufacturing is staggeringly supportive of the continuation of Grouchers. What
needs to be considered is not the primary economic factors of cycling manufacturing, but actually the secondary factors -
factors that push consumers to purchase bikes. Something that we refer to as “Bikenomics” (Grist).
Recent (albeit recent referring to the political definition of recent) legislation has called for tax rebates for those
individuals in society that renounce using petroleum fueled automobiles as their primary modeof transportation. They
instead, use the bicycle in lieu of the automobile. This provides definitely provides an incentive for consumers to
purchase a bicycle as the tax rebate could be anywhere in the range of three thousand to twelve thousand dollars per
year. Of course, economic incentive would only benefit local economies directly due to the reallocation of funds from
automobile expenditures to other lesser expenditures. We can harness this expansion of the target market by partnering
with cities who are changing to a more bicycle friendly policy. The most specific example of this is the Bicycle Network
Development project initiated in 1996 by the New York Department of City Planning, New York Department of
Transportation, and the Department of Parks and Recreation aimed at “reducing congestion by prom oting cycling in
New York City”.
Objectives of the program include:
1. Encourage increased use of bicycles as a viable mode of transportation by providing expanded facilities for
bicyclists.
2. Develop a comprehensive plan for improving bicycle facilities throughout New York City.
3. Implement an all-agency bicycle policy for New York City aimed at institutionalizing the planning, design and
implementation of bicycle facilities.
4. Implement facility improvements, as funding allows. Include bicycle facilities in capital and expense budget
projects of other government agencies.
5. Coordinate with the plans and programs of advocacy groups and city & state agencies.
The objectives from this ongoing program show that there is a large potential for expansion into the urban
bicycle transportation scene. We will be able to capitalize on the effect of the success of the New York program as it
spreads to various cities around the United States and ultimately as it spreads to international locations.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 5
The United States invests almost fifteen percent of their GDP on healthcare, and is famed with having the
most expensive health care system. The government has also created a movement towards the creation and fostering of
a healthy lifestyle in the new generations of American citizens. Goucher’s plans on taking advantage of the renewed
health movement in order capture a large portion of the urban market.
Competitive Forces:
Competitive external forces also play a large role in the company’s performance.
Figure One – Market Share:
Pictured above is the distribution of the current market share, which shows the ability of our competitors to
capture the market currently and in the future. Also, it shows Grouchers™ that to succeed we need to expand
our market share.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 6
Figure Two – Multi-Firm Profit:
This graph shows that Grouchers™ has the lowest profit out of all the companies that we are in direct
competition with. Ultimately, the conclusion that is drawn from this is that it may be prudent for Grouchers™
to consider dropping product lines to specialize in one product.
Figure Three – Multi-Firm Wholesales Sales Revenue:
This graph shows that the revenue of the company has stagnated over the duration of the simulation which
means that there needs to be a significant change in the company policy.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 7
Figure Four – Multi-Firm Shareholder Values:
Above is a measure of the multi-firm shareholder values for all of the companies that we are competing with
including ourselves. All companies other than Super Magic Bikes have a higher shareholder value than
Grouchers™ which indicates that there is going to be difficulty in creating a better company.
Figure Five – Multi-Firm Manufacturing Capacity:
Another indicator of how the company is performing is the manufacturing capacity that the Grouchers™ plant
has. From the graph it shows that Grouchers™ is performing better than Super Magic Bikes and just under
Firm6. This measure has a direct impact on the market share that Grouchers™ can possess.
All graphs taken from SmartSims online portal.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 8
Legal and Regulatory Forces:
A huge part of getting any product to the market is the ability to conform to the laws and regulations
of the market that you are trying to sell in. In this case – as it is not specified in the simulator – our company
could theoretically be selling anywhere in the world; markets ranging from the United States to China.
Since we are primarily dealing with the markets inside of the continental United States, it is prudent
to conform to e-CFR Title 16 - Chapter II - Subchapter C - Part 1501, Authority: Secs. 2(f)(1)(D), (q)(1)(A), (s),
3(e)(1), and 10; 74 Stat. 372, 374, 375 as amended; 80 Stat. 1304-05, 83 Stat. 187-89 (15 U.S.C. 1261. Which are
the specific regulations regarding the manufacturing of small objects – in this case parts – for products aimed at
youth. This is prudent to conform to as the majority of our sales are from the youth bike product line.
Every country has their own regulations and for all specific purposes, however, there is another
regulatory power to consider. The Union Cycliste International, or the UCI for short. They regulate every
cycling sport event for professionals. The United States also has the USA Cycling organization that regulates all
cycling events in the United States. If Grouchers wants to keep the road bike a viable product, then we need to
manufacture it to those specifications. (Twork and Black, UCI)
Technological Forces:
We need to be cognizant of an increase in the manufacturing technology environment so that we can
take advantage of the ability to create more bikes for a lesser quantity of money, allowing us to have a larger
profit. We are also looking to reduce our supply chain inefficiencies in through the increase of technology to
reduce costs. Ultimately, we also are looking into the advent of greater bike technology in the areas outside of
professional racing to make our brand more attractive.
Socio-Cultural Forces:
We touched on this in the first section of situational analysis, specifically regarding the recent
movement of the newest generation towards healthier modes of transportation and lifestyles. The newer
generations will be more inclined to purchase bicycles as they are more conscious about keeping themselves
healthy. Also, we will be marketing them as a cheaper alternative to owning a car in the city. Finally, we have
the support of major urban centers of population as they are looking to reduce congestion due to traffic and
improve air quality.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 9
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths:
One external factor on which Grouchers™ has capitalized is the size of the market for the bikes the
firm produces. Grouchers™ currently offers a mountain bike and a youth bike and has found that both sell
relatively well in their respective markets. Only one year after the launch of Grouchers’ youth bike, the demand
in the products’ respective market rose by approximately 12,000 units. Given the external factor of a market
with a high demand for Grouchers’ products, the firm is better able to generate revenue through a high volume
of sales.
