1. To: Copeland Associates Managers
Paul Benedict
Lori Marchese
Tom Marchese
Lee Wakeman
From: AM 107 Team 4
Kayla Fillipovich
Liam Geither
Dave Lahman
Nick Rice
Marisa Williams
Date: November 20th, 2015
Subject: A Feasibility Report for YinYang & Co. through an Environmental Analysis, Business
Concept, Demand Scenarios, and Financial Projections
As requested by the senior partners of Copeland Associates, our team completed a feasibility report on a
fast fashion apparel company. We went as deep as creating a new apparel company called YinYang & Co.
and through our effortless research decided to place it in Columbus, Ohio. The store is going to be placed
in the biggest shopping center in Ohio called Easton Town Center and will be located in the main building
right by our competitors. This report holds information on current fashion industry trends, the market,
and the competition. This report also has the entire business concept, including marketing and the
information systems strategies we will be implementing. Through our analysis we were able to use
estimated financials and two demand scenarios to determine if YinYang & Co. could be a feasible project.
The two following demand scenarios were the demand scenarios we used
- Comparable Markets
- Demographics
Within this report are examples and appendices to support our feasibility study. For example we have
many appendices on our marketing concept as well as examples of our marketing. The report also holds
appendices on our information systems we will implement. These appendices share with the reader the
cost of our IS, how it operates, and what it can do for our company. There are also some appendices with
more financial reports that assist us in determining if YinYang & Co. is a feasible project.
We would like to take the time now to thank you for the opportunity to conduct a feasibility report on a
fast fashion apparel company in Columbus, Ohio market. We appreciate you allowing us to identify the
potential demand for such a store and for all the help the Copeland Associate managers and peer mentor
contributed to this report. If you feel we left something out and want to contact us for more information
on the store and its business concept please feel free to contact us at lg085811@ohio.edu
MEMOOFTRANSMITAL
2. Prepared By: Prepared For:
AM 107 Team 4 Copeland Associates Managers
Kayla Fillipovich Paul Benedict
Liam Geither Lori Marchese
Dave Lahman Tom Marchese
Nick Rice Lee Wakeman
Marisa Williams
YinYang Co.
FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
OF A WHITE & BLACK CLOTHING COMPANY
3. EXECUTIVESUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to develop a business plan and assess the feasibility of a start up clothing store
in the retail industry based on two demand scenarios. The two demand scenarios that were analyzed and
approved by the senior managers at Copeland and Associates are, comparable markets and demographics.
We started off by doing an external analysis of the retail industry as a whole, followed by selecting a
concept to base our store off of, then doing an analysis of where the store would be located and then
choose the best target market that would make our store profitable. We then developed a marketing
strategy to best promote our store and store image along with choosing the right information system to
suite the needs of our store. Finally, we need our analysis of our financials to see if our store was feasible to
start.
Our conclusion that we ended up with is we will be able to open a urban retailer in Columbus Ohio, in
Easton Town Center. Our store will be called YinYang & Co. and will offer a wide selection of black and white
clothing for millennials. We based our store off of the motto “Simplicity at its finest”. YinYang separates
itself from our competitors by not only offers great clothing, we also supply an opportunity to donate to
various chartable associations within Columbus.
Analysis of the following segments of this report allowed us to indicate the attractiveness of Easton Town
center in Columbus, Ohio market and determine if our chosen business would be feasible.
• External Analysis: an overview of the retail industry giving us trends, main drivers, fast fashion, an
overview of Easton Town Center, demographics and trends in Columbus, and a competition analysis.
• Business Concept: our beliefs, our mission and vision, why we give back, operations, customer service,
and where we manufacturer.
• Location: the exact location of YinYang & Co., why we chose Easton and Columbus, and the
attractiveness of Columbus.
• Demand Scenario 1: Comparable Markets: primary research on our four main competitors Forever 21,
H&M, PacSun, and Zumiez, estimated daily transaction, average value per transaction, demand estimates
for YinYang & Co.
• Demand Scenario 2: Demographics: target market, our predictions, predicted transaction per day,
average yearly customers, percentage of foot traffic we will see a day.
• Target Market: target segmentation, target, positioning, and income distribution throughout Columbus.
• Marketing Concept: year one strategy, years two-five strategies, brand positioning, grand opening,
product, price, promotion, and place.
• Information Systems: an overview of what system we need, overview of the Revel System, what we need
out of the system.
• Financials: income Statement, balance sheets, and actual feasibility
Based on our research, our recommendation is to not open YinYang & Co. Though our income statement
shows we would be feasible company, by year five our debt will catch up with us and we will not have
enough assets to pay off our total liability and owner’s equity.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
6. INTRODUCTION
The retail industry is a broad market that has continuously grown over the years. The industry offers an
abundantly wide variety of styles and choices. It encompasses everything from high-end, luxury apparel to
sleepwear. There is an immense amount of stores ranging from department stores to unique specialty stores,
selling men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel. Upon doing an analysis of the industry, we chose fast fashion
as the focus for our store. Due to its reputation and popularity we decided on Easton Town Center as our
start up location, and identified several key competitors surrounding our store.
Our team has come up with the unique concept to start a menswear and women’s wear apparel store,
marketed to generation Y’s, that strictly sells only black and white clothing. On top of our regular sales and
operations, we have implemented methods in which we will give back to the community through various
forms of donations. We also strive to be known for having great customer service and will make sure our
employees are trained accordingly.
Since we focus on generation Y’s, we have developed a marketing concept that will attract this target market
to our store. We plan on using as much free marketing as possible. Some examples of this are, we are going
to use the Easton website, Twitter, and Facebook to attract customers to our own website, as well as, our
store. We also plan on using different promotional giveaways and our own Instagram page to attract
customers as well. An example of a giveaway is giving away 50 shirts to the first 50 people that walk through
our doors at our grand opening. Not only are doing giveaways we also plan on doing different products for
donations to nationwide charitable organizations. We also look to benefit college students by giving them
10% of their entire purchase with a valid college ID.
To predict the potential demand for our store, we have established three different methods. First, we
interviewed multiple managers of competing stores in our location to gather information and use them as
concept benchmarks. These comparable markets give us a good estimation of what to expect. Secondly, we
used population demographics in a 150-mile radius of our location, as well as annual Easton visitors to predict
foot traffic for our location. Lastly, we decided the city of Columbus could be used to our advantage. Its
popularity and well-known attractions are a guarantee to bring in potential customers.
