Business proposal for opening my own denim boutique "Blue Crush." Senior Project (Spring 2010)

1. BLUE CRUSH
Business Plan
Karyn Mariano
4/15/2010

2. Blue Crush
Table of Contents
I) Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... 3
Mission Statement .................................................................................................................................... 3
II) The Business ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Business Overview .................................................................................................................................... 4
Operations ............................................................................................................................................. 7
Industry Overview .......................................................................................................................... 15
Marketing ................................................................................................................................. 17
Competition ......................................................................................................................... 21
Human Resources ............................................................................................................ 23
Works Cited .................................................................................................................................... 29
III) Financials ...................................................................................................................................................
IV) Supporting Documents .............................................................................................................................
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3. Blue Crush
I) Executive Summary
Upon the completion of my proposed business plan for the opening of Blue Crush
boutique, a sole proprietorship by Karyn Mariano I see how although this is a rough economic
time for the retail industry, denim still remains a strong presence in the consumer's closet. Blue
Crush sets itself apart from other denim stores because we have a specially trained staff of
stylists who have the knowledge and experience in the industry to find our customers the
perfect fit and styles to meet their personal and/or professional needs. These premium denim
brands include Rock & Republic, True Religion, Citizens of Humanity, Hudson, J Brand, Seven for
All Mankind, and Miss Me. Along with these well known brands, Blue Crush will also carry our
own private label line of denim that will be premium but at a lower price point than compared
to most of the other brands we carry. Blue Crush is located in Hingham Massachusetts, at 349
Lincoln Street (at Shipyard Drive), "The Launch at Hingham Shipyard". "The Launch" is a brand
new development that is described as said to be one of the premier entertainment/shopping
destinations in Massachusetts. Blue Crush can further guarantee that our customers will leave
satisfied because we can provide tailoring services in house. We are expected to open in the
Summer of 2010 and I will be investing $25,00 of my own money into the business and will be
requesting a small business loan for $50,000. I will be using the money to paint the store and
add fixtures that will allow for a retail environment appropriate for the atmosphere at Blue
Crush. I will also use the money to hire an electrician to come in to do appropriate lighting, and
install the sound system as well as alarm system. I will be repaying the loan through business
revenues and at a loan repayment rate that I can handle. By controlling my levels of inventory
and offering premium denim brands that are moderately priced, I will be able to generate sales
while building a loyal client base through promotion, loyalty programs and excellent service.
Mission Statement:
Blue Crush was established with the vision of creating a one stop premium denim
boutique. We opened with the goal of providing our customers with the ultimate selection in
the finest quality denim. We are committed to providing the best shopping experience possible
through our knowledgeable staff, impeccable service, and relaxed environment. Blue Crush
believes that shopping should be therapeutic not stressful, which is why we pride ourselves on
our expert staff of stylists who are committed to finding you the perfect fit and style. We
deliver services and product of the utmost integrity. We are dedicated to professional
enrichment through teamwork, communication and respect. We will continuously seek ways to
stay ahead of the trends and provide our customers with the best selection of premium denim.
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4. Blue Crush
II) The Business
A. Business Overview
Blue Crush is the sole proprietorship of Karyn Mariano. Blue Crush was established as a
premium denim boutique on Massachusetts's south shore. The boutique offers the top name
brands in denim as well as Blue Crush's own private label denim and basic tops to compliment
our denim selection. Blue Crush sets itself apart from other denim stores because we have a
specially trained staff of stylists who have the knowledge and experience in the industry to find
our customers the perfect fit and styles to meet their personal and/or professional needs. Blue
Crush can further guarantee that our customers will leave satisfied because we can provide
tailoring services in house.
Blue Crush is located in Hingham Massachusetts, at 349 Lincoln Street (at Shipyard
Drive), "The Launch at Hingham Shipyard". "The Launch" is a brand new development that is
described as said to be one of the premier entertainment/shopping destinations in
Massachusetts. This waterfront mixed use development opened in the fall of 2009 and features
national retailers like Old Navy and Bed, Bath and beyond, and restaurants. Towering over the
retailers will be 90 residential units and mixed use office space with ocean front views. The
MBTA commuter ferry is located within walking distance and shuttles thousands of commuters
to and from Boston every day. Adjacent to the parking lot for the commuter ferry and retail
portion of the development there will be more than 500 elegant single and multiple family
residential units. This location is right off of route 3A a very busy stretch of road that travels
along the south shore, which a good portion of the day is heavily traveled, especially by
commuters to and from Boston. "The Launch" is the perfect location for Blue Crush because
there will be a constant flow of traffic in the area due to the commuter ferry, heavily traveled
road and the draw that this new development will bring to the area. The movie theater will help
attract a teenage crowd while other retailers such as Old Navy and Bed, Bath and beyond will
attract working women. This area is an ideal location for Blue Crush because we are geared
towards a target market that doesn't mind spending good money and Hingham is a town that is
known for its wealth. "The Launch" also allows for plenty of parking space and is a relaxed and
leisurely atmosphere, similar to what we portray at Blue Crush. Although our store itself will
not be visible from the street, the development will be, along with the signage for retailers and
restaurants located within it.
Because Blue Crush is a brand new denim boutique we are not well known, which is the
main reason why I chose this location, because of all the hype and free advertisement that has
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5. Blue Crush
come with it. "The Launch at Hingham Shipyard" has been covered in local newspapers such as
The Boston Globe and The Patriot Ledger and many people have long awaited the arrival of
such a one stop entertainment/shopping area and therefore the expected success of the
development is great. This development is a guaranteed attraction that will bring much traffic
through it and the other well known retailers that will share the area with us will help to draw
people in. Another draw to the location was the fact that there were no other boutiques like
Blue Crush in the area, there was a definite need for a premium denim store that specializes in
fit. As of the time of this business plan, there was still 210,000 square feet available of retail
space for lease and the rental rate was negotiable. Therefore I researched through
Showcase.com various other retail spaces for lease in the Hingham area. I found that for a store
of my size, 1,750 square feet, there was space available for $12 rent/SF/year, therefore the
annual amount would be about $21,000. The south shore has many wealthy communities and
is a popular destination for summer tourism and boating and therefore is ideal for Blue Crush's
target market.
The hours of operation for Blue Crush will be Monday through Saturday 10am-8pm, and
Sunday 12am-6pm. I chose to be open 7 days a week because the location in which we will be
in will have traffic all week long due to the various other shops and eateries located there in
addition to Patriot Cinema and condominiums. The hours of operation for Blue Crush were
developed to ensure that we were open at times that were most efficient as well as in relation
to the hours of other retailers in the development. Monday through Saturday we are opening
at 10am because other retailers are scheduled to open around the same time and are an ideal
time to start a day of shopping for our customer. We will stay open until 8pm Monday through
Friday because that allows our customers to either stop by on their commute home from work,
or before or after dinner at the local restaurants. We could potentially do a 9am opening on
Saturdays during the summer due to the influx of traffic in the area at that time of year. Sunday
we will not open until 12am because people generally like to relax and sleep in on Sundays and
therefore traffic would not pick up until around noon. Blue Crush will close early, at 6pm on
Sunday because most local retailers close early as well and people aren't as likely to shop later
on Sundays because they go home and relax before the upcoming work week.
I've decided to open Blue Crush as a sole proprietorship because I enjoy the freedom
and flexibility that comes with owning your own business. I am able to control all aspects of my
business as well as reap the benefits of gaining all the profits. However the main disadvantage
of being a sole proprietor is that if my business fails I am personally liable and therefore my
personal assets can be taken from me. Unlimited liability is a big risk as a sole proprietor but I
am a risk taker and as you will see through this business plan I have done my research and
strategically planned every aspect that will go into making Blue Crush successful. I also have had
years of retail experience on the selling floor as well as a manager and that combined with
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6. Blue Crush
knowledge, a Bachelor's of Science degree in Management with a concentration in fashion
merchandising, I am confident and prepared.