Another external factor that has strengthened Grouchers™ and allowed for its financial success is the
consistent growth of its market. While the market has proven to be large enough for Grouchers™ to sustain a
high volume of sales and drive high annual revenues, it has also proven to expand each year thus allowing even
higher volumes of sales as the firm progresses through its own development. With a consistently growing
market, Grouchers™ is able to both maintain the base level of revenue it has grown to expect and produce an
increase in revenue each year to ensure the successful expansion of the firm.
An internal factor that strengthens Grouchers’ ability to succeed in the market is its administrative team.
The members of the team responsible for making the administrative and budgetary decisions in regards to the
Grouchers™ firm have proven to be successful in both agreeability and responsibility. Meetings are attended
regularly by all team members and decisions are made swiftly with little to no resistance beside the occasional
constructive debate of which executive decisions would weigh more heavily in terms of beneficial outcomes
than others. This agreeability and responsibility among the Grouchers™ team has allowed for consecutively
successful years for the firm in terms of financial growth and stability.
Weaknesses:
One of Grouchers’ external weaknesses is that it has experienced a generally low degree of brand
recognition in comparison to its top competitors. This could be due to the elevated brand recognition of
Grouchers’ competitors in the event that its competitors have captured the market’s attention through more
thorough advertising and public relations techniques than were employed by Grouchers. The firm’s relatively
low brand recognition could also be viewed as an internal weakness due to the circumstance that Grouchers™
has allocated less funds toward advertising than some of its top competitors.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 10
Debt incurred for the firm’s expansion can be viewed as an internal weakness because although it is very
helpful in the short run, it must be paid back with interest once it has been put to use. Taking on a certain
degree of debt can be a positive decision to ensure the financial soundness of a firm as long as such debt is
used for the firm to expand rather than solely for operational purposes. Grouchers™ has been issued a total of
$2 million of long-term debt for the purpose of opening new product lines and ensuring the presence of a sort
of monetary security net in case of a drastic downturn in which funds may be needed as a fallback to continue
operations. If not repaid strategically and responsibly, this debt can become a burden to the firm as it allocates
its own funds toward the reimbursement of the debt.
An internal weakness faced by Grouchers™ lies in the limit to its ability to produce high quality
products efficiently and at a low enough cost to maintain maximum profitability. Production is one of the most
cumbersome costs faced by the firm rivaling advertising expenses and research and development of new
products. In a growing market, Grouchers™ is faced also with an increasing expense in its production process.
As the firm’s output increases, more funds are allocated toward the quality and efficiency of the production
process to ensure enough of its products are produced in a timely manner and that as few of them as possible
go to waste. This being the case, there comes a point where the efficiency and quality of Grouchers’ production
costs enough to have an adverse effect on the firm’s profitability.
Opportunities:
One external opportunity of which Grouchers™ can take advantage is the market of experienced
cyclists. Since Grouchers™ has yet to produce a road bike, the firm has little to no appeal to the market of
experienced or competitive cyclists. By creating a product line of road bikes, Grouchers™ can capitalize on this
market and surely increase its overall profitability.
An internal opportunitythat is presented to Grouchers™ is the potential for technological
improvement in its production process. By upgrading the firm’s capacity to produce it should see an increase in
output and efficiency as well as a relatively stable level of quality. Essentially, by upgrading the production
process Grouchers™ can exploit more of its potential or unused resources for improved output to best suit the
demand of its market thereby maximizing its profitability.
A second external opportunity for Grouchers™ is its potential to close in on some of its top
competitors in coming years. Since Grouchers™ has yet to delve into the market of experienced cyclists or
upgrade its production capacity to fully meet the current market’s growing demand, the firm has a lot of
potential to pull ahead of some of its closer competitors such as Squad Goals. Since Squad Goals has less cash
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 11
and net assets than Grouchers™ and has also delved into only two of the three potential markets, Grouchers™
has a viable opportunityto pull ahead of Squad Goals in the coming year. Additionally, the current efficiency
and quality of Squad Goals’ production process are both lower than those of Grouchers, it can be inferred that
Grouchers™ can easily attain a more stable hold on its present market as well as attract more shares of its
potential markets in the near future.
Threats:
Maybe the largest external factor that poses a threat to the success of Grouchers™ is the fact that its
competition’s products and markets are very similar to its own. Each of its six competitors have been in the
market of mountain bikes for equally as long and the majority of them have also already capitalized on the
youth market with a secondary product line. The fact that each of Grouchers’ competitors is similar to the firm
itself means simply that the firm must take extra measures to ensure its ability to stand out and attract more of
the market to maximize its share.
Another external threat for Grouchers™ is its top competitor, Vicious Cycles. Vicious Cycles currently
holds the highest market capitalization of each of Grouchers’ competitors and has outperformed Grouchers™
in almost every aspect financially. Though it has yet to hinder Grouchers’ ability to perform successfully in the
market, it has indefinitely held Grouchers™ back from a large share of its potential market. With Vicious
Cycles’ product quality and price points, it is a direct competitor with Grouchers™ and is therefore a threat to
the firm’s ability to capture the majority of its market.
An external threat to the bicycle industry as a whole is advancement in transportation technology. As
new modes of transportation arise and current methods are improved, the bicycle becomes increasingly less
desirable and in some areas relatively obsolete from a practical standpoint. Grouchers™ must be sure to
address this threat in the future in a way that promotes the use of its products in future landscapes that could
potentially cause a drastic decrease in sales and market value.