1
INTRODUCTION
7. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
The apparel industry is made up of companies
that focus on designing, promoting, and selling
clothing, footwear, or accessories. The products
in this industry can range from basic items, for
example socks, all the way to high-end items,
such as designer handbags. Generally companies
in the apparel industry have both wholesalers
and retailers. Wholesalers sell the product to
retailers, who then set prices in order to make a
substantial profit and sell the product to the
consumer. The different types of retailers
include, department stores, specialty shops, and
discount stores (Spencer 2015).
The main drivers for apparel demand among
consumers are personal income and fashion
trends. The profitability of individual companies
depends heavily on effective merchandising and
marketing. In the United States, the 50 largest
companies accumulate two-thirds of the apparel
industry revenue. Small stores can gain
competitive advantage in this industry by
providing the customer with unique products,
targeting a specific demographic, providing
superior customer service, or serving a local
market. Many companies in the United States
choose to purchase clothing and other apparel
from manufacturers overseas due to low costs.
The most common suppliers include, China,
India, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Mexico (Mergent,
2015).
Overview
Fast Fashion
“In the global apparel industry demand growth is
becoming increasingly centered on fast fashion
trends” (Marketline, 2015). Fast fashion keeps
up with the constant changing trends of luxury
fashion, while providing clothing at a low-cost. It
embodies the needs of young consumers. The
clothing is affordable and the stock is always
changing, therefore collections are continuously
new and fresh. Fast fashion retailers have grown
by 9.7 percent over the last five years, compared
to traditional apparel retailers, who have grown
by 6.8 percent. Fast fashion retailers are able to
better predict demand due to the fact they are
estimating for a couple weeks versus several
months. This advantage can can
lead to higher profits (CIT, 2015).
Fast fashion creates scarcity
value. The product could be
gone in two weeks, leading to
impulse buys by consumers, as
well as return visits to stay up to
date on new trends.
2
Industry Growth
Between 2010 and 2014 the global apparel
industry underwent a period of slight growth. In
2014 the total revenues of the industry reached
$1,317.3 billion. This amounted to a compound
annual growth rate of 3.8 percent from 2010 to
2014. It is predicted that the growth of the
industry will continue to rise. Between the
periods of 2014 to 2019 the compound annual
growth rate is expected to be 4.6 percent, as you
can see in figure 1 below. Women’s wear makes
up the largest segment of this industry,
producing revenues of $650.7 billion in 2014.
This makes up 49.4 percent of the overall value
of the industry. Menswear follows, with
revenues of $438 billion in 2014, around 33.2
percent of the industry value (Marketline, 2015).
Figure 1: Projected Industry Growth Source: Marektline
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
8. MARKET ANALYSIS
Easton was found in June of 1999 by Limited
Brands, the Georgetown Company and Steiner +
Steiner Associates. Their goal was to create a
retail development that was different from a
typical mall. The vision that Limited Brands, the
Georgetown Company and Steiner + Steiner
Associates was “to be the most upscale,
aspirational shopping destination in Columbus.
There would be a diverse mix of best-in-class
retailers unrivaled anywhere in the market. And
they would be nestled in an open-air,
pedestrian-friendly setting reminiscent of small
town USA. The urban appeal would combine
with nostalgic charm, evoking a strong “sense of
place.”’ (Easton, 2105) Easton has over 1.7
million square feet of mixed-use space, and has
become one of the nations leading urban retail
centers. Easton Town Center draws over 21
million visitors annually, and has over 180 of the
most sought-after retailers in the nation. Easton
is located within 600 miles of 60% of the
population in the United States, with 12 million
people being within a two and half hour drive.
(Steiner, 2015) There are three areas that make
up Easton, the town center, which is the only
enclosed building, the South District Town
Square, and the North District.
Easton Town Center
Columbus Trends
Columbus’s jurisdictions are generally on track
with the national average growth. From 2010 to
2040 it is projected that Columbus’s
Metropolitan Statistical Area will increase from
1.7 million residents to 2.2 million residents.
Seniors will make up around one-third of this
change, while the rest of the population increase
will comprise racial and ethnic minorities, also
known as the “new majority”. More households
and nonresidential space will be added in the
time period between 2010 and 2040. There is a
trend in residential downsizing. From 1990 to
2010, only 19 percent of new housing demand
came from the need to downsize. This number
will increase to 56 percent by 2040. People want
smaller lots, that are in walking distance or have
a short commute to their workplace. The
demand is straying away form the need for large
lots in suburban areas. The growth in housing
demand for homes like that is decreasing from
78 percent to 22 percent. Over half of the
housing change coming between 2010 and 2040
will be accounted for by single-person homes
(Nelson, 2014).
3
Franklin County Demographics
The estimated population in 2014 for the county
of Franklin was 1,231,393 people. From April
1,2010 to July 1, 2014, Franklin county has seen
a 5.8% increase in population compared to a
0.5% increase in the rest of Ohio. Franklin
County is made up of 51.3% female and 48.7%
male. The ethnicity of Franklin county is broken
down to 69.8% white, 22.2% African American,
4.6% Asian, 5.1% Hispanic, and 3.0% two or
more races. There is 89.7% of persons who have
a high school diploma or higher. In 2013 the
average median household income was $50,877.
(Franklin County, 2015)
Figure 2 :600 Mile Radius Map
Source: Steiner, 2015
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
9. COMPETITION ANALYSIS
The H&M at Easton in Columbus, sees anywhere
from 100-200 transactions on a weekly basis and
about 500 customers a week. The average
number of units per transaction is about 2.5
items. H&M has a very varied target market. The
reason is they have different lines geared
towards different age groups. Their biggest age
they sell to is the 23-38 range. They do see a lot
of college age students looking to pick up clothes
to wear to an important meeting, interview or
even to go out in. The thing that sets H&M apart
from their competition is how sustainable they
strive for. They have major efforts to make sure
their products are made in a safe manner with
making sure their manufacturer employees are
working in good conditions. They also want to
make sure what they are producing is leaving as
little carbon footprint as possible. The way the
deal with inventory is they don’t have much in
the back. They are doing the fast fashion trend,
so what they get in and out in their store is all
they have. They pay their employees solely by an
hourly wage. They don’t have a loyalty program
but they send out a newsletter with coupons,
they also do a promotion if you bring in a bag of
used clothes for donations you can get 20% off
your purchase per bag.
