Ahmed Eissa opened Le Carnaval pastry shop in 1998 with the vision of introducing high-quality French pastries to the Egyptian market. As the sole founder and owner, Eissa drew on his experience in the pastry industry from working with his father's shop to establish Le Carnaval as a family business. Over time, Eissa expanded Le Carnaval to multiple branches and brought his children into the business as partners while maintaining control as the owner-manager who makes final decisions. Le Carnaval focuses on quality materials and products to differentiate itself in the market and build brand loyalty among higher-income Egyptian consumers.

1. LE CARNAVAL
Ahmed Eissa
Noha Eissa
900092238
ENTR203
Dr. Ashraf Sheta

2. 1
Table of Contents
Section Page
Entrepreneur Profile…………………………………………….. 3
Type of Entrepreneur……………………………………………. 4
Vision, Culture, and Values of the Company
Application of Porter’s Five Model Analysis…………………….. 5-6
Business Model…………………………………………………… 7-8
Nature of the Company………………………………………….. 8-9
Legal Form of the Company…………………………………….. 9
Management Team………………………………………………. 10
Selection Process and Job Description………………………….. 11-12
Target Market……………………………………………………. 14
Distribution and Pricing…………………………………………. 14-15
Marketing Plan…………………………………………………… 15-16
Location and Product Design……………………………………. 16-17
Financial Dimensions…………………………………………….. 17-18
Risks………………………………………………………………. 19
Vision for Growth……………………………………………….. 19-20
Comment and Recommendations………………………………. 20-21

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Part 1

4. 3
Entrepreneur Profile
Ahmed Eissa, my father, is an Entrepreneur who introduced the French pastry
to the Egyptian market through his opening of Le Carnaval. Le Carnaval is a pastry
shop, which produces both, oriental and French pastry. However, its main target is to
produce high-quality French pastry that the Egyptian community has not yet been
introduced to. When Eissa opened his first branch of Le Carnaval in 1998, his main
aim was to renovate pastry in Egypt.
Ahmed Eissa is an Electronics Engineer who graduated from the Cairo
University; however, he did not work with his college degree. His father was a lawyer
who owned a pastry shop under the name of Tseppas. Before Eissa graduated from
university, he dedicated most of his time to working with his father at Tseppas, which
he really enjoyed and put as much effort as he could to make the business grow.
Later on, after his father passed away, he decided to build on to the world of
pastry and open Le Carnaval, believing that French pastry is the finest type of pastry
all over the world. His dedication to the world of pastry allowed him to reach a very
high level of success, making Le Carnaval a prominent brand in the Egyptian market.
Eissa decided that in order for his products to be different, he needed to use
different materials to create them than any of those used by other pastry shops in
Egypt, so he imported his materials from France.
Four years later, and after stabilizing Le Carnaval and creating a good image
for it, Eissa opened his second branch. He then, established a company called Royal
Group, which both Le Carnaval and Tseppas are part of. He is now opening his third
branch, as well as creating a concept for his new café, which he is intending to call
Carnavalinho.
Although he started off by working with his father and other people who were
previously members of the company as well, he managed to continue the journey on
his own by opening and owning Le Carnaval independently and introducing a new
concept to the Egyptian market.

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Type of Entrepreneur
Ahmed Eissa’s background experience, dedication, and knowledge about the
field of pastry was the main reason he chose to take on this path, dig deeper into it,
and make it grow. It is the need to control his own destiny and wealth creation that led
Eissa to the initial thought of taking his business into the direction of renovating what
he had already worked on for a long time with his family; although the idea of pastry
already existed in the market, he added an innovative sense to it by bringing in the
luxury of the French pastry.
Eissa is a Traditional Entrepreneur, in the sense that he was able to identify
the opportunity of the need of the Egyptian market for fine French pastry and decided
to execute that opportunity through opening Le Carnaval.
He got his inspiration, however, from Ladurée, a famous French pastry shop
located in Paris. Due to his great dedication to pastry, he decided to roam Europe,
searching for an inspiration. After months of searching for the perfect idea, he
happened to stumble upon a long line of customers in Champs Elysees in front of a
fancy-looking pastry shop. He decided to wait in that long cue to see what the fuss
was all about, and there it was what he was looking for, Ladurée, his idea of a perfect
concept.
Eissa was not intending on opening Le Carnaval just for the sake of earning
money. Nevertheless, it was one of his incentives like any other entrepreneur, but not
his main one. He wanted to work on something he enjoyed doing, looking for
freedom, creativity, and power in the Egyptian market.
He wanted it to be a whole experience by which visiting Le Carnaval would
not only be entering a French Pastry shop and Salon De Thé; instead, it would be
going for a walk in a gallery of arts and antiques, in an exhibition of colors, shapes,
and artistic creations.
Eissa started off by wanting the field of pastry to grow within the city he lived
in, Cairo, Egypt. Thus, he knew from the very beginning where to start. He chose,
however, the type of business he wanted then conducted his research to determine
whether it would work for this location or not; in fact, he believes he has made the
right choice.