Business Resources:
Grouchers™ prides itself on the teamwork used to make each and every decision before any major financial
endeavors. Every member of our team was specialized in a specific field that was optimal for helping with a singular part
of the business, however it was when the company’s executive board perused an idea from all different angles together
that the best option was discovered.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 12
Athira Sivan (CEO)
As CEO Ms. Sivan is in control of the business’ everyday decisions and plays an integral role in ensuring that
the members of the executive board all come to good decisions that provide the best net profit while making sure the
company runs in a smooth, efficient, amicable manner. Ms. Sivan brings to the table her years of formerly working for
Pearson Specter Law firm which provide her with logical critical thinking and the ability to make decisions decisively
after most efficiently encompassing all of the facts. Ms. Sivan’s financial resources include owning the New York
Yankees which would provide resources if the company were to ever go into debt.
Dave Geib (CFO)
As CFO Mr. Geib is responsible for deciding key financial aspects of the company. This includes decisions on
whether or not to take on Debt, Equity or Issue Dividends. All of this is decided after Mr. Geib has thoroughly checked
the company’s financial statements. Equally as important, Mr. Geib also uses these records to forecast the upcoming
year’s numbers in order to assist the CEO in deciding what to do in the upcoming quarter in order to ensure financial
gain to the company. Mr. Geib’s financial resources include owning several Model’s franchise stores along with the
personal financial resources he has gained from 20 years of working on Wall Street.
Emma Zdeigbloski (CMO)
Ms. Zdeigbloski provides the advertisement and marketing plans needed to get the Groucher’s model’s name
out into the consumer sphere. Ms. Zdeigbloski is also responsible for spreading the brand name and recommending
retail prices. Ms. Zdeigbloski offers a unique perspective through prior experience as CMO of Estee Lauder Cosmetics
and work in the marketing department of Armani Exchange. Ms. Zdeigbloski’s financial resources include ownership of
Sephora stores along the East Coast.
Gordon Milne (Operations Management)
Mr. Milne provides important production, supply and quality strategies for upcoming years to ensure maximum
net profit after the end of the year. Mr. Milne’s history of being an Air Force as a General gives him the experience
needed at calculating numbers and finding maximum and optimal capacity or production and supply while not giving up
on quality and reputation. Mr. Milne’s financial resources include owning several Private Military Companies (PMC) that
provide planes and equipment to the Air Force.
Business Strategy:
Strategic Placement in the Industry
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 13
According to carefully done research, the Grouchers™ company has chosen to be spread across a
wide array of placements in the Industry. Our recently launched Road Bikes are low price with medium quality,
our mountain bikes are high price with medium quality and our youth bikes are medium price with medium
quality. It is important to the Grouchers™ company to make sure that although our prices vary between high
and medium, our quality will never go below medium nor will our prices to keep the standard image we have
accumulated.
Objective 1: Increasing Brand Awareness and Distribution
Grouchers™ is a distinctive brand that is focused uniquely on selling our bikes in a humorous friendly
manner. It is important to us that this is the image that is projected to consumers. For this reason, our goal is to
distribute our bikes widely in a manner of stores that is best fit for each bike along with our distinct name that
will, with the help of our marketing team, conjure up thoughts of fun, reliable, sturdy bikes.
Objective 2: Make sure all employees are working to their full capacity to reach optimal working conditions and results
Grouchers™ employees are highly valued in the company and it is our goal to ensure the wellbeing of
our employees are perfectly balanced such that they will all have the appropriate drive and enthusiasm
necessary to give their all into making Grouchers™ bikes. To reach this goal we will have safe, comfortable
working conditions that will show us results at the end of each quarter in the form of higher output.
Objective 3: Promote Healthy activity through reaching the Younger consumer audience
In the age where technology often causes the younger generation to shack themselves up inside,
Grouchers™ makes it a goal to incite them to jump onto our bikes and have fun. We aim to convince the
younger generation through the careful use of marketing through the internet, that the Grouchers™ brand of
bikes offers a world of fun that they want to be a part of. For the even younger generation, we convince
parents to buy the bikes through advertising the health benefits their children will have when playing outside on
their Grouchers™ Youth Bike (Dabe).
Objective 4: Take on as little debt as possible while still successfully expanding and running the company.
While it is a necessary evil all companies will have to do when expanding, Grouchers™ aims to take
on as little debt to reduce the risk of liabilities in the future. Since our executive board has vast quantities of
financial resources, the Grouchers™ team’s goal is to take advantage of the revenue and financial resources
available before taking on any debt.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 14
Financial Projections and Budgets:
Grouchers™ currently holds the lowest market share in retail dollar sales with a share of 11.8%. The firm has
drawn its focus in the coming year toward improving its degree of market share. Grouchers™ plans to accomplish this
via the launch of a new product line of road bikes which will, for all intents and purposes, allow the firm to reach out
into a new market of experienced cyclists. By entering a new market of cyclists entirely, Grouchers™ hopes to profit
from a proportionately large increase in sales, thereby increasing its own presence in the bicycle market as a whole.
In examination of its competition, Grouchers™ has also acknowledged that its top competitors including
Vicious Cycles and Squad Goals have the similar approach of high production and intermediate price points while
Vicious Cycles has managed to capture the majority of the market share through its higher levels of production than
Grouchers’ own. The reactive response that is to be taken by Grouchers™ is to expand its capacity to produce in
coming years in hopes of increasing productivity so that its sales numbers may rival those of Vicious Cycles.
The majority of the firm’s budget has been allocated into research and development of new products,
marketing, and production efficiency and quality. Two years ago, Grouchers™ launched a youth bike at a cost of
$1,000,000 for research and development as well as a total allocation of $1,600,000 for marketing. $1,000,000 were put
into television marketing, $100,000 into internet marketing, and $500,000 into magazine marketing. Production capacity,
efficiency, and quality were also adjusted to compensate for the increased demand associated with a new market being
reached with a total cost of another $1,600,000. Of the $1,600,000 spent on the production upgrades necessary for
launching the youth bike, $1,000,000 were spent on the efficiency of factories, $350,000 on their capacities to produce,
and $250,000 on the quality of the products.