Blue Crush is a premium denim boutique that specializes in fit. In order to give our
customers the best opportunity to find their perfect fit and have the best shopping experience
possible we employ an expert staff of stylists as our sales associate staff. Our team of sales
associates has all had previous experience selling denim as well as styling their clients. This way
we can offer our customer a personal shopper type experience if they like. Blue Crush also
provides an in house tailoring service so our customers can really get that perfect fit customized
for them all in one shop. Our tailor is on hand Monday through Saturday 12-8pm so that our
customers can conveniently pick up or wait for their tailoring. Blue Crush also seeks every way
possible to keep our customers satisfied and making their shopping experience as relaxing as
possible so when you make a purchase we will put you into our computer database to include
your preference in leg opening, what kind of rise you prefer, wash, style and size, all for staff
use only and therefore we can pull new items for you as they come in and alert you when we
see something you would like. Because we are a premium denim boutique we offer some of the
best and most well known brands in the denim industry. These premium denim brands include
Rock & Republic, True Religion, Citizens of Humanity, Hudson, J Brand, Seven for All Mankind,
and Miss Me. Along with these well known brands, Blue Crush will also carry our own private
label line of denim that will be premium but at a lower price point than compared to most of
the other brands we carry. The Blue Crush denim line will feature basic five pocket styles as well
as denim leggings and specially colored denim such as red, turquoise, plum, yellow, tie-dye, and
acid wash.
One of the biggest strengths of Blue Crush is that it is a one stop shop for premium
denim shopping. We offer not only the latest trends and styles in the top designer brands but
also our own private label premium denim at a more moderate price level. Blue Crush's
dedication to the perfect fit is strength of our company. At Blue Crush our team of expert
stylists can determine what styles and cuts are best for your body type and our in-house tailors
can further customize your denim for you to create an all around perfect fit that you can't get
anywhere else on the south shore. Having our own in-house tailor is a huge strength because it
allows customers and the ease and convenience to have their denim tailored while they shop or
pick it up by the end of the day. A strength for Blue Crush is our continual education and
training of our sales associates which allows us to help answer customers questions and
concerns about fit and style. The location for Blue Crush poses as a strength because of the
constant flow of traffic due to its close proximity to main roadways and the commuter ferry as
well as other retailers/entertainment. One of Blue Crush's weaknesses is the timing of market
entry due to the economic downturn and high unemployment rate. Probably the biggest
weakness for Blue Crush is the fact that we only provide denim and no tops or accessories. Our
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7. Blue Crush
customers may find it inconvenient to shop at one store for denim and another store for the
remainder of an outfit, especially if they are pressed for time. Another weakness for Blue Crush
could be the higher price points that come with the sale of premium denim in an economic time
where retailers like TJ Maxx and Target have thrived. Finally, another weakness for Blue Crush
could be the current saturation of the denim market. There are constantly new competitors and
brands coming into the industry everyday which poses a constant threat to Blue Crush but at
the same time it forces my team and I to constantly be innovative and come up with new ways
to stand out from the crowd.
B. Operations
Goods will be produced for the Blue Crush private label through Plains Cotton
Cooperative in Lubbock, Texas. Plains is a denim factory run by 26,000 farmer- members
(Ramey, 2009). Business has been slowing for denim mills, "the business has been slowing for
four to five months," said Jack Mathews, vice president of fabric sales. "Most of our customers
have planned very conservatively, keeping inventories very low and turning their inventory
more often," said Mathews. Therefore this denim mill was a good choice for Blue Crush
because we are a smaller boutique with eventual plans for expansion when the economy
regains some strength in a few years, but I know that this mill is well equipped to handle denim
orders for quick delivery. The mill is also accustomed to handling the rush of the busy season,
June-December and they have a long list of customers that are nationally and globally know, so
they come with a great reputation. UPS will be delivering our Blue Crush denim from Texas to
our store and we also use UPS to handle online deliveries. I have done business with UPS for
years in the retail industry and they've repeatedly been efficient and effective with their
services and handling their goods being delivered. Being on time is crucial when delivering
inventory, especially when we won't be carrying much of it and UPS has proven that it can
perform well under time constraints and guarantees that the product will get there when it is
expected.
As the buyer for Blue Crush I will be going to trade fairs and markets in New York City in
order to find the best prices for the denim brands and establish relationships with my vendors.
The distribution type that my vendors and I have agreed upon is an extensive type which means
that my suppliers have made agreements with Blue Crush and a few other retailers that
designate the latter as the few stores in a specific geographic region to carry certain brands or
products. This way I can ensure that when potential competitors open up in my geographic area
that they will not be carrying the same exact selection of brands that I am carrying. I will be
going to market to order new inventory once every season or quarter and also to check out
new innovations in the denim industry. The recent textile improvement methods to increase
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8. Blue Crush
sustainability have been on the radar at recent market visits and consumers are increasingly
more aware of what type of fabric they're buying and how it will affect their carbon footprint.
"The challenge facing the textile industry to reduce its carbon footprint is significant. Global
production of all fibers consumes 1 trillion gallons of water, 33 trillion gallons of oil and 20
billion pounds of chemicals annually, " said Len Farias a representative of Cotton Incorporated,
(Tran, 2009). Blue Crush has made a commitment to keep our carbon footprint to a minimum
and because retailers have a big role in enforcing their suppliers to make changes that will
benefit the environment. For example, our Blue Crush private label denim has an organic
cotton label because just by improving the label we help to save the environment. "Five million
woven labels adds up to 6,175 pounds of polyester yarn, or 211, 550 plastic bottles," said Barry
Van Dyk, a director at Avery Dennison which offers labels in recycled polyester, organic cotton
and other environmentally friendly fabrics (Tran, 2009).
Supplies will be ordered on the first Monday of every month or according to their need,
for instance it is a manger's responsibility to notify me if there is a shortage of any supplies and
they must add it into our computer system as to what needs to be ordered and I will take care
of the amounts. The POS system that I will be using is a two station retail POS system ordered
through the website The POS Geeks (www.theposgeeks.com) for a total of $4,372. I have also
ordered the Microsoft Retail Management System software for the POS systems, for $498,
which come with automated inventory and purchasing management. I can track item
movement and supplier histories and quickly generate purchase orders and add items. Also I
can export purchase orders to Microsoft office Excel and Microsoft office Word for easy
customization and viewing as well as keep my own copies on file and have a way for managers
to easily view and update supplies needed. I have also order through the same website the
receipt printer paper, which comes in a case of 50 rolls per case at $71.99 each. As far as other
essential supplies go I have been ordering through the website Store Supply Warehouse
(www.storesupply.com). These supplies are as follows: blue paper shopping bags in two sizes-
16" x 6" x 12" and 16" x 6" x 19", tagging guns, tagging needles, regular fasteners, unstrung
large price tags, tissue paper, gift boxes, denim size stickers, . Fixtures that I have bought
through Store Supply Warehouse are 14" natural wood pant/skirt hangers which come in a case
of 100 at $79.50, two 60"H x 60"L single garment racks, as well as at officesupplyuniverse.com
where I bought the office desk, chair, two fitting room chairs, break room chair, microwave etc.
Cleaning supplies and items for upkeep such as a vacuum, duster, broom, dustpan, Windex,
paper towels and etc will be purchased by me through Target and BJs Wholesale stores where I
can buy in bulk for cheap and not have to pay shipping and handling charges.
The daily operations for Blue Crush start as soon as you walk in the door. The manager
on duty, after re-locking the door upon entry, must immediately head to the back room to shut
off the alarm by punching in there personalized 4 digit alarm code. Each of the three managers
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9. Blue Crush
will have their own, separate alarm codes, so therefore if there are any problems or
disturbances I will know according to the alarm code that is responsible. Once inside the
manager will lock the outside door and proceed inside where they will immediately head to the
back room where the employee break room, office and stock room are located and enter their
alarm code to disable the alarm, because upon entering the store you have a short period of
time before the alarm sounds. After disabling the alarm the manager will start the two registers
and have their opening associate begin to dust and vacuum the store. The manager will head
back to the office and punch in their combination to open the safe where the two register
drawers are located. Next the manager will head back to the registers and follow the prompts
of the lead register that ask questions such as "is this the correct date of today?, what is the
weather and temperature," and etc. The manager will then manually check and adjust the
hours of employees for the previous day after looking through the schedule book and making
sure everyone clocked in and out when they were supposed to, such as for half an hour and
hour breaks. You can't clock in until these prompts have been completed so managers also
write into the schedule book what time they arrived if their clock in time was not correct.
