“Oh GOSH! Reflecting on Hackteria's Collaborative Practices in a Global Do-It...
E portfolio business plan
1.
2. Mission Statement:
SIDEWAYS is a fun, energetic, interactive atmosphere where everyone can feel comfortable.
We are accomplishing what most people would only dream of doing, we are outfitting our customers,
men and women, from the ages 12 to 30, with unique clothing styles, music, and hard goods for
snow and skate for their active lifestyles. SIDEWAYS has a goal, which is to make our consumers’
shopping experience as enjoyable as it possibly can be. The staff will be trained to be as helpful to all
the consumers’ needs and wants, we want our consumers to feel that SIDEWAYS is a place that they
will feel comfortable and want to be at on a rainy day or just when they want to go out shopping. As
a company we will be offering services to our customers such as buying a skateboard in separate
pieces instead of a complete set, we will offer to put all the components together for them for free as
a service to our customers, the same service will be offered if the customer is buying a snowboard,
along with molding the boots to their feet. These services will help our company’s customer service
reputation, which in the long term helps boost our profits and establish customer loyalty, as well as
helping the customer to not worry with the little things. Our company is opening here in the
University Village because there is no other store that sells the same or similar products, it is an
underserved market. We will be holding a Grand Opening at our store located in the University
Village Shopping Center. August 2nd 2011.
3. Company Overview:
-Owner: Tristan Lindborg and Organization: SIDEWAYS retail store
-Basic business concept: SIDEWAYS is a snowboarding and skateboarding retail
company that caters to a younger demographic that has interests in active lifestyles. The need of the
SIDEWAYS business concept lies in the fact that we will offer a more affordable customer oriented
business model. While there are similar offerings of snowboarding outfitters in the surrounding areas,
our research will demonstrate that their price point for similar product is much higher than
SIDEWAYS.
We have selected a location in the University Village Shopping Center, next to the University
of Washington. It is a 10-minute walk from the Dorms and the housing for students that attend the
University. Our customers will benefit from our proximity to public transportation routes. Another
benefit from this location is in the variety of retail offerings in the University Village itself e.g. H&M,
Starbucks, and NorthFace.
-Legal form and Ownership: SIDEWAYS is a Sole-proprietorship, because it is a small
locally owned business, which will someday expand to more locations, and at that time we will be
considering a partnership. The partnership will help the company financially to be able to expand,
along with taking on some of the managerial responsibilities of the organization.
4. Sales Promotion
Image Statement
SIDEWAYS is a fun, energetic, interactive atmosphere that everyone can feel
comfortable in. We are accomplishing what most people would only dream of doing, we are
outfitting our customers with unique clothing styles, music and hard goods for snow and skate for
their active lifestyles. SIDEWAYS has a goal which is to make our consumers shopping experience
as enjoyable as it possibly can be, the staff will be trained to be as helpful to all the consumers needs
and wants, and SIDEWAYS wants it to be a place that they will feel comfortable and like the place
they want to be on a rainy day or just when they want to go out shopping. As a company we will be
offering services to our customers such as when buying a skateboard in separate pieces instead of a
complete we will offer to put all the components together for you for free as a service to our
customers, as well as if the customer is buying a snowboard complete we will put that together for
free as well as a service, along with molding the boots to their feet. These services will help with our
company’s customer service reputation, which in the long term helps boost loyal customers and
profits, as well as helping the customer not bother with the little things.
Product
SIDEWAYS carries clothing for men and women with brands such as, Volcom,
Roxy, RVCA, LRG, Billabong, Glamour Kills, KREW, and Element. The categories SIDEWAYS
will be carrying are men’s clothing, women’s clothing, men’s accessories, women’s accessories,
Skateboards and accessories, and Snowboard and accessories.
Price
Our pricing strategy is for us to be able to make our quality merchandise affordable
but still make a profit. Our product/merchandise will be in the mid price range, which is from $3.99
to $85.00 for clothing, and a range from $30.00 to $450.00 for hard goods(skateboards/Snowboards),
so that our entire demographic which ranges from young teenagers to college students that will be
graduating will be able to come and shop when they need or want.
5. Place
SIDEWAYS will be using freighter ships that dock here in the Port of Elliot Bay to
get our merchandise/product from overseas where are manufactures are located in Taichung City,
Taiwan to our store, we will also use FED-EX and UPS for ground shipping from American
vendors.
Advertising
We as a company would like to advertise well for the Grand Opening of
SIDEWAYS, but would also like to budget wisely. We would like to have an advertisement in D-List
Magazine, along with an advertisement in The Stranger a local newspaper here in Seattle. After the
Grand Opening, we would like to keep our relationship with the D-List Magazine and The Stranger,
by placing monthly advertisements.
Direct Marketing
SIDEWAYS would like to meet and greet its consumers in person by inviting them
to an In-Store event that will be showcasing the new merchandise/product. We will be inviting the
consumers with flyers that will be passed out at the University, and on the local sidewalks on
University Avenue, which is a popular local street pulling in people from all over Seattle, and on the
sidewalks of the shopping center where the event will be held. There will also be an In-Person event
held at SIDEWAYS during the winter season, to be able to meet an amateur snowboarder, get
autographs and shop for the clothing they will be wearing.
Public Relations
For SIDEWAYS Grand Opening, we would like to have it well known. There will
be an In-person event held at the store where potential new customers will be able to come and look
at the store and the products, also there will be shopping. SIDEWAYS would also like to place an
advertisement in the local magazine the stranger. SIDEWAYS is a company that cares about the
environment, we are unable to follow the LEEDS plan but we are able to help in our own ways,
SIDEWAYS is proud to help our environment with the help of the Sierra Club, SIDEWAYS will
hold events that will benefit the organization and also will be holding special events where part of the
profits will be donated.
6. Personal Selling
SIDEWAYS staff will be a well-trained staff that will be qualified for their positions.
We as a company will require different levels of education and experience depending on the position
being inquired. SIDEWAYS will train as needed per position and hold an orientation before store
opening to show staff how things will be done in an orderly and timely matter.
Owner: Education required is a Bachelors degree and Experience required would be a total of 5
years retail and manager level.
Buyer: Education required is a Bachelors degree and Experience required would be a total of 5 years
retail.
Manager: Education required is a College degree and Experience required would be a total of 3
years retail.
Assistant Manager: Education required is a College degree/High School Diploma and Experience
required would a total of 2 years retail.
Sales Associate: Education required would be In High School/ College and Experience required
would be none needed.
Internet
As a company SIDEWAYS will be using the Internet in a couple of different ways.
There will be an online store with all products that will be available for the public’s use for shopping
at their leisure. Facebook will also be a great tool for our company to communicate with our general
demographic, to let them know about special events, and promotions that will be happening inside
and outside of the store, along with getting feedback about our products/services.