This coming year, Grouchers™ is launching another new product line of road bikes which have once again
drawn a great deal of the firm’s budget into research and development, marketing, and production. The launch of the
road bike will cost another $1,000,000 in research and development expenses, $1,600,000 more in marketing at the same
values for each marketing medium listed for the youth bike in prior years, and a total cost of $1,650,000 in production.
Fortunately for the firm, the only cost incurred in regards to production was an increase of factory capacities by 2,000
units at a cost of $50,000, which should prove to be a very minorsetback in Grouchers’ budgeting volume.
Marketing Plan:
Grouchers™ was founded by four grumpy people who find life's joys in the sport of cycling. Our goal at
Grouchers™ is to provide customers a release from what makes them grouchy and an opportunityto enjoy an activity
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 15
that is fun, safe and good for one's health. We craft unique, high quality products aimed at a high-class customer. Our
bikes are an investment in future happiness and an investment in one's health and sense of self.
To add to Grouchers' air of sophistication, we have added professional road cyclist Vicenzo Nibali, who
recently rode one of our finely-crafted road bikes to his 2014 Tour de France victory, as the official spokesperson for
our road bikes, which are aimed at a professional, dedicated market. Since these bikes are an investment, they are
targeted at an older market that is committed to having the absolute best in road bike technology. We use advertisements
in top cycling magazines, and have featured one of our bikes for a speed test on the hit television show Top Gear. Our
road bike advertisements stand out for their subtlety and classy atmosphere.
Grouchers™ also features a mountain bike that is very popular with teens, young adults and young-at-heart
adrenaline enthusiasts. We advertise this bike as a high-performing but still reasonably priced model that puts the safety
of the rider first. This bike was recently featured as part of the X Games, where we sponsored a massive audience
giveaway to increase word-of-mouth advertising for our bikes. Our sales increased 15% in the following weeks because
of this move. We frequently advertise this bike on television networks like Spike and ESPN2, where the target audience
is young males who enjoy adventure sports. We also use the internet to advertise our mountain bikes, specifically on
Facebook where our target audience can be found by perusing basic profile “likes”. We also advertise our bikes before
appropriate mountain biking Youtubevideos.
Our youth bikes are a fairly new venture for Grouchers. We aim to produce high quality, affordable bikes for
kids that are as fun as they are safe. We sell these bikes in discount stores to encourage all demographics to try our high
quality product. Grouchers™ is different from other youth bike manufacturers because we advertise to the parents of
the children who would own these bikes, not the children themselves. We want to convey to parents that Grouchers™
youth bikes are bikes that they can have confidence in as being the safest on the market. We want parents to know we
closely monitorthe entire production process in the US to ensure the highest quality product. We would advertise on
television during the day, when stay-at-home moms would be watching TV, in between programs like The View or
Oprah. We would also advertise online by sending bikes to popular mommyblogs for independent review. Lastly, we
would utilize parenting magazines like Family Circle to get the word out about our fun and safe product.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 16
Conclusion:
Grouchers™ has always strived to never fail its customer base and remain a stable company.
We will become successful enough to expand into all of the major urban markets in the nation and
then globally. We support the community of avid cyclist, urban commuters, and professionals alike;
and aim to foster a new generation of healthy individuals. We will not falter and we will never fail.
Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 17
Works Cited:
"Bicycle Network Development - Department of City Planning." Bicycle Network Development - Department of City Planning.
N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/bike/home.shtml>.
"Bicycle Requirements Business Guidance." U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Bicycle-
Requirements/>.
"Bikenomics." Grist. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://grist.org/series/bikenomics/>.
"How Bicycling Will save the Economy (if We Let It)." Grist. N.p., 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.
<http://grist.org/biking/2011-02-28-how-bicycling-will-save-the-economy/>.
"Inside Minnesota's Booming Bike Economy." MinnesotaBusiness Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.minnesotabusiness.com/inside-minnesotas-booming-bike-economy>.
"Pedaling Away from the Health Care Crisis." Grist. N.p., 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.
<http://grist.org/biking/2011-03-28-pedaling-away-from-the-health-care-crisis/>.
"Smartsims Simulation Portal." Smartsims Online Simulation Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.
<https://websim1.smartsims.com/>.
Twork., and Black). Approval Protocol (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
"UCI - Union Cycliste Internationale." Equipment. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://www.uci.ch/inside-uci/rules-
and-regulations/equipment-165067/>.

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Business Plan (3)

  • 1. Dave Geib, Gordon Milne, Athira Sivan, and Emma Zdeigbloski. asdf
  • 2. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 1 Table of Contents I. Introduction........................................................................................................................ 2 II. Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 3 III. Mission Statement:............................................................................................................ 4 IV. Situational Analysis:.......................................................................................................... 4 Economic Forces: Competitive Forces: Figure One – Market Share: Figure Two – Multi-Firm Profit: Figure Three – Multi-Firm Wholesales Sales Revenue: Figure Four – Multi-Firm Shareholder Values: Figure Five – Multi-Firm Manufacturing Capacity: Legal and Regulatory Forces: Technological Forces: Socio-Cultural Forces: V. SWOT Analysis: ................................................................................................................. 9 Strengths: Weaknesses: Opportunities: Threats: VI. Business Resources:.........................................................................................................11 VII. Business Strategy:.............................................................................................................12 VIII. Financial Projections and Budgets:..............................................................................14 IX. Marketing Plan: ................................................................................................................14 X. Conclusion: ........................................................................................................................16 XI. Works Cited: ......................................................................................................................17
  • 3. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 2 Introduction Grouchers™ is a relatively new company under new leadership that plans to form an extremely strong relationship with our customers through the promotion of green and healthy transportation options that will also provide fun. Our company has grown into a large firm due to the loyal consumer market base through our infallible stability and quality. We have revolutionized urban commuter culture through decreasing the utilization of cars and other environmentally unsustainable transportation methods. We have a clear goal and failure is not an option.