Manager sick time and vacation time is also included in the schedule book that needs to be
manually added into the time clock on the registers as well. Now the manager and associate are
able to clock in with their employee number and password. The manager can now open the
register draw and begin to count each draw to make sure that they both have days starting
amount $300. Once the manager has counted the drawers they will print out the reports for
the previous day such as the store's scorecard which tells them what their conversion was, if
they made target, what percentage of each brand they sold compared to their goal, percentage
of gift cards sold, the number of exchanges/returns made and any other information that
impacts the store's business.
The manager will then check the voicemail to see if I have left them any messages for
the day's activities that vary from the norm. Finally the manager will do a sensor sweep of the
entire store to make sure that there were no sensors found, ultimately meaning there was a
theft that occurred, so that later if a sensor is found the on duty manager will know when and
where it occurred and is not wondering if had been there from the day before. Whenever a
sensor is found the manager must immediately report it in an incident report that can be
printed from the back office computer which contains any human resources needs, training
guides, product knowledge and operations. Managers and associates that are on schedule to
open must arrive at the store at 9am in order to complete all the necessary opening duties
before we unlock our doors at 10am. At this point the associate should have their cleaning
completed, including Windex the front windows and fitting room mirrors. The manager will
now go through the store with the associate to see what needs replenishment. The manager
must also go through the list of supplies on the POS system and make sure there are no
additions that need to be made to our list of supplies to get ordered which occurs on the first
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10. Blue Crush
Monday of every month or as needed depending on the season and traffic that the store has
been having. The Manager must also make sure that all displays are up to date and represent
the store's image- stylish and classy. Also managers and associates must see that we have a full
size run of all items on the selling floor. Mannequins should be dusted as needed which would
be another responsibility of the associate. Finally the manager and associate will turn on the
music system that is located in the back room of the store and at this point it should be about
opening time.
The closing procedures are not as in depth as the opening procedures. A manager will
lock the door at 8pm Monday-Friday and 6pm on Sundays and will proceed to the registers to
look at the final numbers for the day in the POS system and make sure they are recorded and
saved and then they send them to my office email for me to view in the morning. The manager
will then close out the two register drawers and will put the money out for the nightly deposit.
While the manager is counting the drawers the associate will take out the trash bin behind the
cash wrap, back room and bathroom and leave them by the back door. The associate will also
take all hangers and sensors from the cash wrap to the back room to be put away. Finally the
associate will make sure that the fitting rooms are free of merchandise and that the entire store
is sized correctly and all brands are assorted together neatly and in perfect presentation for the
next day. Then the manager will watch as the associate double counts the deposit from both
registers and the manger and associate will sign and date the deposit bag and closing envelope.
The closing envelope contains the day's receipts and the nightly deposit bag contains the
deposit as well as any checks received and a deposit slip for Bank of America. There will also be
a section of the schedule binder for manager communication that will contain each day's
deposit amount, date, signature and if either draw was over or short. The deposit will then be
put in the safe by the manager along with the two register drawers. Every morning I will be the
one to bring the previous night's deposit to the local bank of America and will receive a receipt
which will be filed in my office accordingly. The manager and associate will then take out the
trash through the back door where there will be a dumpster for our store only and then the
manager will lock the back door. Finally, at about 9pm, the manager will check the bag and
belongs of the associate and the associate will check the manager's bag, manager sets the
alarm code and they both proceed out the front door and then the manager will lock the door
behind them and check to make sure the door is locked while the associate is present.
When customers enter Blue Crush they will be greeted by the manager who is zoned in
the front of the store. There will always be at least one manager on duty as well as myself and
two associates that will be tending the store. One associate will be in charge of the cash wrap
station and the other associate will be zoned in the rear of the store and in the fitting rooms. I
will be rotating with the on duty manager around the store as needed, such as assisting
customers and associates or helping with ringing or fitting room needs. Upon entering
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11. Blue Crush
customers will be asked what brought them in today and we will try to ask them open-ended
questions to see what type of denim, style, or look they're looking for, we really don't want to
get an answer like "I'm just looking," so everyone is trained to attempt to build a conversation
and relationship with every customer so we can better help them. With our trained staff of
stylists that are our associates we can also try steering the customers towards brands and cuts
that would suit their body type best, allowing them to feel more appreciated and comfortable
shopping at Blue Crush. Associates start fitting rooms for customers immediately and once
inside the associate is constantly checking up with them and finding out what worked and what
didn't and why. At Blue Crush we never want our customers leaving disappointed and empty
handed to we're constantly trying to find the best fit for you and inquiring into why certain
brands or styles aren't popular so we don't make the same mistakes in purchasing these items
or similar ones. The fitting room associate will also make sure to address any fitting concerns
and will inform our customers about our in house tailor who can customize their denim
especially for them.
If tailoring service is required the associate can recommend leaving the denim there, if it
is between the hours of 10am-2pm, and the customer can have their jeans ready by the end of
the day, otherwise the customer can have the denim altered by noon the following business
day. Finally once the customer is ready to make their purchase we have an associate waiting for
them at the cash wrap so the customer doesn't need to wait long and we again re-enforce the
sale by telling them how great the jeans looked or fit and how many ways they'll be able to
wear them with what is in their wardrobe. Also the cash wrap associate asks the customer if
they are a member of our Blue Crush loyalty program. If the customer says no then the
associate is instructed to say "oh well it comes with your purchase today! It is a completely free
rewards card, where every dollar you spend here or online you earn a point and every 200
points you get $10 put on your loyalty card." Then the associate will proceed to get the
customers information: name, zip code, email address, and day and month of their birthday
when they can receive double points all month. The associate can continue to talk about the
benefits of the loyalty card as they finish up the transaction. Associates also are encouraged to
push our gift cards and to let the customer know that our return/exchange policy is printed on
their receipt as well as on a sign at the cash wrap. All forms of payment are accepted at Blue
Crush besides traveler's checks and Discover card. Personal checks and credit cards will only be
accepted with a valid I.D. Our POS software also allows us to use multiple tenders for one
transaction to make it more convenient for the customers. Customers are allowed to make
returns/exchanges for up to 30 days after the date of their purchase and will receive a refund in
the same way they made their payment. Customers must have their receipt in order to receive
a full refund, otherwise the customer may exchange the item or receive store credit for
whatever price the item comes up as on our POS system. Any sale merchandise is exchange or
store credit only. Finally the associate will wrap the purchase in tissue paper along with their
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12. Blue Crush
receipt if the customer likes it in their bag and will then walk the shopping bag around the cash
wrap, thank them, and hand it to the customer for a nice, more upscale presentation. On the
customer's way out they will be thanked again by the manager in the front zone along with
"have a great day/night" or so forth. Any denim that has been left to be tailored is put on a rack
in the tailoring section of the back room. Each pair of denim has a tag on it that lets the tailor
know the customers full name, contact number, time of drop off and anticipated pick up and
their alteration needs. The tailor is available to help measure customers for alterations while
they're trying them on but our entire staff will be trained on how to properly measure and
make markings for hemming and so forth as well. Therefore if our tailor or there are minor
alterations to be made, our staff will be able to get the process started so that the tailor can
continue with their work. Tailoring will be done in the order in which it was received unless
there are special rush orders that can be done ahead of those who have no preference as to
when they would like to pick up their alterations. When customers come back to the store to
pick up their alterations they are again greeted and escorted to the cash wrap where they will
wait for the associate to bring out their denim from the rack out back of finished alterations.
We will suggest that the customer tries on their denim to make sure the alterations were done
to their complete satisfaction and then we will charge them for the tailoring. Customers are
also notified that after alterations have been made and approved that their denim is a final
sale.
