Plan Outline
Get real P&L data for your plan!
We have complete profit and loss financial data from companies like Mahogany Western Wear.
SIC 5699 Apparel and Accessory Stores - Miscellaneous apparel and accessory stores
*Reports start as low as $89
Clothing Retail Business Plan
Mahogany Western Wear
Products
Mahogany Western Wear will carry nationally recognized American western wear brands (see list below). Our selection will range from the basics of Wrangler to the trendy western style of Western Ethics. We will be purchasing through sales representatives and manufacturers in a variety of sizes, colors and style to fit our target market base. The greatest percentage of merchandise will be in apparel, followed by accessories, hats, and gifts.
Management will rely on customer feedback, suggestions, and sales reports to introduce or eliminate certain brands, styles and sizes.
3.1 Product Description
Mahogany Western Wear will provide a selection of brands that fall within our mission statement. Our goal is to carry a selection of labels from the hardcore western wear to the more sophisticated southwestern styles.
Some of the labels we will carry are listed below:
| Cinch | Rouchrider of Circle T |
| Circle Y of Yoakum | Silver Strike Buckles |
| Cowboy Hardware | Sunbody Hats |
| Hat 'N' Hand | 20X by Wrangler |
| Lawman Jeans | Urgent Gear |
| Panhandle Slim | Western Ethics |
| Rocky Mountains | Wrangler |
3.2 Competitive Comparison
Mahogany Western Wear has a number of advantages that will allow us to build our brand identity, add value to our merchandise and build a loyal customer base while standing apart from our competitors.
- We will be the first African-American-owned western wear apparel retailer in Houston, TX.
- The 'Mahogany Shopper Card' will entitle customers to a 15% discount after ten purchases.
- We will offer clothing to fit plus-size women and big and tall men.
- We will create a sense of culture and bonding with the community by offering products that combine both the African-American and cowboy cultures.
- Our location is central to our target customer base.
- We will maintain a detailed record on each customer, logging addresses, their purchases, size, and brand for customer follow-up and in-house promotional purposes.
3.3 Sales Literature
Mahogany Western Wear will use a targeted advertising and sales program to generate publicity and build a customer base.
- 2,500 full-color postcard flyers with a 10% coupon will be distributed throughout southwest Houston area: local zydeco and cowboy dance halls and clubs, rodeos, trail riding events, two weeks prior to the grand opening event.
- 200 grand opening invites will be mailed to potential new customers two weeks before the grand opening in June, 2002. The invitation will also include a promotional 10% coupon off a customer's first purchase. The customer mailing list has been compiled from contacts the owners have made while in the community.
- 5,000 business cards with a Mahogany Frequent Shopper Card on the reverse side entitling the customer to a 15% discount on the eleventh purchase after ten purchases.
3.4 Sourcing
We will shop for our merchandise as outlined below:
- With manufacturers who have a regional representative and showroom located at the Dallas Market Center, we will place our weekly and monthly reorders with them and review new products. For all other brands we will work directly with the manufacturer and utilize product catalogs and line sheets.
- August 2002 is the International Western Apparel Tack & Accessories Show, the largest regional show for western wear and southwestern influence apparel featuring the latest collections of all brands with regional representatives. All orders will be placed for Fall lines not previously viewed and placement orders for Holiday 2002 and Spring 2003 will begin.
The Dallas Market Center is the largest wholesale merchandise mart and was the first to have a permanent facility to unite regional wholesalers under one roof. 2350 Stemmons is a 400,000 square foot, six story building that houses all major manufacturers of boots, hats and other western apparel.
The Dallas Market Center offers to all registered buyers, special events, fashion shows, product displays and demonstrations, educational programs, seminars, new buyer's kits and registrations, special buying programs and first Monday and Tuesday Design Events.
With the Dallas Market Center being only a four hour drive and 250 miles away from Houston, TX, this makes it a prime sourcing for Mahogany Western Wear in servicing its retail needs.
We will also work to solidify our relationships with sales representatives and vendors so that we may achieve decreased cost of goods. Our competitors, (both direct and indirect) purchase from the same sources and we believe that through marketing programs and strategic alliances we will begin to gain a competitive advantage.
3.5 Technology
Retail apparel establishments have a tendency to have a high number of SKU's because of the level of inventory. It is imperative that an advanced inventory and point of sales program be utilized to maintain stock levels and track sales. Mahogany Western Wear will utilize Peachtree Accounting software for all financial and accounting purposes. For inventory management and point of sale transactions we will utilize Retail I.C.E. (Inventory Control Expert) software. This product is a Windows-based software that allows the small, single store retailer to manage their inventory and point of sale functions all in one.
Our business plan will be generated and reviewed on a bi-annual basis using the most updated version of Business Plan Pro from Palo Alto Software and reviewed quarterly to ensure all financial goals and objectives are being reached. Palo Alto's companion software, Marketing Plan Pro, will allow us to make the most of our limited marketing budget by focusing our communications on our target markets and enhancing our marketing knowledge.
3.6 Future Products
As we achieve and exceed our sales and profitability goals, Mahogany Western Wear will add western boots to the product line and our own personal in-house label of clothing that will include Mahogany t-shirts for women and shirts for men. We will expand our line of brands with those that have been repeatedly requested by our customers. An e-commerce website will also be created to increase our distribution channels and expand our customer base to a national level.