  • 4. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 3 Executive Summary We are a rather large company that aims to develop a business model with a goal of decreasing the numberof cars in urban areas and replace them with bicycles. This will help our consumers in many ways primarily regarding their health and wellbeing. This will also have a secondary effect of improving the environment of the city through an increase in the air quality as there will not be as many cars on the road. We strive to create a fun and friendly image that draws in consumers and invokes trust in our products. Our target market and audience ranges from the youth populous to the novice or commuter rider all the way to professional cyclist due to the diversified and wide offering of bicycle types that we offer. Our youth bikes are high quality starters for children looking to learn how to ride a bike or even for the aspiring cyclist that is in all of us. It is the pinnacle of our design process, being the project that was focused on the most by our development team. We invested a significant quantity of capital into the youth bike with the intention of making it the best on the market. Our mountain and road bikes can be ridden with confidence through the roughest of terrains both professionally and recreationally. We look to base our company in the Philadelphia theater of operations which includes the tristate area of New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. We also have plans to expand to New York in the future and ultimately move to national distribution in highly populated areas of the mid-west, west, and south. Although we have competition in the fields of all of our products, we are confident that our specific targeting of urbanized areas will give us an edge in the market. Our product is quite superior to that of the other companies and that is why we have the smallest market share as we run a niche market. We capitalize on the sales of road bike on urbanites who must transit the city in an efficient manner. Our advertising also takes advantage of the same people who want to get out of their comfort zone and go mountain biking. Their familiarity and trust with the Grouchers™ road bikes will increase their inclination to purchase further Grouchers™ products. An obstacle that we might encounter is the stagnation of the current market economy that we are operating in, which would lead to a lesser target market. Our business plan, however, provides a failsafe as we aim to capture most of or the entirety of the youth bike market. It is important for us to consider the future moves of the competition and attem pt to negate their decisions through our decisions so that we can begin to be the best bike manufacturer out in the market.
  • 5. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 4 Mission Statement: Grouchers™ aims to provide high-quality, safe bicycles to its customers, a safe bet and smart investment for investors, a creative and uplifting place to work for its valued employees and a unique and profitable opportunity for its shareholders. Situational Analysis: Economic Forces: The economics behind bike manufacturing is staggeringly supportive of the continuation of Grouchers. What needs to be considered is not the primary economic factors of cycling manufacturing, but actually the secondary factors - factors that push consumers to purchase bikes. Something that we refer to as “Bikenomics” (Grist). Recent (albeit recent referring to the political definition of recent) legislation has called for tax rebates for those individuals in society that renounce using petroleum fueled automobiles as their primary modeof transportation. They instead, use the bicycle in lieu of the automobile. This provides definitely provides an incentive for consumers to purchase a bicycle as the tax rebate could be anywhere in the range of three thousand to twelve thousand dollars per year. Of course, economic incentive would only benefit local economies directly due to the reallocation of funds from automobile expenditures to other lesser expenditures. We can harness this expansion of the target market by partnering with cities who are changing to a more bicycle friendly policy. The most specific example of this is the Bicycle Network Development project initiated in 1996 by the New York Department of City Planning, New York Department of Transportation, and the Department of Parks and Recreation aimed at “reducing congestion by prom oting cycling in New York City”. Objectives of the program include: 1. Encourage increased use of bicycles as a viable mode of transportation by providing expanded facilities for bicyclists. 2. Develop a comprehensive plan for improving bicycle facilities throughout New York City. 3. Implement an all-agency bicycle policy for New York City aimed at institutionalizing the planning, design and implementation of bicycle facilities. 4. Implement facility improvements, as funding allows. Include bicycle facilities in capital and expense budget projects of other government agencies. 5. Coordinate with the plans and programs of advocacy groups and city & state agencies. The objectives from this ongoing program show that there is a large potential for expansion into the urban bicycle transportation scene. We will be able to capitalize on the effect of the success of the New York program as it spreads to various cities around the United States and ultimately as it spreads to international locations.
  • 6. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 5 The United States invests almost fifteen percent of their GDP on healthcare, and is famed with having the most expensive health care system. The government has also created a movement towards the creation and fostering of a healthy lifestyle in the new generations of American citizens. Goucher’s plans on taking advantage of the renewed health movement in order capture a large portion of the urban market. Competitive Forces: Competitive external forces also play a large role in the company’s performance. Figure One – Market Share: Pictured above is the distribution of the current market share, which shows the ability of our competitors to capture the market currently and in the future. Also, it shows Grouchers™ that to succeed we need to expand our market share.
  • 7. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 6 Figure Two – Multi-Firm Profit: This graph shows that Grouchers™ has the lowest profit out of all the companies that we are in direct competition with. Ultimately, the conclusion that is drawn from this is that it may be prudent for Grouchers™ to consider dropping product lines to specialize in one product. Figure Three – Multi-Firm Wholesales Sales Revenue: This graph shows that the revenue of the company has stagnated over the duration of the simulation which means that there needs to be a significant change in the company policy.
  • 8. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 7 Figure Four – Multi-Firm Shareholder Values: Above is a measure of the multi-firm shareholder values for all of the companies that we are competing with including ourselves. All companies other than Super Magic Bikes have a higher shareholder value than Grouchers™ which indicates that there is going to be difficulty in creating a better company. Figure Five – Multi-Firm Manufacturing Capacity: Another indicator of how the company is performing is the manufacturing capacity that the Grouchers™ plant has. From the graph it shows that Grouchers™ is performing better than Super Magic Bikes and just under Firm6. This measure has a direct impact on the market share that Grouchers™ can possess. All graphs taken from SmartSims online portal.