I have laid out a schedule for the startup operations that must happen before Blue
Crush can have its grand opening this summer. Three months opening I must have the store
layout completed and up to my standards. Once the layout is complete I will have the painters
come in and paint the store a light, robin's egg blue color that is consistent with our store's
image, and ties into the product we sell- blue jeans. There will be a white trim to compliment
the blue paint and give the store a clean, classic look. The color blue represents efficiency,
productivity, cleanliness and relaxation and that is exactly what I want Blue Crush to project to
our customers. At this stage, after painting had been competed signage will be put up outside,
above the front entrance as well as on the development's signage at street level view. I will
have hardwood floors in Blue Crush which will need to be professionally stained a natural color
to go with the hangers I've ordered in a natural wood color and then I will have a royal blue
large throw rug under the furniture in the fitting room area.
Two months before we open I will have the plumber come in for the bathroom in the
back room and will have an electrician come in to install special lighting for the wall displays,
front window display, and cash wrap. Additional lighting will be put in the tailoring section as
well as the other areas of the back room. The electrician will also set up the security systems
such as the sensor detector that will be at the front entrance to alert a potential theft. I will also
have the alarm company come in to install the alarm system and train me in adjusting codes for
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13. Blue Crush
the managers and other responsibilities. At two months the cash wrap will be installed, when
you walk in the front door of Blue Crush it will be located to your right, against the wall facing
out towards the middle-rear of the store. The furniture for the fitting rooms will be installed
such as seating for those waiting, mirrors for each room as well as benches in each room. The
fitting rooms are located at the rear of the store on the left hand side if you're walking through
the entrance. The back room includes the managers' office, stock room, employee break area,
employee restroom and tailoring quarters. The back room entrance is located on the right back
wall of the store if you're facing it from the front entrance. The furniture will be brought in for
the back room such as a break table for employees and a folding chair as well as a wall of 8
lockers for their personal belongings. The back room will also include a mini refrigerator and a
microwave for employee use. The desk and chair for the back office will be brought in as well as
the computer system for the office as well as the two POS systems which will be installed so we
can work out any glitches ahead of time and employees can begin their training on the systems.
Two shelving units will be brought in for the stock room to hold additional inventory as well as
supplies. There will also be a fold up rolling rack that will be put in the stock room for use
during high traffic seasons for additional inventory. The tailors' room will be equipped with a
work station desk and chair as well as a sewing machine, all other supplies necessary that they
will need we require upon hiring that they provide them self. For the selling floor, three
shelving units will be installed that go along most of the wall on the left hand side of the store
when you walk into Blue Crush, and will be equipped with three shelves on each unit, with a
total of 9 shelves altogether. The shelving unit will be where all of our designer denim will be
displayed and label according to their brand, smallest sizes on top, largest sizes on the bottom
units. Finally, two round, three tiered tables will be brought in for the center of the store and
will display the Blue Crush private label denim. I will also have another fold up rolling rack for
the back room that will be used when we have sales and will be placed next to the entrance for
the fitting rooms at the rear of the store. At two months I will also have the two mannequins
brought in so that I can start to design a window presentation.
One month before the store opens I will have the bathroom professionally cleaned and
the supplies ordered and delivered for the bathroom, cleaning, cash wrap, and the rest of the
store's necessities for its daily operations. The inventory will be brought in at the one month
mark as well and we will begin to set it up on the selling floor 3 weeks before we open so we
can how to use our selling floor space most effectively and efficiently. Two weeks before we
open I will stock the supplies at the cash wrap such as tissue paper, bags, receipt paper, gift
cards, merchandise credit cards etc. At two weeks I will also have orientation for all of the staff
where we will go over the company image, goals, mission statement, and atmosphere.
Employees will begin a week long training process at this point as well where they will come in
for mock work days and practice different situations that could happen on the selling floor and
how to best work through them. Employees will be trained on the POS systems as well as loss
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prevention and product knowledge. Employees will also receive Blue Crush code of conduct in
which they must take home, read and sign. Finally the first week before Blue Crush opens the
staff will be making final adjustments on merchandise on the floor and they will each be
allowed a first purchase of 50% so that everyone can wear a brand of denim that we carry for
our grand opening week, otherwise employees receive 35% off. Employees will help put up
grand opening banners and signage in the front window and will follow up with other
promotions that they've done in the past few weeks leading up to the grand opening, such as
booking appointments with customers, and handing out brochures/ business cards. Music will
be selected a week before opening and I will be hand picking the music, most likely I will have a
collection of mixed cds that I will have made that will be relaxing yet up beat so that our
customers and employees feel comfortable and entertained while in Blue Crush. The music
system will consist of a stereo that can play cds, radio or has an IPod jack so that I could also
put on playlists from my IPod or a radio station depending on the season or if we have a special
event. Three speakers will be set up throughout the store that will be attached to the stereo
from the back room. The electrician will be installing a type of surround sound so that the wires
will be internally hidden in the wall for a cleaner appearance. A speaker will be in the fitting
rooms, near the cash wrap and in the top, front, right hand corner of the store where the major
traffic will be. The electrician will take care of the installation when he comes in two months
before opening.
Quality control will be of great importance at Blue Crush because one of our company
goals is to ensure customer satisfaction and provide great value and you can't accomplish either
without quality control. To ensure quality control I will be in constant contact with my vendors
and form close relationships with them so that I receive the best service possible. Also, because
I will be offering some of the top names in premium denim I can guarantee that they're product
that I am selling will be of the highest quality and will be training my employees on each brand
such as how they're made and where and of what materials and how to care for them. For the
Blue Crush private label denim I will ensure quality control through constant monitoring of the
manufacturing process through a web cam that will be set up at the manufacturing plant in
Texas. Also through WebEx I can have monthly meetings, in which we can talk and view the
same documents, with the head of manufacturing to ensure that the product with my name on
it is being made with the finest, most sustainable textiles in the industry at a price my
customers can afford. Before deciding upon Plains Cotton Cooperative in Lubbock, Texas for the
manufacturing of our private label I made sure to research the plant and also heard about their
outstanding reputation through other retailers that have their products manufactured there
such as Lee, Gap, Old Navy, Levi Strauss, Penney's, Kohl's, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.
The quality of our in-house tailoring is controlled through my intense hiring process. I
had my tailors bring in some of their work and had them perform sample alterations as part of
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15. Blue Crush
their hiring. I also made sure that I hired tailors with at least 15 years experience and previous
work with denim tailoring. I give my tailors quarterly performance reviews to ensure that their
work continues to be outstanding. I also ask my customers to fill out anonymous surveys about
our staff, product, service and tailoring that comes with their receipt and this will give me good
feedback as to how to better control the quality of all aspects of our business. Customers have
an incentive to fill out these surveys because they can receive 10% off one pair of denim at
their next visit to Blue Crush when they return with the completed survey.
C. Industry Research
In order to successfully open a premium denim boutique such as Blue Crush I have had
to spend a lot of time researching into the premium denim industry. Women's Wear Daily or
WWD was a great source for a lot of the statistics and up to the minute information on the
business trends of retailers selling premium denim. "In a recession that has rattled the
foundations of apparel and retail industries, the case for denim has never been stronger,"
(Tucker & Ressmeyer, 2009). Despite the economic downturn my research has shown that
consumers are still spending on denim because denim can be worn in a variety of ways. "Data
from market research firm The NPD Group shows that the women's denim industry acheived
what few other apparel segments could over the last year it grew. U.S. women's jeans sales in
the channels tracked by NPD totaled $8.03 billion for the 12 months through March 31, a 4.6%
increase over the $7.68 billion reported in the same period a year ago," (Tucker & Ressmeyer,
2009). "I think what we're beginning to see is that denim has a life of its own," said Marshal
Cohen, NPD's chief industry analyst, " I don't want to say recession proof, but it was able to
maintain whatever growth it had," (Tucker & Ressmeyer, 2009). However there were noticable
shifts in how much consumers were willing to spend and where they shopped. According to
NPD, the average price women paid for denim declined 1.6% from $23.44 to $23.83 last year.