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Vision, Culture, and Values of the Company
Implementing a French concept, related to the French taste in the heart of the
oldest and most ancient civilization is the challenge that always kept Le Carnaval
under the light of distinction and merit.
The aim of Le Carnaval, according to the Chairman, Eng. Ahmed Eissa, is to
confront itself, before challenging the Egyptian market, with the objective to prove
that efforts, acuity and quality are certainly the keys to success and recognition.
With prior scientific studies and analysis, the company has tried to implement
international standards with respect to performance and quality. Their main goals are
always directed towards the satisfaction of the customers’ desires, maintaining
excellence and continuity, and to never disappoint the customer.
The core values of the company are to add something new to the life of the
customers for their pleasure and benefit. It intends to keep Le Carnaval high and make
the customer feel that it has added to the Egyptian market what others have found
difficult to achieve.
Without the advice and assistance of the customers, Le Carnaval wouldn’t
succeed, therefore, the company expects to create and maintain an intense, deeply
true, strong, and honest relation with its customers in order to reach its commune aim
which is excellence of elegance, quality of distinction, comfort of service and
hospitality.
The mission of the company’s chairman, Eissa, is to get Le Carnaval to
become the leading and highest standard pastry shop all around Cairo and to maintain
that reputation.
Le Carnaval’s team always keeps in mind to be the best, concentrating their
efforts on quality, hygiene, acuity, and international standards, wishing to be always
the customer’s choice.
Application of Porter’s Five Model Analysis
1) Barriers to Entry: When Le Carnaval first opened, it did not have barriers
to entry into the Egyptian market as the competition was unavailable yet. Of course,
there were various pastry shops, however, not targeting the same market being
targeted by Le Carnaval nor were they producing the same products (French pastry).

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The only barrier that might have been faced by Eissa was switching costs. It
was difficult to ensure that consumers would spend money on French pastry rather
than what they were already familiar with in the Egyptian market.
2) Threat from Substitute Products: There are various substitutes to French
pastry in Cairo, which is a threat to Le Carnaval. Sweets are available in supermarkets
and may even be made at home if someone is craving something sweet. There were
also providers of cakes and gateaux already existing in the market when Le Carnaval
first opened. However, none of them provided what Le Carnaval produced, but the
threat was still there especially when the consumers go for what is convenient to them
in terms of location and price.
Currently, there are many competitors to Le Carnaval, which produce similar
products at a lower price, but this is due to the difference in the quality of the
materials being used for production.
3) Threat from Buyers’ Bargaining Power: Le Carnaval has not faced the
threat of the buyer’s bargaining power since it sells its own goods to its customers
directly. It does not distribute its products out to buyers to sell.
4) Threat from Suppliers’ Bargaining Power: Since Le Carnaval is considered
part of the food industry, if it suffers from the suppliers raising the price of the raw
materials being used, the rest of the competitors in the same industry will do as well.
There are various substitutes to Le Carnaval’s main suppliers in and out of the
country. Le Carnaval’s main source of material is France, as it imports almost all of
its raw materials for production from there. However, if it ever faces the threat of the
prices being raised by the suppliers, there are various substitutes to those supplies in
France and all over the world.
5) Rivalry Among Existing Industry Firms: Le Carnaval has managed to keep
itself away from price wars with competitors in the market since its very first day. Le
Carnaval has relatively higher prices than other competitors in the industry. It mainly
focuses on creating and maintaining an image and reputation that would motivate the
consumer to pay more for better quality instead of purchasing its products for its low
prices; thus, quality is Le Carnaval’s competitive advantage.