  • 9. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 8 Legal and Regulatory Forces: A huge part of getting any product to the market is the ability to conform to the laws and regulations of the market that you are trying to sell in. In this case – as it is not specified in the simulator – our company could theoretically be selling anywhere in the world; markets ranging from the United States to China. Since we are primarily dealing with the markets inside of the continental United States, it is prudent to conform to e-CFR Title 16 - Chapter II - Subchapter C - Part 1501, Authority: Secs. 2(f)(1)(D), (q)(1)(A), (s), 3(e)(1), and 10; 74 Stat. 372, 374, 375 as amended; 80 Stat. 1304-05, 83 Stat. 187-89 (15 U.S.C. 1261. Which are the specific regulations regarding the manufacturing of small objects – in this case parts – for products aimed at youth. This is prudent to conform to as the majority of our sales are from the youth bike product line. Every country has their own regulations and for all specific purposes, however, there is another regulatory power to consider. The Union Cycliste International, or the UCI for short. They regulate every cycling sport event for professionals. The United States also has the USA Cycling organization that regulates all cycling events in the United States. If Grouchers wants to keep the road bike a viable product, then we need to manufacture it to those specifications. (Twork and Black, UCI) Technological Forces: We need to be cognizant of an increase in the manufacturing technology environment so that we can take advantage of the ability to create more bikes for a lesser quantity of money, allowing us to have a larger profit. We are also looking to reduce our supply chain inefficiencies in through the increase of technology to reduce costs. Ultimately, we also are looking into the advent of greater bike technology in the areas outside of professional racing to make our brand more attractive. Socio-Cultural Forces: We touched on this in the first section of situational analysis, specifically regarding the recent movement of the newest generation towards healthier modes of transportation and lifestyles. The newer generations will be more inclined to purchase bicycles as they are more conscious about keeping themselves healthy. Also, we will be marketing them as a cheaper alternative to owning a car in the city. Finally, we have the support of major urban centers of population as they are looking to reduce congestion due to traffic and improve air quality.
  • 10. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 9 SWOT Analysis: Strengths: One external factor on which Grouchers™ has capitalized is the size of the market for the bikes the firm produces. Grouchers™ currently offers a mountain bike and a youth bike and has found that both sell relatively well in their respective markets. Only one year after the launch of Grouchers’ youth bike, the demand in the products’ respective market rose by approximately 12,000 units. Given the external factor of a market with a high demand for Grouchers’ products, the firm is better able to generate revenue through a high volume of sales. Another external factor that has strengthened Grouchers™ and allowed for its financial success is the consistent growth of its market. While the market has proven to be large enough for Grouchers™ to sustain a high volume of sales and drive high annual revenues, it has also proven to expand each year thus allowing even higher volumes of sales as the firm progresses through its own development. With a consistently growing market, Grouchers™ is able to both maintain the base level of revenue it has grown to expect and produce an increase in revenue each year to ensure the successful expansion of the firm. An internal factor that strengthens Grouchers’ ability to succeed in the market is its administrative team. The members of the team responsible for making the administrative and budgetary decisions in regards to the Grouchers™ firm have proven to be successful in both agreeability and responsibility. Meetings are attended regularly by all team members and decisions are made swiftly with little to no resistance beside the occasional constructive debate of which executive decisions would weigh more heavily in terms of beneficial outcomes than others. This agreeability and responsibility among the Grouchers™ team has allowed for consecutively successful years for the firm in terms of financial growth and stability. Weaknesses: One of Grouchers’ external weaknesses is that it has experienced a generally low degree of brand recognition in comparison to its top competitors. This could be due to the elevated brand recognition of Grouchers’ competitors in the event that its competitors have captured the market’s attention through more thorough advertising and public relations techniques than were employed by Grouchers. The firm’s relatively low brand recognition could also be viewed as an internal weakness due to the circumstance that Grouchers™ has allocated less funds toward advertising than some of its top competitors.
  • 11. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 10 Debt incurred for the firm’s expansion can be viewed as an internal weakness because although it is very helpful in the short run, it must be paid back with interest once it has been put to use. Taking on a certain degree of debt can be a positive decision to ensure the financial soundness of a firm as long as such debt is used for the firm to expand rather than solely for operational purposes. Grouchers™ has been issued a total of $2 million of long-term debt for the purpose of opening new product lines and ensuring the presence of a sort of monetary security net in case of a drastic downturn in which funds may be needed as a fallback to continue operations. If not repaid strategically and responsibly, this debt can become a burden to the firm as it allocates its own funds toward the reimbursement of the debt. An internal weakness faced by Grouchers™ lies in the limit to its ability to produce high quality products efficiently and at a low enough cost to maintain maximum profitability. Production is one of the most cumbersome costs faced by the firm rivaling advertising expenses and research and development of new products. In a growing market, Grouchers™ is faced also with an increasing expense in its production process. As the firm’s output increases, more funds are allocated toward the quality and efficiency of the production process to ensure enough of its products are produced in a timely manner and that as few of them as possible go to waste. This being the case, there comes a point where the efficiency and quality of Grouchers’ production costs enough to have an adverse effect on the firm’s profitability. Opportunities: One external opportunity of which Grouchers™ can take advantage is the market of experienced cyclists. Since Grouchers™ has yet to produce a road bike, the firm has little to no appeal to the market of experienced or competitive cyclists. By creating a product line of road bikes, Grouchers™ can capitalize on this market and surely increase its overall profitability. An internal opportunitythat is presented to Grouchers™ is the potential for technological improvement in its production process. By upgrading the firm’s capacity to produce it should see an increase in output and efficiency as well as a relatively stable level of quality. Essentially, by upgrading the production process Grouchers™ can exploit more of its potential or unused resources for improved output to best suit the demand of its market thereby maximizing its profitability. A second external opportunity for Grouchers™ is its potential to close in on some of its top competitors in coming years. Since Grouchers™ has yet to delve into the market of experienced cyclists or upgrade its production capacity to fully meet the current market’s growing demand, the firm has a lot of potential to pull ahead of some of its closer competitors such as Squad Goals. Since Squad Goals has less cash
  • 12. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 11 and net assets than Grouchers™ and has also delved into only two of the three potential markets, Grouchers™ has a viable opportunityto pull ahead of Squad Goals in the coming year. Additionally, the current efficiency and quality of Squad Goals’ production process are both lower than those of Grouchers, it can be inferred that Grouchers™ can easily attain a more stable hold on its present market as well as attract more shares of its potential markets in the near future. Threats: Maybe the largest external factor that poses a threat to the success of Grouchers™ is the fact that its competition’s products and markets are very similar to its own. Each of its six competitors have been in the market of mountain bikes for equally as long and the majority of them have also already capitalized on the youth market with a secondary product line. The fact that each of Grouchers’ competitors is similar to the firm itself means simply that the firm must take extra measures to ensure its ability to stand out and attract more of the market to maximize its share. Another external threat for Grouchers™ is its top competitor, Vicious Cycles. Vicious Cycles currently holds the highest market capitalization of each of Grouchers’ competitors and has outperformed Grouchers™ in almost every aspect financially. Though it has yet to hinder Grouchers’ ability to perform successfully in the market, it has indefinitely held Grouchers™ back from a large share of its potential market. With Vicious Cycles’ product quality and price points, it is a direct competitor with Grouchers™ and is therefore a threat to the firm’s ability to capture the majority of its market. An external threat to the bicycle industry as a whole is advancement in transportation technology. As new modes of transportation arise and current methods are improved, the bicycle becomes increasingly less desirable and in some areas relatively obsolete from a practical standpoint. Grouchers™ must be sure to address this threat in the future in a way that promotes the use of its products in future landscapes that could potentially cause a drastic decrease in sales and market value. Business Resources: Grouchers™ prides itself on the teamwork used to make each and every decision before any major financial endeavors. Every member of our team was specialized in a specific field that was optimal for helping with a singular part of the business, however it was when the company’s executive board perused an idea from all different angles together that the best option was discovered.