The largest price segment was represented at $20 to $29.99, where sales rose 6.9% to 2.34
billion from $2.06 billion. Specialty stores remain the channel of choice among consumers by a
wide margin. However consumers were on the hunt for bargains. Outlet sales vaulted nearly
50% to $101.3 million from $69 million, (Tucker & Ressmeyer, 2009). Making progress in this
environment will require brands to exceed customer's expectations on price and perceived
value. They'll also have to adjust their own measures as to what qualifies as success. Andrew
Olah, chief executive officer of Olah Inc., a U.S. agent for foreign contract manufacturers and
textile and hardware vendors targeting denim designers, believes that brands and retailers
must provide customers with a reason to buy, more so than ever before. "There's a lot of
opportunity because there's a lot of jeans being sold," said Olah. "The issue is why would
someone buy them from you." (Tucker & Ressmeyer, 2009). Lawrence Scott, owner of
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16. Blue Crush
Pittsburgh Jeans Co. said great sale days were considered normal a year ago. He's found his
denim business has settled solidly in the $160-$198 range. Anything with a retail price point
approaching $300 he won't even consider anymore, (Tucker & Ressmeyer, 2009).
The denim industry market is saturated at cheaper price points and at $125 and above.
Tracey Mullin, president and chief executive officer of the NFR says, "As people focus primarily
on price, strong promotions and deep discounts will likely win over back to school shoppers this
year," (Tucker & Samperton, Jeans Primed To Go To The Head Of The Class, 2009). An NFR
survey found college freshman may present the best opportunity. The NFR survey found
freshmen will spend $820.77 an average on getting ready for school. Almost $180 will be spent
on apparel and shoes. While the overall outlook may be weak for retailers, the denim category
proven itself, and brands and retailers are counting on it to get them through the fall. Denim
brands and retailers are looking to capitalize on a style shift towards distressed, vintage
inspired denim. Given True Religion's initial success as a destroyed denim pioneer, this trend
should bode well for the brand. Several major retailers are also looking at fall denim collections
as a way to reassert themselves as denim retailers. Guess is employing a strategy where this
spring it said it would look to turn consumers' attention back to Guess' denim heritage. As part
of that effort, management hopes to take advantage of shifting consumer spending habits by
tailoring its denim assortment to those shoppers looking for greater value from premium
denim, (Tucker & Samperton, Jeans Primed To Go To The Head Of The Class, 2009). Levi Strauss
& Co. president and CEO John Anderson said the company was seeing consumers gravitate
towards two distinct styles. 'The consumer, depending on the wearing occasion, is either
wearing a clean, more polished finish or going to the extreme opposite," (Tucker & Samperton,
Jeans Primed To Go To The Head Of The Class, 2009).
Consumers are starting to move down market for jeans. People who were premium
jeans shoppers have turned to mainstream department stores for their denim, while middle-
income customers who earlier shopped at department and specialty stores have moved to
mass merchants and national chains such as Wal-Mart, Target, J.C. Penney and Kohl's. (Ramey,
2009). Diversified apparel giant VF Corp. reported that U.S. consumers trading down to lower
prices were responsible for half of the 6% decline in jeans sales it experienced during the first
quarter of 2008, a period when overall company revenue rose 10.3% to $1.85 billion, buoyed by
international sales, (Ramey, 2009). "Mass denim and premium jeans markets aren't immune to
the current economic environment," said Ellen Basilico, a consumer consultant for Deloitte
Touche. "You are going to see some decline in these markets along with the rest of retail,"
(Ramey, 2009). However America's love with denim is far from over, according to a Cotton Inc.
survey of consumer attitudes towards shopping. For the first quarter of 2008, of 500 people
between the ages of 13 and 70 surveyed by Cotton Inc., 31% said they planned to buy several
denim items in the next three months, 43% said they would buy one or two items and 26% had
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no future denim purchases in mind, (Ramey, 2009). Emphasizing the mass sector are jeans
priced under $40, representing the largest segment of the U.S. jeans market, based on units, or
87% according to 2007 figures. Of the higher tier, only 1.3% were jeans priced $100 and above.
Retailers must plan very conservatively right now, keeping their inventories very low and
turning them over more often. However one of the more interesting things about the last
several years is "how the premium jean segment has acted as a showcase for all consumers and
how good jeans can look", said International Textile Group president Tom McKenna. "It's really
created pressures at every price point from the mid tier to mass channels for brands to improve
the look and performance of their product. (Ramey, 2009)
D. Marketing
As a niche retailer Blue Crush will be identifying specific customer segments and
deploying unique strategies to address the desires of those segments rather than a mass
market. The target customer for Blue Crush is female, between the ages of early 20s to mid-40s
and has a moderate level of discretionary income. Our target customer is a fashionable woman
who values style, quality and fit and will spend good money to ensure she gets it. Ideally our
customer has an annual income of at least $50,000 and lives on the south shore. The Blue Crush
woman likes to look polished and classy but also likes to be fashionable and take risks. Blue
Crush provides denim for our target customer for professional wear, casual wear, and denim to
wear when going out and for more social occasions. Typically our customer would travel into
Boston and shop at department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue or boutiques such as 344 to
find premium denim brands. Blue Crush’s price points range from moderate to high depending
on the brand of denim. Our private label denim and the Miss Me brand are more moderately
priced, averaging at about $89.00. On the higher end of the price spectrum are brands such as
True Religion and Rock & Republic which we carry at a maximum price of $295.
After taking the VALS survey, a survey that describes your primary motivators, I found
that I am primarily an experiencer and secondary an innovator. The ideal consumer for Blue
Crush is both an experiencer and an innovator. According to VALS; Experiencers are motivated
by self-expression. Young, enthusiastic, and impulsive consumers, experiencers quickly become
enthusiastic about new possibilities but are equally quick to cool. They are also avid consumers
and spend a comparatively high proportion of their income on fashion, entertainment, and
socializing. Their purchases reflect the emphasis that they place on looking good and having
"cool" stuff. Experiencers are psychologically described as sophisticated, in charge and curious.
Innovators are successful, sophisticated, take-charge people with high self-esteem. Because
they have such abundant resources, they exhibit all three primary motivations in varying
degrees. They are change leaders and are the most receptive to new ideas and technologies.
Innovators are very active consumers, and their purchases reflect cultivated tastes for upscale,
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niche products and services. Image is important to Innovators, not as evidence of status or
power but as an expression of their taste, independence, and personality. Their possessions
and recreation reflect a cultivated taste for the finer things in life. Innovators are
psychologically described as trend seeking, impulsive and variety seeking. According to
demographic and behavior shapshots that highlight the vibrancy of using VALS in the United
States, the percentage of innovators in the U.S. is about 10% and the median age is 45, 65% are
married, 72% work full time, 98% used the internet in the past 30 days, and the media channel
preference are the internet and print. Experiencers make up about 13% of the U.S. and the
median age is 24, 25% are married, 55% work full time, 85% used the internet in the past 30
days, and media channel preference are magazines and internet. Experiencers and Innovators
perfectly describe the range of consumer that Blue Crush is looking to market to. Our target
customer is between the ages of 20s-40s so the experiencers make up the younger segment of
our target market, they're impulse buyers who love to look good and are avid spenders. While
the innovators make up the older segment of our target market, they're sophisticated, image is
important to them and they're very active consumers. Our more classic, dark wash denim from
brands such as J Brand and Citizens of Humanity would be a great selling point for our innovator
segment. Innovators would come to Blue Crush to buy black or dark blue denim with no fading
or distressing, probably in a boot cut style so that they could wear them for business casual
attire or out to dinner. Experiencers would shop at Blue Crush for the latest trends in premium
denim such as colored denim, acid washed, embellishment and would prefer skinny leg and the
denim leggings that they can wear to look fashionable and express themselves.