Forever 21
Forever 21 is located in the indoor section of
Easton Town Center. The store consumes around
20,000 square feet. It is among some of the most
profitable Forever 21 locations in the United
States. They target men and women in their
twenties and early thirties, but also provide
clothing suitable for teens. They have a small
section of core items that they carry year round,
but mostly sell products for a limited time only.
Forever 21 carries chic apparel, accessories,
footwear, lingerie, and cosmetics at bargain
prices. A majority of Forever 21’s products are
private label. Around 60 percent of this
merchandise is manufactured in China (Hoovers,
2015).
Pac-Sun
PacSun obtains an indoor location in Easton
Town Center. The store is around ? square feet.
PacSun mainly focuses on appealing to teens and
young adults. They have both women’s wear and
menswear. PacSun partners with a collection of
emerging brands and carries many of their
products, as well as their own proprietary
brands, such as Bullhead, Kirra, and LA Hearts.
Almost their entire in-store inventory is on the
floor at all times, very little is held in the back.
PacSun attempts to gain competitive advantage
by marketing themselves as “…a leading
specialty retailer rooted in the action sports,
fashion, and music influences of the California
lifestyle” (Harbaugh, 2013).
4
H&M
Easton Town Center, located in Columbus,
Ohio, is an indoor and outdoor shopping
complex, offering its customers a mixture of
over 200 shopping, dining, and entertainment
facilities (EastonWay, 2015). The apparel
retailers of Easton Town Center range from
high-end fashion to unique specialty shops,
with a large range of target markets. The main
competition dealt with for this specific report
focus their business strategies on fast fashion
and generally affordable clothing.
(Figure 3: Map of Competition)
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
10. Why YinYang & Co.?
Giving Back
Our business is dedicated to giving back and
changing the attitudes of the millions of people
across the globe that are suffering from disease
or involved in different charitable organizations.
We strive to strengthen the community by
promoting human rights and awareness through
various types of donations. A percentage of our
sales for the month will go to an organization
associated with each awareness for that month.
For example, for the month of October 2% of our
sales for that month will go towards Breast
Cancer Awareness. To differentiate each month
even more, we will designate the coordinating
color onto one of our t-shirt lines. For Breast
Cancer Awareness month, our logo, on that line,
will be pink. Refer to Appendix B to find all
organizations involved with their coordinating
colors. Throughout the year, we also take
clothing donations from our customers for
people who are less fortunate. We recognize this
action, and as our customers help others, we feel
the need to help them. Through the loyalty
program, each full bag of clothing donated
translates to ten loyalty points. This incentive
program is set in place to connect with our
customers on a more personal level and to be a
part of something that can help others, save
lives, and positively change the world alike. This
is our way of giving back. Refer to Appendix C for
more loyalty details.
The concept behind YinYang & Co. is to bring the
customer trendy, but simple clothing and
accessories. We are driven to follow fast fashion
trends on a black and white scale. Our products
are manufactured, displayed and sold in either
black or white. We carry both menswear and
women’s wear ranging from casualwear to going
outwear. We are an innovative company who
stresses the importance to give back to the
community through awareness, product
exclusives and donations. We pride ourselves on
having excellent customer service and creating
an unforgettable experience for the consumer.
YinYang & Co. is a one of a kind brand that
strives to uphold it’s top values and standards.
Refer to Appendix A for brand pyramid.
5
BUSINESS CONCEPT
YinYang & Co. is an innovative company that
strives to give its customers the best clothing at
the best price. We also want to keep things as
simple as possible by focusing our product on a
strict black and white color scheme. Not only is
our product affordable and simple, but we also
give back to the local community that helped us
brings this idea to a reality. YinYang & Co. is the
answer for people who are searching for that
simple and elegant look for any occasion.
Simplicity, quality & versatility
are the foundation of who we
are. YinYang & Co. strives to
bring you the latest trends in
life’s simplest form; black and
white. We supply customers
with great products and
customer service, while striving
to make a difference for the
greater good.
Overview
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
11. The supplier we chose to use is AliBaba. The way
we picked AliBaba was because they will be the
most affordable manufacturer for each of our
products and will have all the products we are
looking to buy. They also can do customizable
products. We plan on ordering inventory for the
first month together but then ordering
shipments every 2 weeks based off of the way
other fast fashion companies order inventory.
We have more information on the next page.
Hiring the right employees
At YinYang & Co. we strive to have the best
possible customer service and that starts with
the right employees. We want our employees to
be the most outgoing, motivated, and
hardworking group. We are going to hire
between 10 employees and 2 store managers.
We plan on hiring people with knowledge of the
fashion industry so that way we don’t have to
spend to much time and money on training. Our
employees must be over the age of 18 and a
legal US citizen. The way our employees get paid
is by minimum wage and they will also get a
monthly commission check. This check will
incorporate the 3% commission of each of the
sales by employee. Our employees will be
trained for every position in the store and not
just one area. Each employee will be trained to
use the point of sale system, how to manage the
floor, and how to take inventory.
Customer Service
much customer service the
customer will not want to buy
anything and possibly give your
brand a bad name. This is why we
pride ourselves in having a great
customer service that leaves our
customers wanting to come back.
Customer service will differentiate
one brand from another. 40% of
customers begin purchasing from a
competitor because of their
reputation for great customer
service. (Zendesk, 2015)
6
OPERATIONS
Supplier to YinYang & Co.
Customer service is the most important thing
when it comes to the retail industry. If you don’t
have good customer service or to
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
Figure 4: The Value of Customer Experience
12. Ali Baba
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
MANUFACTURING
Men’s Clothes
From a manufacturing stand point, YinYang & Co. partners with the Chinese online clothing wholesaler
Alibaba. With the attributes of great cost efficiency and quality, Alibaba gives us at YinYang & Co. a great
opportunity to provide our customers with an upbeat product at a reasonable price. Alibaba supplies the
option to pick specifics on the quantity of any product ordered through their website as well as specific logos.
This gives us the opportunity to readily replenish our exclusive clothing lines as well as our main stream
merchandise. Order depth flexibility also provides the chance to expand into different fields of clothing with
low risk at anytime. The site has a wide breadth of clothing options when it comes to providing apparel for
the different seasons. This makes seasonal merchandising easy for us at YinYang & Co. when we choose
transition throughout the changing seasons. Many big names around the retail industry go through countless
suppliers causing the risk of ordering mishaps to increase. Working with one supplier makes for less issues
and mistakes when considering logistics, which in turn builds a quality relationship with our supplier and
helps grow the brand of YinYang & Co. Alibaba is a large international entity with product availability almost
anywhere across the globe. Having this in mind, the long term outlook of YinYang & Co. is promising because
our supplier can reach to us anywhere within the United States as well any developed country internationally.