  • 13. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 12 Athira Sivan (CEO) As CEO Ms. Sivan is in control of the business’ everyday decisions and plays an integral role in ensuring that the members of the executive board all come to good decisions that provide the best net profit while making sure the company runs in a smooth, efficient, amicable manner. Ms. Sivan brings to the table her years of formerly working for Pearson Specter Law firm which provide her with logical critical thinking and the ability to make decisions decisively after most efficiently encompassing all of the facts. Ms. Sivan’s financial resources include owning the New York Yankees which would provide resources if the company were to ever go into debt. Dave Geib (CFO) As CFO Mr. Geib is responsible for deciding key financial aspects of the company. This includes decisions on whether or not to take on Debt, Equity or Issue Dividends. All of this is decided after Mr. Geib has thoroughly checked the company’s financial statements. Equally as important, Mr. Geib also uses these records to forecast the upcoming year’s numbers in order to assist the CEO in deciding what to do in the upcoming quarter in order to ensure financial gain to the company. Mr. Geib’s financial resources include owning several Model’s franchise stores along with the personal financial resources he has gained from 20 years of working on Wall Street. Emma Zdeigbloski (CMO) Ms. Zdeigbloski provides the advertisement and marketing plans needed to get the Groucher’s model’s name out into the consumer sphere. Ms. Zdeigbloski is also responsible for spreading the brand name and recommending retail prices. Ms. Zdeigbloski offers a unique perspective through prior experience as CMO of Estee Lauder Cosmetics and work in the marketing department of Armani Exchange. Ms. Zdeigbloski’s financial resources include ownership of Sephora stores along the East Coast. Gordon Milne (Operations Management) Mr. Milne provides important production, supply and quality strategies for upcoming years to ensure maximum net profit after the end of the year. Mr. Milne’s history of being an Air Force as a General gives him the experience needed at calculating numbers and finding maximum and optimal capacity or production and supply while not giving up on quality and reputation. Mr. Milne’s financial resources include owning several Private Military Companies (PMC) that provide planes and equipment to the Air Force. Business Strategy: Strategic Placement in the Industry
  • 14. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 13 According to carefully done research, the Grouchers™ company has chosen to be spread across a wide array of placements in the Industry. Our recently launched Road Bikes are low price with medium quality, our mountain bikes are high price with medium quality and our youth bikes are medium price with medium quality. It is important to the Grouchers™ company to make sure that although our prices vary between high and medium, our quality will never go below medium nor will our prices to keep the standard image we have accumulated. Objective 1: Increasing Brand Awareness and Distribution Grouchers™ is a distinctive brand that is focused uniquely on selling our bikes in a humorous friendly manner. It is important to us that this is the image that is projected to consumers. For this reason, our goal is to distribute our bikes widely in a manner of stores that is best fit for each bike along with our distinct name that will, with the help of our marketing team, conjure up thoughts of fun, reliable, sturdy bikes. Objective 2: Make sure all employees are working to their full capacity to reach optimal working conditions and results Grouchers™ employees are highly valued in the company and it is our goal to ensure the wellbeing of our employees are perfectly balanced such that they will all have the appropriate drive and enthusiasm necessary to give their all into making Grouchers™ bikes. To reach this goal we will have safe, comfortable working conditions that will show us results at the end of each quarter in the form of higher output. Objective 3: Promote Healthy activity through reaching the Younger consumer audience In the age where technology often causes the younger generation to shack themselves up inside, Grouchers™ makes it a goal to incite them to jump onto our bikes and have fun. We aim to convince the younger generation through the careful use of marketing through the internet, that the Grouchers™ brand of bikes offers a world of fun that they want to be a part of. For the even younger generation, we convince parents to buy the bikes through advertising the health benefits their children will have when playing outside on their Grouchers™ Youth Bike (Dabe). Objective 4: Take on as little debt as possible while still successfully expanding and running the company. While it is a necessary evil all companies will have to do when expanding, Grouchers™ aims to take on as little debt to reduce the risk of liabilities in the future. Since our executive board has vast quantities of financial resources, the Grouchers™ team’s goal is to take advantage of the revenue and financial resources available before taking on any debt.