Once I decided that I wanted to go into my own business, I had to do some research on
what type of denim product should make up most of my inventory and where I should locate
my business. I constructed a customer survey for research using Google Documents. The survey
was comprised of ten questions. The first question asked "how often you purchase a new pair
of denim pants," and the responses varied from every other month, every season, and 1-3
times a year. Therefore I saw that the signs were good that consumers were still making denim
a staple of their wardrobe even during hard economic times. However when I asked the
question, "how much do you typically spend on a new pair of denim?," the highest response
was less than $100, with the second highest being between $100-$150. After looking at my
survey and conducting my own industry research I've seen that the majority of my business
right now will be done with brands that are lower priced, such as Miss Me, J Brand and Blue
Crush private label and have therefore ordered more units of inventory for these brands and
have explored brands that offer a selection of lower priced denim. This question was probably
one of the most effective in giving me an idea of what price points my prospective customers
are willing to spend right now and in this region. Another question in my survey listed some of
the brands that Blue Crush would be offering and prospective customers were asked which
brand they prefer the most, Miss Me was the highest choice from all brands which was another
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19. Blue Crush
reason why I ordered the most inventory from Miss Me and in a variety of styles, cuts, washes
and lengths. The next question was regarding fit and if it impacted your purchasing decision and
everyone responded that fit is the most important factor when purchasing denim which was
one of the deciding factors in why I've based my company's strategy and goal around finding
the perfect fit for my customers. When I asked customers about what types of denim are hard
to find in local shopping areas, petite and curvy fits had the highest responses. Also after doing
industry research I found that petite styles are selling the most at other similar boutiques in the
Boston area but weren't available from retailers on the south shore. This aspect will give me a
great competitive advantage over local retailers. I final question that was very telling for
opening my boutique was when I asked, " would you be more likely to shop in a denim
boutique where the staff is knowledgeable about all the brands they carry and how they fit
certain body types," and the highest response was, "yes I appreciate a staff that can help me
find the best denim brand and fit for me." This response again reiterated the fact that I wanted
a staff that was experienced and constantly trained in order to give my customers the ultimate
shopping experience that they would want to return to again and again, another competitive
advantage.
The premium denim brands that Blue Crush carries are nationally and globally
recognized. These brands are sold in such department stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman
Marcus as well as exclusively through their own brand stores.These premium denim brands
include Rock & Republic, True Religion, Citizens of Humanity, Hudson, J Brand, Seven for All
Mankind, and Miss Me. Along with these well known brands, Blue Crush will also carry our own
private label line of denim that will be premium but at a lower price point than compared to
most of the other brands we carry. The Blue Crush denim line will feature basic five pocket
styles as well as denim leggings and specially colored denim such as red, turquoise, plum,
yellow, tie-dye, and acid wash. Types of denim that I will be carrying are pants, capri's and
shorts. Skinny, boot cut, straight leg, boyfriend and flare will be offered for denim styles. I will
be carrying petite sizes in the Blue Crush private line, as well as J Brand, True Religion and
Citizens of Humanity. J Brand carries denim for curvy women which Blue Crush will have
available. Short and long lengths are available for the Blue Crush line and Rock & Republic
brand is a very long running brand which would be ideal for our taller customers. For customers
that need extra fitting requirements we have our in house tailor who can make any further
alterations. Our tailor is on hand Monday through Saturday 12-8pm so that our customers can
conveniently pick up or wait for their tailoring. The Blue Crush line ranges from $89-$130
depending on the wash and embellishments of the denim. The Rock & Republic that I've chosen
to carry ranges from $185-$298, True Religion will range from $172- $262, Citizens of Humanity
will range from $185-$202, Hudson will range from $135-$195, J Brand will range from $165-
$209, Seven for All Mankind will range from $185-$245 and Miss Me will range from $88-$98.
For my pricing strategy I had a very wide selection of denim to choose from with most of these
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premium brands so after conducting local research as well as industry research I have been
ordering denim that is at a lower end of the brands pricing range. I make sure that all denim
sold in Blue Crush is under $300 so that my customers can find the best quality and fit for the
right price and value. Almost of all the Miss Me denim was between $88-$98 so that is another
reason why I have a large selection of Miss Me denim at Blue Crush, that and its popularity
when I was conducting my primary research.
As part of the Blue Crush promotional plan I have signed up for Google Ad words. It is
very easy to sign up for since I already had a Google account and then you can customize your
budget. I decided to choose the budget option that focuses on impressions, meaning that I only
pay .50 cents per every thousand clicks on my advertisements. With the "Focus on clicks"
option, you can set bids at the ad group level, or for individual keywords and placements. For
example, if I find that certain keywords or placements are more profitable, I can allocate more
of my advertising budget to those keywords or placements. The keywords that I have chosen
for my Ad words are: Blue Crush, premium denim boutique, and south shore denim retailers. A
combination of any of these ad words and internet users will be able to view my advertisement
and click on it to get to the Blue Crush website. As a new store I chose "focus on clicks" because
I am more concerned with exposure and spreading the word about our store than I do with
website traffic at the time being. Another form of online advertising that I will be doing is
through Facebook. Facebook advertising allows you to create and customize your ad with
images, your URL link, allows you to target your exact audience through psycho and
demographic filters; such as location and age, and then I type in my daily budget of how much I
want to spend. I chose to spend $25.00 per day and to pay per click at a bid of .50 cents per
click for a month. Facebook will continually run my ad until I change the options. I chose to do
alot of advertising online because after my target market research, especially with VALS survey,
I found that most of my potential customers use the internet on a daily basis and often search
the internet for new trends and shopping opportunities. My second advertising strategy is
through print ads. First I chose to advertise through the Hingham Journal which is the local
Hingham newspaper and has a weekly circulation of about 5,000 people. The newspaper's
estimated ad rate was $15.00 for a standard column inch of black and white advertising and
depended on the season. I will post a 12 inch ad at $180 for two publications. I want to make it
known to local patrons that we will be opening and what great brands Blue Crush will offer, my
main motivation is to get the word out about the Blue Crush dedication to finding you the
perfect fit. The same standard rates applied for the local Cohasset newspaper; The Tiny Town
Gazette so I will also be running an ad in their newspaper as well which runs twice a month and
circulates to 5,000 homes in the area. I again will spend $180 to run an ad 12 inches big for two
publications. I chose to advertise to two local newspapers because these are the two towns
where the majority of my target customers resides. Based on research I did through PRIZM
segments I found that for Hingham's zip code 02043, the major segments were: The Upper
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Crust, Movers and Shakers, Country Squires and God's Country. All of these segments have one
thing in common, they're upscale, wealthy and middle aged, many without children. The print
advertisements would be ideal for the Innovators who have an older median age and have a
higher income and expensive taste for the finer things. While the internet advertisements will
be more appropriate for the Experiencers who are young, enthusiastic and all about being
stylish and trying the latest trends.
The distribution strategy for Blue Crush is solely through brick and mortar. The Blue
Crush website is currently only for promotional use but once business has picked up and we can
begin to analyze business trends and traffic I would like to eventually hire someone to be in
charge of overseeing the Blue Crush website because there is definite potential for serious sales
generation through the internet due to my target market's use of the internet. In this day and
age of technology it is almost impossible to not offer your products online so there will
eventually be products available for sale through the Blue Crush website. The main distribution
of products is done through the sale of denim at our Blue Crush boutique located at the Launch
in Hingham Shipyard. I want to get Blue Crush up and running in time for peak denim selling
season, June-December and therefore decided to stick to simple traditional selling for the time
being and then as business dictates, expand the website to selling products, especially our
private label denim line. Currently the website discusses our brands, hours of operation,
directions, our specialization in fit and in house tailoring and our grand opening date and
promotions. I designed the Blue Crush Website through Intuit.com which gives you easy steps
in building your business website. The subscription for your website was only $4.99 a month
after the first month's free trial. The URL for my webpage is www.bluecrushboutique.com.