8. 7
Business Model
Le Carnaval is a supplier in itself, which directs its products to the consumer
immediately without the need for a distribution channel. The production process takes
place at the company’s factory in Al Obour city, and then the products are distributed
amongst the two branches and sold directly to the consumer through the branches at
Heliopolis and Dokki.
The purchased products are directly consumed by the customer and are not
resold; thus, the buy-sell interaction only occurs between Le Carnaval and its
customer. Le Carnaval produces more than twenty different types of French pastry,
each targeting a different consumer considering the difference in taste and preference
from one person to another.
The company has now reached its maturity stage in its life-cycle. Le Carnaval
now has achieved customer retention, where customers have become loyal to it as a
brand. The company has professional management and has created an image and
reputation for itself that the customer is now familiar with.
Le Carnaval targets the higher B and A class citizens of the Egyptian
community, by which many of its customers are well-known businessmen, celebrities,
ministers, etc. The customer of Le Carnaval is one who is looking for good quality
and luxury, and appreciates rich taste.
The company provides the consumer with French pastry, invented by French
chefs, who train the Egyptian staff working for Le Carnaval. The raw materials used
to produce the pastry are almost all from a French origin and are imported from
France to differentiate itself from its main competitors in the industry.
The main competitors to Le Carnaval are currently Sedra, Sale Sucre, and
Alain Le Notre. The competitive advantage Le Carnaval has over those competitors is
the quality of its products. Some of those competitors create almost the same products
Le Carnaval does; however, the consumer has realized that there is a difference in
taste and quality. Now, however, Le Carnaval has created brand loyalty, by which the
customer has become attached to it products.
Also, Le Carnaval has managed to create a sense of snob value in the mindset
of the consumer and in the heart of the industry; in other words, the customer
purchases products from Le Carnaval for catering services and gifts as a form of

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portraying luxury in front of the elite of the Egyptian society, making Le Carnaval’s
product one of great value.
The founding entrepreneur of the company, Ahmed Eissa, was previously
experienced in the industry as he was a partner with his family in the ownership of
Tseppas. He knew what the industry was like before he even thought of brining Le
Carnaval into the market. When he first introduced Le Carnaval into the market, he
was already a competitor to himself by the owner of Tseppas, which increased his
share in the market of this industry.
Le Caranval’s third branch is opening in December of the year 2012,
bringing on a renovation of the original brand. The new branch will open with a new
theme, style, and logo. The products, however, will remain the same but new products
will be added to satisfy a wider range of consumers.
Ahmed Eissa, as a start-up entrepreneur, had enough resources to create what
he had in mind for Le Carnaval. He had financial resources beyond his savings that
allowed him to hire as many employees as he needed to make his company grow.
Nature of the Company
Ahmed Eissa started off by working with his father and other partners in
Tspeppas, which, to him, was a family business. Later on, he opened Le Carnaval on
his own, being a sole owner. However, after achieving part of the success he’s been
dreaming of, he decided to bring his children in, turning Le Carnaval into a family
business. Thus, looking at Eissa’s attitude towards the family business, it is clear that
he’s taken an entrepreneurial direction, by taking the risk of adding Le Carnaval to the
company.
The approach that is being adopted at Le Carnaval is paternalisitic, by which
Eissa, as the owner-manager, makes all the business decisions for employees and
anything related to the business in general. However, he tends to listen to others; in
other words, he takes into consideration ideas proposed by other members of the
company, but the final decision is only up to him. Therefore, the company is not
closing off from fresh ideas and approaches.
Both agent-managers who are available in each branch, and owner-managers
who, in this case, are Eng. Eissa and his son Mohamed, manage Le Carnaval.

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Eissa saw the importance of bringing his children into the family business at
the earliest age possible in order to have them understand what the business was all
about and to have them get the education suited to make the business grow. He started
off by assigning very simple tasks to his son at an early age and as his son grew, the
tasks became more difficult. Now, his son fully understands the business and is able
to carry it out on his own when Eissa is out of the country.
I, on the other hand, as Eissa’s daughter, am given simple tasks to do from
home due to the tight schedule I’m on for university. The tasks include writing
contracts for the company and keeping an eye out for the creative part of the
company.
Le Carnaval is not only a pastry shop that provides cakes, gateaux, chocolates,
and biscuits in its showroom, but also provides catering services for both sweet and
savory foods, as well as create luxurious customized birthday and wedding cakes.
Legal Form of the Company
Royal Group for Industrial Trade and Development, which Le Carnaval is part
of, is a partnership between Ahmed Eissa, his son, daughter, and wife. Although they
are not all involved in the management of the business, they are legally partners based
on legal documents.
While Eissa’s daughter and wife are Silent partners due to them being inactive
but have a financial interest in the partnership, his son is an active partner. They are
also considered Dormant partners in the sense that it is unknown to the public that
they are partners; in other words, people only view them as the successors but not
officially partners to Eissa.
The share of the company is divided amongst all members of the family.
According to Ahmed Eissa, “my children are my successors and heirs,” meaning that
his children will inherit his share in the company, still keeping the business a family
business; in other words, only family will be managing the business and an outsider
will not be brought into it.
Management Team