Figure 5: Examples of some Men’s clothing products and their prices
Refer to Appendix D for Women’s clothing and prices
7
13. Columbus, being the largest city in Ohio, has a
total population of 853,957 (US Census Bureau).
Our store was chosen to be located in Easton
Town Center. Easton is located in the North
Eastern part of Columbus, which has a total
population of 30,190 within 11.94 square miles.
Median household income in Easton Town
Center is $50,682, which is $18,366 more than
the income of all of North East Columbus and
(Address Report).
Store Location
The exact lot we chose to situate YinYang & Co.
is located at 4007 Gramercy Street Columbus
Ohio 43219. At 2,000 Square feet, YinYang & Co.
will be positioned inside of Easton Town Center
at the corner of the town center and Gramercy
Street. Total costs per year on a $45/per square
foot basis make total costs for the year $90,000
($7,500/month).
Why Easton?
Easton Town Center is the focal point of the
1,300-acre development. The area is near 750
residential units, offices and 3 hotel sites.
“Strategically located in the heart of Ohio, there
are approximately 12 million people that are
within a two and a half hour drive time.” I-270’s
day-to-day traffic flow consists of 161,000
vehicles. Two main roads around Easton Town
Center, Morse Road and Stelzer Road, see a
combined traffic flow of 88,000 cars per day
(Easton Town Center).
8
LOCATION
Yin Yang & Co. EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
Figure 6: Map of Major Highways Leading into Easton
Figure 7: What the outside of our store looks like
Refer to Appendix E for the inside views of our store
14. Selecting the right location for a start up retail
store is a critical key for success. The YinYang &
Co. brand itself is still in its infancy, but with the
amount of human traffic that is drawn to
Columbus, Ohio the potential for success is very
high in this area. With Columbus, Ohio being the
capital city, it is geographically in the middle of
the state with about a two-hour drive from
various major cities in the Midwest.
Blue Jackets and Crew SC
The capital city is home to two professional
sports teams, the Blue Jackets (NHL) and the
Columbus Crew SC (MLS). The Columbus Blue
Jackets are the states only professional hockey
team, which has a twitter following of 243,327
users (via Twitter). The Columbus Crew SC in
1994 was the first out of ten professional soccer
clubs to join the MLS (Crew, 2015). They also
were league champions in 2008 and have a
twitter following of 86,783 users (via Twitter).
Columbus Zoo
Another focal point of the city of Columbus is the
fact that they have one of the top ranked zoos in
the country, hailing in at number 5 on the top
ten list (Forbes, 2015). The average amount of
visitors a year ranges from 2.2 to 2.4 million
(Aquarium, 2015). These are just some of the
main attractions Columbus, Ohio has to offer
visitors.
9
ATTRACTIVENESS of COLUMBUS
Ohio State
Columbus is also home to three different
college campuses. One of which is one of the
largest universities in the country, Ohio State,
with an enrollment of 58,322 students
(University 2015). Ohio State carries great
tradition with over 525,000 living alumni and
drawing crowds of over 100,000 strong for
home football games in the fall.
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ohio State Football
Columbus Zoo
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Crew SC
Figure 8: Average attendance over the past 5 years
This illustration shows four of the top activities to do while in Columbus, Ohio and how much
attendance they generate over the past five years.
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
15. DEMAND SCENARIO #1: COMPARABLE MARKETS
10
To select our concept benchmarks we visited Easton
Town Center, the location of our start-up. Upon talking
face to face with multiple managers and gathering
information, we decided to focus mainly on Forever 21,
H&M, PacSun, and Zumiez, while utilizing some of the
information we gathered from Buckle and White House
Black Market as well. All are located in the indoor section
of Easton, except for White House Black Market, which is
located in a part of the outdoor shopping section.
Overview
Demand Estimate: Forever 21
The Easton Town Center location of Forever 21 has
28,111 square feet and is three stores down from our
chosen location. Forever 21 was founded in 1984 and
has over 600 operating stores (Forbes, 2015). They are a
fast fashion retailer that focuses on offering clothing at
an affordable price. The manager on duty at the Easton
location informed us they have around 120 transactions
a day, with an average transaction value in the mid $30
range (Sarah, personal communication, October 27,
2015).
Demand Estimate: H&M
The H&M we focused on has 8,080 square feet,
and it has two levels for shoppers. Worldwide,
there are over 3,511 store locations (Statista,
2014). H&M was founded in 1947. It’s main
business concepts highlight fast fashion with
affordable yet quality clothing. They also strive
to be environmentally friendly and sustainable.
Easton’s H&M has around 100 to 200 daily
transactions with an average unit per transaction
of 2.5 items (Kaitlyn V., personal communication,
October 27, 2015).
Demand Estimate: PacSun
PacSun’s Easton Town Center store location has
3,649 square feet. PacSun has been around for
over 30 years with 600 physical locations
(PacSun, 2015). PacSun is devoted to
showcasing the Californian way of life in their
product, offering apparel to younger
demographics. On average the Easton location
sees around 50 transactions per day, with an
increase of 160 to 260 transactions per day on
weekends. The average transaction value is $60
(W. Friedman, personal communication,
October 27, 2015).
Demand Estimate: Zumiez
Zumiez’s store location at Easton Town Center has 2,574
square feet. It is new to Easton, having been established
about a year ago. Zumiez first made their debut in 1978
and now have 334 store locations (Zumiez, 2015).
Specifically, the Easton location we focused on puts a
large emphasis on customer service and having a laid-
back environment. They have around 45 to 60
transactions per day with an average transaction value of
$45 to $50 (J. Lee, personal communication, October 27,
2015). 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Daily
Transasctions
Average Value
per Transaction
H&M
PacSun
Zumiez
Forever 21
YingYang & Co.
Forever
21
H&M PacSun Zumiez YinYang & Co.
Average Daily
Transactions
120 100 50 45 120+100+50+45
=315
315/4= 79
Average Value
per
Transaction
$30 $45 $60 $45 $30+$45+$60+$45
=$180
$180/4= $45
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS1
Figure 9: Competitors Demand
Figure 10: Foot traffick and avg transactions
16. White House Black Market started off as two separate
boutiques in Baltimore Maryland. The White House
was found in 1985 as a neighborhood boutique that
sold clothing and accessories in shades of white and
ivory. In 1995 The White House opened another
boutique called Black market and in 1997, they
merged together and become the White House Black
Market we know today.