E. Competition
The primary competitor for Blue Crush is the retail chain 344, located in Hingham's
Derby Street shopping plaza. Although 344 chains generally offer the same premium denim
brands as Blue Crush, the recent business strategy of the store has changed and many of their
locations are not offering these higher priced denim brands. The Hingham store will continue to
sell most of the brands including Rock & Republic, True Religion, Citizens of Humanity, J Brand,
Seven for All Mankind and Miss Me because this particular location bodes well for premium
denim. The Miss Me brand at 344 will be our biggest competition because they offer the same
styles and low price range. Derby Street shopping plaza has been established for a few years
now and is a very popular shopping area in the south shore. There are consistently high
volumes of traffic going in and out of Derby Street and it is located off of route 53, a main
roadway through the south shore similar to route 3A and is right off the route 3 highway that
connects you to the expressway to and from Boston. The Launch at Hingham Shipyard is a
brand new development and has yet to be established, where as both Derby Street shops and
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22. Blue Crush
344 are well known to the region. Derby Street also has a selection of other retailers and
restaurants to draw attention and traffic however The Launch has office and residential space
as well as Patriot Cinemas that can bring constant traffic year round. Derby Street is within a 15
minute drive from the Hingham Shipyard and is located on the opposite side of town, so they're
in close proximity to Blue Crush. Also 344 offers a wide variety of clothing and accessories from
other high priced retailers that are nationally and globally recognized which is another huge
threat for Blue Crush. 344 has the same general target market as Blue Crush however they tend
to be geared and promoted towards a younger range of customer, about 18-35. The range of
denim prices tends to vary upwards of $300 for some brands such as Rock & Republic and True
Religion so Blue Crush will have an advantage over more moderately priced inventory. A great
competitive advantage that we have over 344 is our focus on denim and dedication to finding
the perfect fit. We are able to offer in-house and even same day service tailoring where as 344
is not. Shopping exclusively for denim at Blue Crush may be more time consuming but
ultimately you save time by not having to search for a tailor and waiting for alterations. Because
Blue Crush is a smaller store we also have the advantage of having more flexibility and freedom
with promotional offers and special events for customers. As of right now Blue Crush also offers
a customer loyalty program where we track members purchases and recommend new styles we
get in based on their buying patterns. We also offer customers a point for every dollar they
spend at Blue Crush and every time they reach $200 they receive $10 on their loyalty card to
use for a future purchase, after the return period has ended. 344 offers no such kind of loyalty
program or personal shopping preferences and as someone who has shopped at 344 before
they don't provide the level of help or expertise that Blue Crush does. Usually upon entering a
344 I am not greeted nor barely acknowledged and when asked about certain denim styles the
sales associates seem to base their preferences on their favorite brands as opposed to my body
type or personal preference. At Blue Crush we train our staff in proper denim fit and brands
that tailor styles to specific body types so that we can better assist every customer and make
them feel welcomed and appreciated.
The secondary competitor for Blue Crush would be the department stores like Saks Fifth
Avenue and Neiman Marcus that are both located in Boston at the Prudential and Copley Mall.
Both high end department stores are well known globally and have a very loyal client base.
These department stores carry a wider variety of the same brands of premium denim, and can
even help you locate a style or size at another store or order for you online if it is not available
in their location. Both department stores also offer loyalty programs as well as credit cards for
their customers so they get more incentives to shop while using their store credit cards and
earn points and get special sales as shopping incentives. These department stores also carry a
wide variety of all the best name brands in clothing, accessories, cosmetics and etc. and allow
for one stop shopping for their customers. Our target market of wealthy, middle class residents
in the Hingham area would usually be found shopping in one of these department stores, so it
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23. Blue Crush
could be very hard to entice them away from their favorite department stores and sales
associates. Both department stores also offer a personal shopping experience as does Blue
Crush. The main advantage that Blue Crush has over Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus is
our location. It would be a lot more convenient for people to stop by Blue Crush on their way
home from work on quickly while out shopping on the weekend rather than brave the Boston
traffic and hassle of parking and paying to park. The south shore really has no boutique like
Blue Crush that specializes in the selling of premium denim brands while carrying their own
private label and making alterations for you in-house. The majority of our older range of target
market, those in their mid 30s to early 40s who are likely to shop at these department stores
are also full time workers so it would make more sense for them to shop locally than to have to
endure traffic and parking costs.
G. Human Resources
I will be the head manager at Blue Crush as the sole owner and plan on spending at least 40
hours a week there. Of course during the first year of the start of my business there are times
and seasons where I will be needed there more and I will anticipate this. I am employing a Co-
manager and a part time assistant manager. The Co-manager will also be there on a 40 hours a
week, $35,000 annual salary. The part time assistant manager will be making an hourly wage of
$13.00 an hour and will be required to work at least 30 hours a week. I will also be hiring 4 sales
associates/stylists who will be working at $9.00 an hour and as many hours as available or as
needed. I will be hiring one tailor to work Monday-Saturday from 12-8pm at $11.00 an hour.
There will always be at least one manager on duty, and at least two sales associates as well as
the in house tailor. Generally there will be a manager on duty from 9am-6pm and an associate
from 9am-2pm. The afternoon shift will be another manager from 12-9pm and another
associate from 4-9pm. Openers and closers are scheduled an hour before and after we open to
complete all opening and closing procedures. When necessary a third associate will be added to
the schedule for a mid-day shift such as 12-5 or 11-4 for Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday
depending on the amount of traffic expected and the season, such as June-December when
there is back to school and holiday shopping. I will be at the store on Monday from 10-7 for a
scheduled office day where I will be conducting business calls with suppliers, checking up on
manufacturing of our private line, re-ordering necessary supplies, checking reports and so forth.
The rest of the work week I will be at the store 10am-7pm and probably schedule a day off on
Wednesday depending on the time of year. Saturday and Sunday I will be scheduled with either
the opening or closing manager depending on the traffic and time of year.
The co-manager is to oversee and be accountable for the operation of the store,
ensuring maximum sales and profitability through excellence in merchandising, inventory and
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24. Blue Crush
expense control, human resource management and assisting the owner with managing
operating costs. She/he will be responsible for analyzing business trends, developing and
implementing plans to meet or exceed goals and objectives; ensuring compliance with all store
policies and procedures by conducting regular staff meetings, store walk-through, and
evaluating performance issues and actively assisting owner with recruiting sales force
candidates; and training of all store personnel. The co-manager must be proficient in ensuring
that each customer receives excellent service by training and leading sales associates in store
procedures, ensuring appropriate merchandise stock levels are maintained; ensuring selling
floor is adequately stocked. The ability to handle customer complaints under stress is a prime
requirement as well as mediating employee conflicts. At minimum an Associate's degree is
required and a Bachelor's degree is a plus. At least 5 years of retail experience is necessary. The
co-manager must be able to process information and merchandise through a POS system and
have the ability to work varied hours/days a week to oversee operations in a must.
The part time assistant manager is responsible for helping with various tasks involved in
the overall operation of the store; including: measuring business trends and goals, overseeing
aspects of merchandising and inventory control. She/he will also be responsible for
communicating with all staff, assisting the co-manager with training and development as well as
overseeing associate performance on a regular basis, maintaining merchandising standards,
overseeing display presentation, planning and designing daily goals, tasks and assignments for
sales associates and assuring proper follow up and completion. The assistant manager must be
proficient in ensuring outstanding customer service by providing a relaxing and friendly
environment, which includes greeting and acknowledging every customer, maintaining store
standards, providing solid product knowledge, analyzing sales reports and completing office
tasks such as inventory. A high school diploma is required, an Associate's degree is a plus and
must have at least 3 years of retail experience. The assistant manager must be able to process
information/merchandise through a POS system, be able to move merchandise throughout the
store, create conversations and relationships with customers and it is imperative that they are
available to work varied hours/days a week as business dictates.
The sales associate is expected to generate sales by providing outstanding customer
service. The sales associate is responsible for all sales activities, and works within the sales team
for the achievement of customer satisfaction, revenue generation, and long term company
vision and values. Greeting the customer, tending to their needs and building a loyal customer
base are some of the duties of the sales associate. She/he is expected to be aware of any
promotional offers and to be aware of the merchandise available on the floor and in inventory.
Sales associate is expected to have product knowledge of the premium denim brands carried at
Blue Crush and be aware of changing fashion trends. The sales associate is required to have
previous experience working in retail, specifically working in a boutique with clientele. A high
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25. Blue Crush
school diploma is not required but preferred and an associates or bachelor's degree would be a
plus. Preferred skills would be styling and personal shopping experience. The sales associate
must be able to process information/merchandise through a POS system, be able to move
merchandise throughout the store, be friendly and outgoing and are available to work varied
days/hours a week as business dictates. Although Blue Crush is a small boutique just starting,
we have visions of expansion so there will be the opportunity to grow within the company
and/or create new positions within the company.