11. 10
Ahmed Eissa chose to give in solo effort to opening Le Carnaval. The intense
effort for start-up was all his, and all the load was on him alone. It was a great risk to
do so, but he’s an independent worker who was motivated to make his dream come
true and succeeded to do so.
He chose not to take the risk of one member leaving the team and getting the
whole start-up process impacted by such action. He wanted to focus all his energy and
thoughts on building the company independently.
Due to his previous work on the field, Ahmed Eissa was knowledgeable
enough to understand the fundamentals of the project he was intending on opening,
which is Le Carnaval. He was familiar with every operational, financial, and
marketing step required to grow the business. Later on, however, it was important for
him to hire a managerial team (agent-managers) to help him out.
Although Eissa was on his own, he was always seeking advice from more
experienced people, his family members and friends. He was open to ideas from other
people, however, he assessed on his own whether such ideas he received were suitable
for his company or not.
Ahmed Eissa’s legal attorney, Hussein Hamza, has been working with him for
a long time now. He always seeks advice from him on the selection of the correct and
proper legal organizational structure, preparing documents for intellectual property
rights acquisition, and preparing contracts. He has been representing Eissa as an
advocate in any legal actions since the year 1990.
The company has two highly-trusted accountants who take care of all the
financial matters under the supervision of the chairman. One of them is responsible
for the salaries of the employees and keeping employee records. The other
accountant, on the other hand, is in charge of verifying and posting bills, filing yearly
tax returns, preparing budgets, and preparing financial statements.
Eissa himself does many of the accounting tasks, however, that are not the
responsibility of the hired accountants, such as writing checks and balancing the
checkbook.

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Selection Process and Job Description
Le Carnaval’s recruitment of employees happens through the process of
conducting interviews. An advertisement is published in the newspaper to notify
people that Le Carnaval is searching for qualified employees and they start to send
their resumes in, usually through email.
One of the agent-managers begins to go through those resumes to see who’s
suitable for a job at Le Carnaval and who isn’t. Those resumes that he/she finds
belonging to qualified people go directly to the chairman and the interview process
begins.
Another way of receiving resumes of potential employees is through the
Human Capital Capability Academy (HCCA), and HR Company in Egypt. What
happens is that they are notified by Le Carnaval’s team that they are looking for
employees, and based on their research on Le Carnaval, they send in resumes of
people they think are suitable for working at this place.
The first general quality that is commonly looked at in the applicants’ resumes
is their past experience, whether they are applying to work as managers, salespeople,
chefs, etc. Also, they are required to have minimal skills of speaking a second
language other than Arabic.
Throughout the interview, the applicant is asked how long they stayed at their
previous job, why they left, what their salary was at that job and whether it was
relevant to the job they are applying for at Le Carnaval or not.
They are also asked why they chose to apply at Le Carnaval and to justify
their reason for choosing to take a certain position.
The answers to the questions being asked within the interview are not enough
to hire an applicant. The interviewer, which in this case is the Chariman of Le
Carnaval, based on his experience, determines whether the applicant’s resume shows
an overall appearance of suggesting that a candidate is serious about his or her career
or not.
Also, the interviewer looks to see if the candidate was successful in
emphasizing the skills, experience, and education required for the job or position they
are applying for.