After taking a team field trip to Easton Town Center,
we met with one of the store managers at White
House Black Market. She gave us some vital
information for our project. In an average week the
WHBM at Easton see about 330 transactions and has
customer traffic between 1200 to 1500 customers.
The average value per transaction is between $110
and $150. White House Black Market’s target market
is a workingwomen, with reasonable income, between
the ages of 30-45. They also see a lot of high school
aged girls coming in around homecoming for their
dresses, as well as recent college graduates looking
for interview outfits. With their success they started
going away from their original style of business
clothes and recently started getting back to their roots
(N. Thompson, personal communication, October 27,
2015). The way they market to women is through
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, TV
commercials, print ads, and emails. They have a
loyalty program called WHBM Rewards. You present
the rewards member number at each check out, and
once you have spent greater than or equal to $500 in
a calendar year, you become silver status and get 5%
off each purchase with you reward number.
11
DEMAND SCENARIO #1 CONTINUED
Comparable Concepts
As far as further using White House Black Market
and also Buckle as concept benchmarks, rather
than focusing just on average transactions and
transaction value, we felt an equally fitting
comparable would be customer service and the
way employees are paid and hired. Employees
work off hourly wages as well as commission,
which provide an incentive to make more sales
and go about it in a friendly, positive manner.
When it comes to the hiring process, potential
employees must have skills in retail or sales and
be fashionable and willing to be competitive
according to the manager of Buckle (C. Monroe,
personal communication, October 27, 2015).
White House Black Market requires you to take a
test upon hiring to assess your customer service
skills. Hiring the right employees and having
impeccable customer service is a way to create
demand and keep customers coming back to
your store (N. Thompson, personal
communication, October 27, 2015).
Based off of the information we gathered from
these several comparable retailers, after getting
an average of their daily transactions and an
average value per transaction, we can predict
that eventually, once up and running we will
have around 79 transactions per day with an
average transaction value of $45. Being a start
up company, new to the area, we realistically
predict that in the first year our daily
transactions will be around 25 per day with a
value of $25 to $30 per transaction. Each year,
most importantly within the first five years, we
expect to see a decent increase year by year,
especially in the amount of daily transactions.
Demand Estimate: YinYang & Co.
White House
Black Market
Average Daily
Transactions
47
Average Value
per Transaction
$110
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALSFigure 11: Avg day for White House Black Market at
Easton
17. DEMAND SCENARIO #2: DEMOGRAPHICS
12
Population is an important demographic if you are
attempting to gain an understanding of the world’s
key economic levers (Elliot, 2010). It is accurate,
straightforward, and simple to predict. Population can
have a great influence on the performance of the
market (Temple, 2011). Because of this we have
chosen population, more specifically population of our
target market in the surrounding area of our store
location, as well as foot traffic in a way to attempt to
predict demand.
Overview
Our Prediction
On average, Easton Town Center records an
amount of 22 million visitors throughout a year.
Based off of primary information from H&M and
Forever 21 both see around 500 customers, based
off of foot traffic into store, a day (Sarah and
Kaitlyn V., personal communication, October 27,
2015). PacSun and Zumiez see around 250
customers a day (W. Friedman and J. Lee,
personal communication, October 27, 2015). The
charts below show how we got our predictions for
YinYang & Co. We can assume that our store will
have around 136,875 annual visitors.
If you take the 136,875
annual visitors of our
location divided by the 22
million annual visitors of
the whole shopping
center, our store location
will receive around .62
percent of the foot traffic.
Target Market
There are 552,541 people out of a total of
1,958,575 people that fit into our target market of
18 to 30 years of age within a 150-mile radius of
our location. Even further zoomed in, there are
301,000 people in a 50-mile radius based off our
target market. We can make an educated
assumption that a large portion of the .62 percent
of the 22 million annual visitors will come from
the population of our target market within a 150-
mile radius. See Appendix F for the cities listed.
See Appendix G for a pie chart with number of
store visitors against population
Forever
21
H&M PacSun Zumiez YinYang & Co.
Average
Customers
per Day
500 500 250 250 500+500+250+250
=1500
1500/4= 375
Easton Town
Center
YinYang & Co.
Average
Yearly
Customers
22 million 375*365 days=
136,875 136,875/22,000,000=
.00622159 x 100= .62%
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
.24+.20+.20+.18=.82/4= .205
375*.205= 77 transactions per day
Figure 14: Number of Customers YinYang sees
Figure 13: Transactions per Day
Figure 12: Target Market Within 150 Mile
Radius
Figure 15: Percentage of Easton
Visitors that will go to YinYang
18. Target Segmentation
YinYang & Co.’s main objective is to bring a
simple and fashionable product to the right
people. Our products are ones that are
affordable with no lack in quality. With fast
fashion’s growth grew from a traditional 6.8% to
9.7% over the past five years showing the
growth of popularity for clothing that is
affordable yet still up beat with today’s top
trends. The selected target segment must be
allocated with a population that focuses on
affordability when it comes to retail shopping.
The main segmentation methods that YinYang
will focus on is the specific demographics of
Easton Shopping center, where YinYang & Co will
be established. It is a prestigious shopping hub
located in the heart of Columbus, Ohio. Easton is
rated as the #4 top things to do while visiting
Columbus, Ohio (News, 2015). The median
income of Columbus is $55,837(Nikitas, 2015),
making it an ideal city for a fast fashion retailer.
Target
There is always a demand for quality products at
an affordable price. Although there are many
other stores at Easton shopping center, there is
not one that incorporates the simplicity and
quality of YinYang & Co. Even with the high
competition in the area, YinYang & Co.’s
emphasis on simplicity, affordability, and
opportunity to give back to the community
uniquely separates us from the competition.
From our research and external analysis of the
industry, YinYang & Co. has concluded that
Easton Shopping Center is an ideal market for
our first store. Our Target market is Generation
Y, so anyone ranging from the ages of 18-32. This
demographic includes parts of the working class
and a plethora of current college
students/graduates. With an average income of
$39,700, YinYang & Co. would be able to reach
out to these potential customers with our
innovative style and caring attitude towards
society.
13
TARGET MARKET
“To people who are constantly searching for classic simple looks that
are suitable for all social events, YinYang & Co. holds that desire”.