  • 15. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 14 Financial Projections and Budgets: Grouchers™ currently holds the lowest market share in retail dollar sales with a share of 11.8%. The firm has drawn its focus in the coming year toward improving its degree of market share. Grouchers™ plans to accomplish this via the launch of a new product line of road bikes which will, for all intents and purposes, allow the firm to reach out into a new market of experienced cyclists. By entering a new market of cyclists entirely, Grouchers™ hopes to profit from a proportionately large increase in sales, thereby increasing its own presence in the bicycle market as a whole. In examination of its competition, Grouchers™ has also acknowledged that its top competitors including Vicious Cycles and Squad Goals have the similar approach of high production and intermediate price points while Vicious Cycles has managed to capture the majority of the market share through its higher levels of production than Grouchers’ own. The reactive response that is to be taken by Grouchers™ is to expand its capacity to produce in coming years in hopes of increasing productivity so that its sales numbers may rival those of Vicious Cycles. The majority of the firm’s budget has been allocated into research and development of new products, marketing, and production efficiency and quality. Two years ago, Grouchers™ launched a youth bike at a cost of $1,000,000 for research and development as well as a total allocation of $1,600,000 for marketing. $1,000,000 were put into television marketing, $100,000 into internet marketing, and $500,000 into magazine marketing. Production capacity, efficiency, and quality were also adjusted to compensate for the increased demand associated with a new market being reached with a total cost of another $1,600,000. Of the $1,600,000 spent on the production upgrades necessary for launching the youth bike, $1,000,000 were spent on the efficiency of factories, $350,000 on their capacities to produce, and $250,000 on the quality of the products. This coming year, Grouchers™ is launching another new product line of road bikes which have once again drawn a great deal of the firm’s budget into research and development, marketing, and production. The launch of the road bike will cost another $1,000,000 in research and development expenses, $1,600,000 more in marketing at the same values for each marketing medium listed for the youth bike in prior years, and a total cost of $1,650,000 in production. Fortunately for the firm, the only cost incurred in regards to production was an increase of factory capacities by 2,000 units at a cost of $50,000, which should prove to be a very minorsetback in Grouchers’ budgeting volume. Marketing Plan: Grouchers™ was founded by four grumpy people who find life's joys in the sport of cycling. Our goal at Grouchers™ is to provide customers a release from what makes them grouchy and an opportunityto enjoy an activity
  • 16. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 15 that is fun, safe and good for one's health. We craft unique, high quality products aimed at a high-class customer. Our bikes are an investment in future happiness and an investment in one's health and sense of self. To add to Grouchers' air of sophistication, we have added professional road cyclist Vicenzo Nibali, who recently rode one of our finely-crafted road bikes to his 2014 Tour de France victory, as the official spokesperson for our road bikes, which are aimed at a professional, dedicated market. Since these bikes are an investment, they are targeted at an older market that is committed to having the absolute best in road bike technology. We use advertisements in top cycling magazines, and have featured one of our bikes for a speed test on the hit television show Top Gear. Our road bike advertisements stand out for their subtlety and classy atmosphere. Grouchers™ also features a mountain bike that is very popular with teens, young adults and young-at-heart adrenaline enthusiasts. We advertise this bike as a high-performing but still reasonably priced model that puts the safety of the rider first. This bike was recently featured as part of the X Games, where we sponsored a massive audience giveaway to increase word-of-mouth advertising for our bikes. Our sales increased 15% in the following weeks because of this move. We frequently advertise this bike on television networks like Spike and ESPN2, where the target audience is young males who enjoy adventure sports. We also use the internet to advertise our mountain bikes, specifically on Facebook where our target audience can be found by perusing basic profile “likes”. We also advertise our bikes before appropriate mountain biking Youtubevideos. Our youth bikes are a fairly new venture for Grouchers. We aim to produce high quality, affordable bikes for kids that are as fun as they are safe. We sell these bikes in discount stores to encourage all demographics to try our high quality product. Grouchers™ is different from other youth bike manufacturers because we advertise to the parents of the children who would own these bikes, not the children themselves. We want to convey to parents that Grouchers™ youth bikes are bikes that they can have confidence in as being the safest on the market. We want parents to know we closely monitorthe entire production process in the US to ensure the highest quality product. We would advertise on television during the day, when stay-at-home moms would be watching TV, in between programs like The View or Oprah. We would also advertise online by sending bikes to popular mommyblogs for independent review. Lastly, we would utilize parenting magazines like Family Circle to get the word out about our fun and safe product.
  • 17. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 16 Conclusion: Grouchers™ has always strived to never fail its customer base and remain a stable company. We will become successful enough to expand into all of the major urban markets in the nation and then globally. We support the community of avid cyclist, urban commuters, and professionals alike; and aim to foster a new generation of healthy individuals. We will not falter and we will never fail.
  • 18. Geib, Milne, Sivan, and Zdeigbloski - 17 Works Cited: "Bicycle Network Development - Department of City Planning." Bicycle Network Development - Department of City Planning. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/bike/home.shtml>. "Bicycle Requirements Business Guidance." U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Bicycle- Requirements/>. "Bikenomics." Grist. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://grist.org/series/bikenomics/>. "How Bicycling Will save the Economy (if We Let It)." Grist. N.p., 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://grist.org/biking/2011-02-28-how-bicycling-will-save-the-economy/>. "Inside Minnesota's Booming Bike Economy." MinnesotaBusiness Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://www.minnesotabusiness.com/inside-minnesotas-booming-bike-economy>. "Pedaling Away from the Health Care Crisis." Grist. N.p., 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://grist.org/biking/2011-03-28-pedaling-away-from-the-health-care-crisis/>. "Smartsims Simulation Portal." Smartsims Online Simulation Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <https://websim1.smartsims.com/>. Twork., and Black). Approval Protocol (n.d.): n. pag. Web. "UCI - Union Cycliste Internationale." Equipment. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://www.uci.ch/inside-uci/rules- and-regulations/equipment-165067/>.