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The interviews take place in the Chairman’s office where no interruptions take
place in order to create a peaceful and quiet environment for the person being
interviewed to organize their thoughts before answering questions. No one is allowed
to come in during an interview under any circumstances.
The interviewer also assesses the candidate’s knowledge about Le Carnaval to
identify whether they know what they are coming to work for or not. Sometimes the
applicant might not know enough about the company, but their previous experience
and skills are enough get them hired.
Sometimes when the chairman finds that a candidate is not suitable for the
position they have applied for, he suggests another position that is more suitable for
them. However, it is up to the applicant to choose to take the job offered or not.
The questions being asked to the interviewee are usually open-ended questions
in order to give the applicant a chance to prove that they deserve to work at Le
Carnaval and suitable for the position they are applying for. There are also situational
questions in which the interviewee is given a certain scenario or situation and they’re
duty is to explain how they would deal with it.
Usually, the interview ends by asking every applicant, why they believe they
should be chosen for this position over someone else who applied for the same
position. Using the answer to this question, the interviewer is able to assess the
candidate’s personality and ambition.
The monthly salary of each employee is discussed in the interview. The
employee receives extra-time payment, however, if they work overtime.
After the selection process is over, the hired staff gets trained for the position
they earned. For example, the managers are trained on how to handle certain
situations, how to interact with the customers, and how to manage and train the staff.
The managers then, are responsible for training the salespeople on how to
interact with the incoming customers and be sure they are familiar with each
product’s name and ingredients. They also need to make sure that they look
presentable since this would directly influence the company’s image.
The French chefs, who come in every month to train the kitchen and factory
staff, on the other hand, train the ones hired as chefs.

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Part 2

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Target Market
Le Carnaval sells its products directly to the end-user customer; in other
words, the products created are sold directly to the consumer, not through another
distributor. The main target market for Le Carnaval is the higher Egyptian class, as its
main aim from the very beginning was to create a value to itself in the customer’s
mindset.
Le Carnaval targets three different segments within the A class: 1) catering
service customers, 2) on the spot consumption customers, and 3) gift customers.
The catering service customers are ones that are offered Le Carnaval’s
catering service, where a whole set-up is required with a variety of products. This
type of customers requires not only a large amount of Le Carnaval’s products, but
also a high quality of service in terms of waiting tables and delivery.
On the spot consumption customers, on the other hand, are ones that purchase
products from Le Carnaval’s show room. They are customers who purchase to
consume or use on the same day. Usually in this case, the consumer is buying the
product for personal use or to take back home to share with the family.
The gift customer is one who is not buying the product for personal use. This
customer has a different way of selecting what to purchase from the showroom than
the customer who is buying the product for personal use. The gift customer may
choose to purchase any product from the selection provided for personal use as a gift
to another person, but also has the choice of purchasing the products specially created
for the gift customer, such as chocolates and marron galce.
The main target market, which the previous three segments belong to, is
characterized by the following: 25 year-old and above males and females who
appreciate the value of luxurious French pastry, are willing to pay more for better
quality, and lead a sensual lifestyle.
There are over twenty competitors to Le Carnaval in the field of pastry in
general, but fewer in French pastry, specifically. Le Carnaval’s competitive advantage
is the quality and value of its products and services. Since Le Carnaval uses different
materials than those used by any of its competitors in the Egyptian market, the
consumer may easily distinguish the taste of its pastry.

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Distribution and Pricing
Le Carnaval uses a Forward Integration distribution strategy, by which it
directly distributes its goods to the consumer. The products are manufactured in Al
Obour City main factory and distributed amongst the two branches to be sold to the
customers directly by the salespeople hired to do so.
Despite the high competition to Le Carnaval in the Egyptian market, Eissa, the
owner, decided to compete only based on quality and not based on price; therefore, Le
Carnaval’s products have high prices in comparison to its competitors. Since Le
Carnaval uses imported materials from France, the prices of those materials are
relatively high compared to those used by the competitors.
The pricing strategy used by Le Carnaval is Cost-based Pricing. Rather than
focusing on demand, competitors’ strategies, and the company’s marketing strategy,
Eissa concentrates on covering the costs. He basically determines how much a good
costs and adds 25% of the cost as profit. Thus, if a product costs 80 L.E to
manufacture for instance, it would be sold at 100 L.E, giving a profit of 20 L.E per
product.
This pricing strategy is used by Le Carnaval to position the company in a
specific market segment, where it would be one of the highest-quality and most
prominent companies in Egypt in the field of pastry.
Although Le Carnaval’s products are highly priced, it does not affect its
position in the market amongst its competitors. In fact, its high prices have created a
value to it in the consumer’s mindset; in other words, Le Carnaval’s products have a
snob value to them.
Since Le Carnaval has been in the market for the past 14 years, it has managed
to create a strong relationship with its customer, by which brand loyalty is now
present. Therefore, the pricing does not affect the demand on its products.
Marketing Plan
The purpose of Le Carnaval’s marketing plan is to create awareness for itself,
which will sell innovative French pastry at the highest and finest quality, at a