Positioning
YingYang & Co. is one of many retail stores in
Columbus, Ohio but is the only one of its kind that
offers the kind of benefits that we supply. YingYang &
Co. is not only in it for supplying customers with new
up to date products but also focuses on giving back to
different charitable occasions through clothing and
monetary donations across the US.
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
Figure 16: Distribution of Different Income
Levels in Cloumbus
19. Brand Positioning Grand Opening
The grand opening is set for the summer of
2016. We are going to hand out fliers that say
“Coming Soon [our logo]”. We feel the best way
to get new customers in our store is through
building curiosity. The day of our grand opening
we will have Chipotle catering for our guests and
logo incorporated water bottles. We will also
have a raffle, raffling off a $50 gift card. The way
any customer gets entered into the raffle is by
spending over $45 dollars at the opening day
event. The other promotional thing we are
doing is the first 50 customers that come
through our doors get a free YinYang & Co. V-
neck. We will also be holding an actual ribbon
cutting ceremony at 10am. All five owners of the
store will cut the ribbon and officially open the
doors to YinYang & Co.
14
MARKETING STRATEGY
YinYang & Co. is an innovative clothing brand that focuses on fashion and
simplicity. As a company, we are dedicated to bestowing confidence in the minds
of our customers while providing an opportunity to give back to society.- Mission
Statement
Year One Strategy
In the first year of operations we want to focus
on building our brand and promoting our
products to the public. As a company, we want
to build a strong foundation to retain as many
new and returning customers as possible so we
can develop a solid following as well as a positive
reputation. Even though we may have negative
profits for the first year we see our brand and
location as a positive stepping stone for the
future. When the end of year one comes around
we want to find and fix any problems that arise
from manufacturing to marketing standpoints.
Our financial goal for the first year is to reach our
breakeven point and/or surpass that point.
Years Two-Five
In years 2-5 we want to focus on continuing to
further build brand awareness through
differentiating ourselves with new products
and exclusive lines (EG seasonality clothing
lines). We plan on having a good profit
through these years allowing us to expand
into different market segments such as
accessories and footwear. Though we plan on
expanding into different segments we still
want to focus on white and black color
scheme but incorporate gold and silver. This
will allow us to broaden the breadth of our
product lines. Around years 3-4 we plan on
adding more clothing options by buying from
multiple manufacturers and not just AliBaba.
When we look at our business concept entirely
we notice we bring many things to the table.
When you compare us to companies such as our
competitors (H&M, Forever 21, PacSun) you will
see that we are not only fashionable at a
reasonable price, but we also integrate a basic
concept with a valuable luxury feel.
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
Figure 17: Where YinYang brand is positioned compared to
competition
20. Price
YinYang & Co. prides itself on bringing the
customer great outfits that are affordable. Our
products will cost a little more than what we pay
for the manufacturing of the shirts so that there
is a good profit margin Refer to Figures below to
see the prices. Since we are buying our products
from a manufacturer we will have to make sure
we pay a reasonable price for the manufacturing
of our products and make our products cost an
price people are willing to pay. We decided our
prices by just thinking about what we as
shoppers would pay for these products. That
way we will make a good profit and be able to
help give better donations to the charity of the
month.
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|DEMANDSCENARIO|LOCATION|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
15
MARKETING MIX
Product
YingYang & Co. is clothing brand that focuses our
products on simplicity, classiness, and quality.
The main colors that we focus on are black and
white, making us a one of a kind store. We offer
products such as: men’s t-shirts, jeans, long
sleeve shirts, joggers, and button up shirts;
women’s dresses, long and short sleeve shirts,
leggings, and jeans Refer to Figures below to see
our products . Our products are focused towards
men and women between the ages 18-32 that
have a reasonable income and like to socialize.
YinYang & Co. is not only focused on profitability,
but also giving back to the community. We have
special lines each month that are dedicated to
different causes for that month (E.G. October is
for Breast Cancer) See appendix B for
information.
Women’s Jeans (cost $35) Women’s Dress (cost $40)
Women’s Long Sleeve
(cost $15)
Women’s Dress (cost $45)
Men’s joggers
(cost $17)
Men’s Long sleeve
(cost $15)
Men’s V-neck (cost
$12)
21. Place
As we previously stated in our report our location
for YinYang & Co. is placed at Easton Town Center,
4007 Gramercy Street, Columbus Ohio, 43219.
The relator we talked to at Steiner + Associates,
told us the California Pizza Kitchen will be split
into retail space that is 2000 square feet. Our
store is located at the end of the of the Easton
Town Station section, closest to the Gramercy
Street entrance of the Town Station. Refer to
Appendix K for specific location. The location is
near all of our primary and secondary
competition. We see this as a benefit because
customers will want to come in and check out our
store and we offer low prices compared to our
competition.
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|DEMANDSCENARIO|LOCATION|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
16
MARKETING MIX
Promotion
YinYang & Co. is situated in mall that has high traffic
flow, but also has high rent. Therefore, YinYang & Co. is
in a make or break situation which causes us to focus
on free marketing but we also have some plans for
spending on marketing. The way we are going to
promote our brand is by passing out fliers at the
nearby college campuses, Easton itself, and in
downtown Columbus. YinYang & Co. plans to have a
discount for college students with a valid college ID,
giving them 10% off their entire purchase. We plan on
utilizing Easton’s webpage and social media accounts
to promote our brand to help create traffic to our own
website. We also plan on spending money on a 30
second TV commercial Refer to Appendiix H for the
commercial. We also plan on spending $10,000 for a
billboard to be placed by Interstate 270 North for 8
weeks Refer to Appendix H for the billboard. YinYang &
Co. has its own Instagram page, and in the future we
plan on making a Facebook and Twitter page. See
Appendix I and J for the website and Instagram page.
The best promotion plan we are using is by word of
mouth and just being in a shopping center that sees 22
million people per year.
Figure 18 : The placement of the billboard by Interstate 270 North
22. System Needed
17
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
The system we need in our retail store is a system that will not only make the checkout process
easy but also helps run our business and our operational activities in a fluent, easy, and care free
way. Since Ying Yang & Co. is a new start up company the system wont need to be a very
complicated system with thousands of different tricks and gimmicks instead we need a system
that will be easy to train our employees, accept any payment method and will help our
operations runs smoothly. Looking at these requirements we narrowed our choices down to ten
systems. The final decision we made was to use the Revel system. Refer to Appendix L for what
we want our system to provide to our operational activities: Sales, Inventory, Employee, Supplier,
Customer. Refer to Appendix L to see how Revel Systems works. Refer to Appendix L for visual
comparison of Revel to the other 10 POS systems. Refer to Appendix N, O and P for KPI
dashboards.