Blue Crush will not be offering any benefits to its employees, especially now with Mass
Health in place, all workers will be encouraged to have benefits but we will not be providing
them. The only benefits that will be available at Blue Crush will be paid time off for personal,
vacation or sick days. Employees will have a certain number of each paid time off day
depending on the number of hours they work. The co-manager is on salary and therefore will
be allotted 7 personal days, 10 vacation days and 10 sick days annually. The assistant manager
will be required to work 30 hours a week and therefore will be allotted 5 personal days, 5
vacation days and 5 sick days. Sales associates will acquire vacation time depending on the
amount of hours they have worked. For every ten hours that an associate works they will
acquire 1 hour of vacation time. Vacation, sick, and personal time are scheduled in shifts of 8
hours. So when an employee schedules 3 days off for sick time they are being paid for 3 days of
8 hours shifts at a total of 24 hours added to their schedule for paid time off. Vacation time
must be given two weeks' notice in advance to the store manager. Sick time can be used as the
employees like providing they bring in a doctor's note upon returning. Personal time has no
requirements as long as employees give notice, for example an employee cannot neglect to
show up for a scheduled shift and claim a personal day. Any unused time at the end of the year
will not be carried over into the next year, all employees are required to use their paid time off
by the end of the fiscal year.
I will be posting job descriptions for Blue Crush on two job search websites such as
salescareersonline.com, where potential employees can apply online and can also post their
resumes. I will be able to post job descriptions and applications on the sales career website and
then I am able to go back into my account and read sent resumes and review their employment
applications. If I see potential in an applicant I can call them and set up an interview with them
in which I will discuss the environment at Blue Crush, the tasks they will be performing and test
their knowledge and experience. I will also call references given on the application after I have
conducted the interview and if the applicant fits into the atmosphere at Blue Crush I will hire
them and immediately begin training. To post an unlimited number of jobs for 60 days and view
up to 500 resumes for 28 days on sales careers online it will cost me $169. Another website I
will be posting job descriptions on will be retailserviceindustry.com which is a site dedicated to
the retail industry, both employers and job seekers. I chose the free complimentary
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26. Blue Crush
membership which includes free job postings, free directory listing, free hyperlink to my store
website. There was a featured membership for $240 a year which came with an advertisement
for your store and your store listed in bold print in their directory but I will not be recruiting for
an entire year so I did not feel that subscription was necessary when I can do the basics for free.
This is a great website because people come to it specifically looking for retail jobs and it even
breaks them down into retail management, sales associate and so forth. The directory listing
increases Blue Crush's web exposure to many potential customers and job seekers while also
advertising for free. I will also be in contact with career services at local colleges in the area
such as Bridgewater State College, Framingham State College, Fisher College, Bay State College,
and UMass Boston. I believe in promoting opportunities for recent or soon to be graduates and
feel they are most egger and ready and willing to learn and grow with a new company.
At Blue Crush we believe that by continually training our employees we can remain
current and innovative and provide our customers with the best possible service while staying
ahead of our competition. Although I require that all employees have adequate retail
experience for their selected positions I will begin employment of all applicants with a basic
orientation which will go over the policies and procedures of the store including dress code,
company attitude and environment, store presentation and appearance and attendance. The
second part of orientation will include a tour of the store: the selling floor- layout of denim
brands in order of style, leg cut and style, Blue Crush private label denim and fitting rooms; the
back room- employee break room, manager's office, bathroom, stock room and tailoring
station as well as location of all entrances and exits. The orientation will entail the company's
mission statement and vision. Each employee will introduce themselves and state their role at
Blue Crush and will write down a list of personal and professional goals that they wish to
achieve in their first year at the company. Next employees will perform role playing in which
one will be a customer and the other will be the employee and I will have a list of likely
situations in which they will have to deal with such as a disgruntled customer, a customer who
enquires about alterations, a customer who is having trouble finding petite fitting denim,
greeting customers, proper cash wrap behavior and so forth. The first day of orientation will
also include try-ons, in which all employees will try various denim brands in different cuts and
fits to get a better understanding of how sizes run and the way each brand fits depending on
their body type. At the conclusion of day one of orientation I will hand out a list of phone
employee phone numbers so that they can get in touch with each other and with management.
On day two of orientation there will be training on the POS systems which come with tutorials
and each employee will take turns ringing up transactions, making returns/exchanges, using
multiple tenders and signing customers up for the loyalty program. Next I will discuss basic
selling skills such as adding on in the fitting rooms and suggestive selling. The final phase of
orientation will have training on the proper measuring and fitting of customers for alterations
and will have a quick tutorial from our in house tailor about what she/he is expecting to help
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27. Blue Crush
work together at Blue Crush. I will sum up the orientation and then give ample time for a
question and comment period.
After initial orientation and training I will have monthly manager's meetings to discuss
business trends and employees and will have store meetings every other month to discuss new
industry trends and product knowledge, discovering new brands to sell, go over employee goals
and how they relate to the store's overall target and other up to date information so that all
employees are constantly on the same page. During our peak selling season, June-December I
will conduct monthly store meetings instead of every other month in order to make sure all
employees are fully up to date on new promotions, new product, loyalty performance and
address any policy/procedure concerns. As a premium denim store that prides itself on fit I will
also be looking into having a special training session quarterly where I will have an expert come
in and talk to my selling team about proper fit, denim care, and new fabric innovations. Blue
Crush fully encourages employees to grow with the company, and although we are a small
boutique just opening, we hope to expand in the future and will be choosing any employees
that have the desire and potential to grow at Blue Crush for a leadership seminar in which we
give them the tools to lead a team, and what would be expected of them. Depending on how
well business is in the first year or so there is also the possibility of new positions to open up for
the store and for managing the company website and we would always promote from within
before going outside the company.
In order to retain my employees and keep them happy I have established a number of
ways to recognize their excellence performance and give them incentives to stay at Blue Crush.
I will have a wall of recognition where every month an employee will be chosen as the
employee of the month based on performance and/or teamwork. Public recognition is a great
way to encourage my employees to work hard and that it pays to work hard at Blue Crush. The
employee of the month will also receive two free movies tickets to a movie of their choice at
the Patriot Cinema located in the same development at The Launch. Employees with perfect
attendance will receive one paid weekday off of their choice, providing it is not during our peak
season. I will treat my co-manager and assistant manager to dinner once a month to recognize
their hard work and achievements at Blue Crush and to show appreciation for their hard work.
All employees will receive 35% discount on any denim in Blue Crush and an addition 15% off
sale merchandise. Whenever there is conflict at Blue Crush between employees I will make sure
to sit down the employees who are involved individually to hear everyone's side and then as a
group so that we can clear the air and come to a solution together. I want to be able to create a
friendly, relaxing and upbeat environment for not only customers but employees too.
Whenever Blue Crush makes our target for the month the Co-manager will receive a bonus in
their paycheck of $250. The assistant manager will receive a bonus in their paycheck for making
target of $100. The sales associate that has the highest dollar sales for the month Blue Crush
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28. Blue Crush
made target will receive a gift card to Blue Crush for $50. By implementing these incentives and
recognition points I hope to keep my employees stimulated and excited about working at Blue
Crush.
The management style at Blue Crush is encouraging and stimulating. I want our
employees to be able to come to management with any questions or comments without
hesitation and with the firm belief that their ideas and needs will be heard. Although the
atmosphere at Blue Crush is more relaxed, the managers and I will fully implement and regulate
all company rules and policies. Blue Crush strongly believes in the continuous training and
development of its employees and will provide the necessary training in order to keep our
competitive advantage in customizing the perfect denim fit for our customers. Management
invests heavily in its employees and implements incentives and growth opportunities in order
to keep them satisfied and stimulated.
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29. Blue Crush
Works Cited
Ramey, J. (2009). Catching Customers On the Downturn. Women's Wear Daily , p. 20B-1NULL.
Tran, K. L. (2009). Denim Industry Facing Challenges On Sustainability Efforts. Women's Wear
Daily , p 10-11.
Tucker, R., & Ressmeyer, R. (2009). By the Numbers. Women's Wear Daily , p8B-1NULL. 3
charts.
Tucker, R., & Samperton, K. (2009). Jeans Primed To Go To The Head Of The Class. Women's
Wear Daily , p7-1NULL.
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