17. 16
reasonable manufacturing cost by positioning itself as the leader of the field of pastry
in the Egyptian market by providing the customer with new unique products.
The target market is the Egyptian elite society looking for value and for the
satisfaction of their taste buds; specifically, people above the age of 25, with high
income. Le Carnaval will constantly be building a relationship with its customers by
always providing them with new products, new offers each season, and good quality
service.
The customer of Le Carnaval will be loyal to it. He/she will define it as the
leader of the field of pastry in the Egyptian market. Its customers will see that it is
always trying to provide them with its best service and the highest quality of pastry to
always keep them satisfied.
Le Carnaval, as mentioned before, competes in terms of quality and not in
price. Its main aim is to create a product of great value to the consumer. It
differentiates itself by using imported French raw materials in order to guarantee that
the quality and taste of its products is very different from its competitors; in other
words, even if its competitors were creating the same products, Le Carnaval’s would
still be different.
Le Carnaval does not only differentiate its products, but also its customers.
Due to the appreciated quality of the products, high prices have not been an issue for
Le Carnaval’s customers. They are always willing to pay more for better quality;
therefore, the consumers purchasing from Le Carnaval are ones looking for quality,
and sometimes even, snob value.
Le Carnaval is more dependent on PR than marketing strategies to achieve its
goals. It does not rely on advertising and other marketing strategies to create
awareness; instead, it relies on the word of mouth and good relations with their
customers. One must say, Le Carnaval uses the old-fashioned strategy of keeping its
customers aware of its products and services.
Location and Product Design
In 1996, when Le Carnaval was just a thought in Eissa’s head, there was a 2-
floor location licensed for a showroom in the area of Dokki that he dreamed of buying
for a long time. At the time, this location was a hot spot; it was in fact the most highly

18. 17
trafficked area in the city of Cairo, which he believed was the perfect location for his
business. Two years later, he had already bought the place and opened his first branch
of Le Carnaval, serving all the other areas around it.
Four years later, after the success of the Dokki branch, he decided to take his
business to the other side of the city, to Heliopolis. He opened his second branch at
one of the very outstanding locations in Heliopolis.
When choosing his locations, Eissa mainly focused on the amount of traffic on
the street; in other words, he wanted it to be on a main street where many people
would be exposed to it as they passed by.
After choosing the perfect location to open his two branches, came the second
most important choice, which will keep the location alive: the product and packaging
design.
French pastry in Paris inspires the design of Le Carnaval’s products. Eissa has
always been fascinated by the very elegant decorations of the French gateaux and
cakes and wanted the Egyptian community to be exposed to such elegance in the
world of pastry. It is usually a matter of simplicity that gives beauty and
sophistication to the piece of pastry.
As for the packaging, Eissa also chose to keep it simple, in order to guarantee
elegance. The packaging is a light yellow color with Le Carnaval’s logo is placed on
the top of the box in the center. Although Le Carnaval has secured its copyright of
this packaging by legally recording its colors, it has been copied by many of its
competitors.
Financial Dimensions
When Eissa had first started up Le Carnaval, he had already been working in
the field of pastry, in managing Tseppas, the family business, earning profit and
saving enough money to open up his new business.
Before he started up, however, he created a Cash-needs Assessment, where he
identified how he will distribute the money he has amongst the required costs.
Firstly, he already understood how the business works since he was already
experienced in the field of pastry. However, he was aware that opening Le Carnaval