The Revel System
Clear
Communication
Between All Depts.
Help Managers
Make Decisions
Can Integrate with
Other Aspects of
Business
Saves You on
Unwanted Costs
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
Figure 20: What the Revel System Brings to
the Table
Figure 19: The POS System Requirements
23. 18
FINANCIALS
EXTERNALANALYSIS|BUSINESSCONCEPT|LOCATION|DEMANDSCENARIO|TARGETMARKET|MARKETINGCONCEPT|INFORMATIONSYSTEMS|FINANCIALS
Figure 22: Loan Amortization Schedule
Overview
Upon completing and analyzing the needed
financials for our report, we have come to the
realization that YinYang & Co. will most likely
not be feasible if all our calculations are
correct. According to our income statement,
by year four we will become a profitable
company, but financials in our balance sheet
and capital budget analysis say otherwise.
We came up with $139,086 of initial start up
costs, 70 percent of which we have and 30
percent will be provided from a loan. Along
with the 30 percent, we also will need to take
out an extra $50,000 to repay our tenant
allowance from Steiner+Associates (M.
Meeks, personal communication, October 27,
2015). This gives us a total of $91,726 to be
put on a loan. Below is the amortization
schedule for our loan by year.
Financial Results
Several of the most important deciding factors
for investors include the net present value, the
internal rate of return, and the payback period.
According to our calculations we have a positive
net present value of $347,849. Our internal rate
of return is 700%. The payback period of 4 years
for the initial investment.
Figure 21: Key
Financials
Net Present
Value
$347,849
Internal Rate of
Return
700%
Payback Period 4 years
Refer to Appendixes Q , R, and S for further financial information, including
our income statement, balance sheet, and capital budgeting analysis.
Source: Bankrate
24. CONCLUSION
19
Many top companies in the apparel industry are moving towards the concept of fast fashion, so
they can incorporate the top trends while also keeping prices down. This is why YinYang & Co. is a
retailer that will succeed in the long run. By focusing on simplicity as well as luxury, and targeting
millennials, ages 18 to 32, we believe YinYang will become a prestigious store within Easton Town
Center. Easton sees 22 million people per year and our store will see .62% of that foot traffic daily.
Through our different marketing strategies and promotional giveaways we see a bright future for
customers and employees alike. Our marketing strategies include, a tv commercial, billboard,
fliers, and word of mouth. “Forty percent of customers begin purchasing from a competitor
because of their reputation for great customer service” (Zendesk, 2015). YinYang & Co. prides
itself on great customer service and will hire the right employees to serve as our first-line of
communication to our customers. Though we have many initial costs such as the ones for the
Information Systems, hangers, mannequins, construction, etc. the following years we will not have
these costs and depreciation will start. This will save us money on taxes as well as not having to
pay the initial start up fees.
In conclusion our income statement shows that we are a feasible company but if you take a look at
our balance sheet you will see that by year five our debt will catch up with us. Our total assets
were $356,689 below our total liabilities and owner’s equity. Therefore, we will have to shut down
shop or ask someone to bail us out.
CONCLUSION
25. THE BRAND PYRAMID MODEL
Slogan
Confidence starts on
the outside.
Personality
Confident, trendy and social
Emotional Benefits
Be confident with your image
through the clothes you are
wearing.
Functional Benefits
Simple selections, a breadth
of fast fashion trends
Credibility
Credibility that comes with affordable
quality apparel and respected customer
service
Product Attributes
Simple, classic, trendy, white and black
and quality clothing
Essence/Consumer Value
Proposition
Customer service, affordable
prices, classy looks
Positioning
To people who are constantly searching for
classic simple looks that are suitable for all
social events.
Competitive Context
PRIMARY: Pacsun, H&M, Forever
21
Others: Zumiez, Buckle
Insight
Consumers today seek classy
simple clothes at an affordable
price, with great customer
service.
Target
Generation Y
APPENDIXA
26. APPENDIXBThe picture below is an example of what one of the logos will look like for a month (In this
example it’s October)
27. APPENDIXC
Customer Loyalty Plans
At YinYang & Co. we want to offer our loyal customers with a loyalty program. We feel that if we provide
them with a loyalty program this will help us retain certain customers and create the possibility of newer
customers becoming loyal customers. The loyalty plan is going to work has a direct correlation with how
many items you purchase. For every $100 spent at YinYang & Co. the customer will receive 100 loyalty
points. For every full bag of clothes that a person donates to YinYang will receive 10 loyalty points. The
objective is for the customer to reach 1000 loyalty points and by doing such he/she will be rewarded with
25% off of your next purchase over $100.
How It Works
The way this works for the customer is when the customer first shops at YinYang the cashier will ask them
if they want to join our loyalty play. Our cashier will tell them the benefits and if the customer wants to
proceed with becoming a loyal customer the cashier will then ask for his address, number, and name. The
cashier will then scan the loyalty card and hand it over to the customer. It is then that the customer is now
a loyal customer and will receive emails from us saying our deals. Each time the customer goes to cash out
at YinYang the Revel System will appear with a note saying he is a loyal customer and we will then swipe
his card so we can give him the points.
The pictures below will show you what our loyalty cards will look like (front and back)
YinYang & Co.
LOYALTY CARD
This card is the property of YinYang & Co.. Use of this card is subject to
YinYang & Co.’s current policies and such privileges may be restricted at any
time.
For customer service information, please visit .
www.yingyangco.weebly.com
29. APPENDIXE
Interior Design of Store
This picture is what our
store will resemble near
the cash registers.
This picture is what the store
floor will resemble. Except
we will have a couple more
tables spread throughout
the layout.
This picture is what our
changing rooms will look like.
As you can see we are trying
to incorporate the white and
black theme hroughout the
store including our changing
rooms doors.
30. APPENDIXF
150-Mile Radius population in households 2014 & 2015
Toledo: 72,418 total 278,733
Cleveland: 91,388 total 383,073
Columbus: 245,601 total 765,934
Fort Wayne: 59,330 total 248,335
Cincinnati: 83,804 total 282,500
Total: 1,958,575
552,541
50-Mile Radius population in households 2014 & 2015
Marion: 7,200
Mt. Vernon: 3,411
Newark: 10,756
Westerville: 6,026
Dublin: 6,091
Grove City: 7,379
Lancaster: 8,660
Logan: 1,596
Chillicothe: 4,426
55,545
including Columbus: 301,146
33. APPENDIXI
This is a preview of our website. www.yinyangco.weebly.com
We are still in the process of finishing our website and adding
our online store.