19. 18
required a new way of thinking since he will be importing raw materials and targeting
a wholly new market. Thus, he looked at the required equipment to carry out the
activities of his new business.
Second, he had to identify the position of his business in the value chain,
determining how much he could charge the customer for his products and how much
it would cost him to acquire his raw materials, both from France and from Egypt.
Third, he developed a business timeline by which he could depict the seasonal
patterns in the industry as well as the key events that might influence the level of
sales, such as Eid El Fetr, Ramadan, and Christmas. He knew that new customer sales
do not occur immediately upon starting the business and that it may take several
months for that to happen.
Fourth, he developed financial premises to provide himself with an
explanation and justification for the numbers in the financial forecast. He also
identified the possible demand in order to be able to determine the pattern of sales.
Because Eissa was very confident as he had previous experience in the field, he was
optimistic in terms of receiving positive responses from his customers.
Fifth, he predicted forecast sales and capital expenditures by which he
calculated his sales, knowing that they affect the other expenditures of the business.
He was able to rely on historical data from Tseppas, keeping in mind the difference
between Tseppas and Le Carnaval, of course, in order to ensure a more accurate
estimate of his sales.
Sixth, the calculated start-up capital requirements, by which he was able to
determine the total requirements consisting of several different types of money. He
also had to identify the expenses required for furnishing the showroom and the
equipment required to start up the business.
In doing so, he created a cash-flow statement, which was required to figure out
the start-up capital requirements. It was a simple expression of cash inflows and cash
outflows to the business per month.
Last, but not least, Eissa conducted a sensitivity analysis. At this stage, he was
able to identify the critical numbers of the business, such as the pricing of the
products. Such numbers were the sole contributor to determining whether Le
Carnaval would be a success or a failure.

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Risks
Le Carnaval, like any other business in the industry, faces Strategic risk,
which is the business’ exposure to changes in the market conditions. When it first
opened up, it might have hand the wrong target market or might have priced the
products incorrectly; however, this wasn’t the case. Le Carnaval was able to identify
its target market and pricing strategy correctly.
Strategic risks, however, were faced when the competition began to rise in the
market and many of Le Carnaval’s employees were being ceased by other
competitors, who somewhat copied Le Carnaval’s products. This wasn’t an issue
though as Le Carnaval grew to prove itself as a better-quality product manufacturer.
Nowadays, and since the year 2011, Le Carnaval has been at Financial Risk.
Ever since the 25th
of January revolution took place in Egypt, some of Le Carnaval’s
customers have been imprisoned, and others do not enjoy the amount of extra money
they had previously paid for unessential needs. The sales of Le Carnaval have
dropped, and the fear is that they may drop even further due to the unstable conditions
of the country these days.
The 25th
of January revolution has not only lead to a financial risk for Le
Carnaval, but also an economic circumstances risk. Because people are financially
struggling due to the poor economic levels of Egypt nowadays, the demand has
dropped, leading to a lower level of sales, as mentioned before.
Vision for Growth
The founder of Le Carnaval, Ahmed Eissa, believes that growth is difficult to
achieve at the time being. He says, “I do not see enough space for growth for my
business in such circumstances. The business can surely grow out of the fall it had
faced in the two previous years, but it won’t grow enough to become what it used to
be. I sure do have a vision for growth, but I can only see it happening when the
country is stabilized.”
The vision for growth Eissa has for Le Carnaval, which is to be implemented
when Egypt is under better conditions, is basically based on marketing. Eissa believes

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that he has always been working in an old-fashioned manner. He has been
implementing the same strategies and ideas ever since he worked with his father.
In order for the company to grow, Le Carnaval will begin to implement a
marketing strategy, in which E-marketing will be the main source.
The first step is to create a suitable website for Le Carnaval’s image to present
all its new products and offers to the customer. Also, since social networks are now
the most highly viewed websites, there will be a Facebook page created.
Another idea is to create an advertisement to be posted on YouTube, as well as
create print ads for topnotch magazines such as “Wedding” and “Black and White”.
He is also planning on creating loyalty cards for Le Carnaval’s customers to
further maintain and stabilize the customer relations.
Comments and Recommendations
• Le Carnaval should have a precise marketing plan to follow; in other words, it
should be up to date in terms of marketing strategies. It might be a good idea
to hire a marketing team.
• The owner should be open to new ideas instead of managing Le Carnaval in
an old-fashioned manner due to the high level of competition in the market.
The more up to date the business is, the more attention-grabbing it is to the
consumer.
• The packaging should be renewed in order to differentiate it from the
competitors who have copied it. Changing the packaging will grab the
customer’s attention.
• In order to achieve growth, Le Carnaval may need to add new products to
target a new market segment.
• The marketing plan Eissa has as his vision of growth should be implemented
despite the conditions of the country. It may help raise awareness of Le

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Carnaval for the time being, but when the country is stabilized, the awareness
would still exist and growth may still be achieved.