36. APPENDIXL
Customer Management
A good POS system needs to be able to
identify loyal customers as well as be
able to monitor what they are buying
and how often they buy our products.
The system also needs to be able to
store customer information and make
sure that the information is secured and
not able to be accessed by unwanted
hackers. A good system also keeps track
of how customers pay; whether gift
card, credit card, or cash. The POS
system also has to be able to keep track
of loyalty points a certain customer has.
Needs to be able to integrate social
media so we can reach out to more
customers.
Sales management
Ying Yang & Co. is going to be located in
Easton Mall. Easton Mall is one of the
key shopping centers where sales of
companies tends to be in the millions.
Therefore, we are in need of a system
that can keep track of all of the sales we
make which could be in the millions.
According to Pamela Stevens of
TopTenReviews the one con that Revel
has is that it’s solutions are most
suitable for companies that have sales
over $100,000 but since we plan on
having more than that this system really
is what we are looking for. The system
also needs to be able to tell what is the
best selling product so our managers
know what product to keep restocking.
The system also needs to be able to help
the manager make other key decisions
by having recognizable data.
Supplier Management
The POS system also needs to integrate
our suppliers. This is very important
that way we know where are products
are as well as keeping our supplier up to
date with what we need and when we
need them by. A good POS system needs
to always keep in contact with our
suppliers. This will help our managers
know what’s in stock what’s needed and
where our product is.
The System & Operational
Activities
Ying Yang & Co.’s POS (Point of Sale)
system is going to need to be able to
help our managers maintain an exciting,
productive, efficient, effective and
customer friendly work environment.
This all starts with a system that is able
to help the manager manage the key
operational activities: employees,
inventory, sales, suppliers and
customers.
37. APPENDIXL
When it comes to employees we pride
ourselves on hiring the most qualified,
most educated, and most talented
people we can find. With that being said
we do need a system that can help us
make sure our employees are working
hard, working right, and not cheating
the system. What we mean by those are
we are in need of a system that can
monitor our sales by employee, and
monitor how long the employees are
working. We also want to make sure our
employees are cheating the system in
that we don’t want the employees
having other employees clock each
other in and getting paid for time they
weren’t there as well as making sure we
can document how much overtime an
employee worked if they do work
overtime.
Employee Management
The Revel System
The Revel system is an iPad POS system that uses the cloud to store data and also takes
advantage of the HTLM5 markup language, making it accessible for mobile devices. The
system is capable to operate for any businesses specific needs. The system is 100% usable if
you lose Internet access temporarily and it also lets you decide which payment processor we
find most suitable for our company. Some examples of payment we will accept are credit
cards, gift cards, checks and cash. The system uses iPad compatible router to facilitate
communication between devices, and the processed payments sync up as soon as an Internet
connection is restored. The system is also very easy to learn and teach which will keep our
cost for training down. (Stevens, 2015)
Comparisons of Revel to the other 9 Competitors
Inventory Management
Inventory control is one thing that we
need to focus on a lot since we are in
fact a fast fashion company. We need to
have the right things in stock but at the
same time not have too many items in
extra inventory. We plan on having most
of our inventory out on display with
very little in the back so whatever you
see on the racks is what we have with a
few exceptions. We also need a system
that can keep track of how much
inventory was received, how many of
those products have been sold, and have
a schedule that will remind us when we
need to order more inventory.
38. APPENDIXL
Business Management
The Revel System does so much for a business in regards to managing the key operation
activities. For instance the system can manage inventory, sales, employees, assemblies and
kits, modifiers, and suppliers. The system can also create numerous types of reports that can
help your manager make a very important decision. Some examples of the types of reports it
can create are sales reports, that include summaries, hourly sales and sales by employee. It
also creates charts and graphs that can be easily read. It includes an integrated time clock and
manages overtime pay, calculates tip payout and configures commission pay. (Stevens, 2015)
Customer Management
When dealing with customers Revel is far superior then most systems. Revel can store
information such as customer names, addresses, shipping addresses and email addresses. The
system can also store notes on the customer like what color or product they tend to buy
more. The system can keep track of loyalty points as well as how much is left on a gift card.
The system also integrates social media (Facebook, Twitter) so we can reach out to more
customers. (Stevens, 2015)
Security
The Revel System uses HTTPS protocol for online communication use. It also provides all of its
credit card reader’s feature 256-bit AES encryption and the POS system provides compliant
EMV chip and PIN card readers and technologies for storing data. (Stevens, 2015)
Purchasing Processor
We decided Verifone would be the best purchase processor for our company. The reason we
selected Verifone is because it is compatible with Revel and it is also capable of using EMV.
Verifone hardware cost $239.00. (Verifone, 2015)
Cost
Revel Systems have an initial start up cost of $1,000 for all hardware needed (such as cash
drawer, iPad stands, receipt printer, scanner, and access point) and has a monthly subscription
fee of $49.99. (Plan on having 3 iPad mini 2’s 16 GB at $269.99 each).
Overall the price of our Information Systems will cost about $2,048.97 plus tax and the
additional $49.99 per month for the Revel System.
40. APPENDIXM
KPI DASHBOARD
Employee Schedule
Hours of Operations (In $) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
10-12 302.63 409.16 469.80 520.95 605.87
12-3 352.88 458.93 566.87 640.52 768.06
3-7 721.80 738.40 973.12 1154.67 1346.79
7-10 631.17 703.50 776.14 1027.31 1154.32
41. APPENDIXO
KPI DASHBOARD
(In $) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
COGS 381,384 419,522 482,451 555,287 621,921
Hours of Operations Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
7-10 .32 .35 .39 .51 .58
3-7 .36 .37 .49 .58 .67
12-3 .18 .23 .28 .32 .38
10-12 .15 .20 .23 .26 .30
HoursofOperations
42. APPENDIXP
KPI DASHBOARD
TypesofClothing
Type of Clothing (In $) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Shirts 100.43 115.50 139.30 167.17 193.75
Long Sleeves 43.52 50.05 60.36 72.44 83.96
Pants 66.95 77.00 92.86 111.45 129.17
Tanktops 10.04 11.55 13.93 16.72 19.38
Shorts 66.95 77.00 92.86 111.45 129.17
Dresses 48.87 53.90 33.17 78.01 90.42
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