Inline Hockey Service Business Plan

Market Analysis Summary

The company's emphasis is on the sport recreation and entertainment market. Miami is the fourth largest city in America, thus providing enormous potential for growing enterprises such as inline hockey. 

Within these markets, The Skate Zone focuses on the more lucrative areas of youth sports and extracurricular activities because of what the statistics show in the amount of time spent in these areas of our lives. Figure 3, in the following section, provides a breakdown of the total sales of inline skates for 1996 and 1997.

The company will also be involved in the selling of sporting goods and accessories. Figure 2, also in the following section, gives a profile of the sporting and recreation goods industry.

Service Business Analysis

Figure 1 below provides the market statistics for the sporting and recreation goods industry. This includes establishments primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of sporting goods and accessories, billiard and pool supplies, sporting firearms and ammunition, and marine pleasure craft, equipment, and supplies.

Figure 1. Market Size Statistics

Estimated number of U.S. establishments	9,906
Number of people employed in this industry	60
Total annual sales in this industry	$15 million
Average employees per establishment	6
Average sales per establishment	$1.6 million

Figure 2.  Inline skate sales

Year	Skates Sold	Total Sales
1996	5.4 million pairs	$374 million
1997	6.4 million pairs	$418 million

Figure 3 provides a breakdown of the top 20 inline skating areas in the United States. The number of skaters shown is in thousands. Inline hockey totals include players who also skate in other disciplines.

Figure 3.  Top 20 Inline Skating Areas in the United States

Area	Rec/Fitness	All Skating	Hockey only	Total Skaters
New York City	1,438	255	657	1,503
Los Angeles	1,435	217	56	1,491
Chicago	911	153	39	950
Detroit	827	189	48	875
Washington DC	711	67	17	728
Philadelphia	577	84	21	598
San Francisco	502	46	13	515
Phoenix	459	65	17	476
Boston	463	32	8	471
Dallas/Fort Worth	406	79	21	427
Atlanta	429	24	6	435
South Florida	369	37	10	379
Minneapolis	360	25	7	367
Buffalo	311	21	6	317
San Diego	301	38	10	311
Houston	298	20	5	303
St. Louis	287	57	15	302
Tampa Bay Area	264	32	8	272
Denver	248	50	13	261
Cleveland	247	12	3	250

Market Segmentation

The company's target customers are as follows.

• Youths. Elementary, middle, and high school youth, ages 8 to 18 years old. Potential new customers within this industry include Miami and it's surrounding cities.


• Adults. Adults ages 19 to 55 years old. Potential new customers within this industry include Miami and its surrounding counties.


• Families. Any individual will have the ability to purchase concession products that The Skate Zone provides.


• Others. The Skate Zone has future market plans to establish a Pro Shop for customers to purchase items.

Customer Buying Criteria

The company believes that its customers will choose The Skate Zone based on the following criteria:

• Price. The league fee is price sensitive, and players are typically expected to pay between $20 and $60 per season.


• Performance. The structure and dimensions of the hockey arena are designed specifically to give optimal player and game agility.


• Snack Bar. All major sporting events consider concessions a primary investment for high-volume revenue.


• Locker Rooms. We will provide a changing room with lockers to protect from theft.


• Accessibility. The location of The Skate Zone is on Jackson, a main thoroughfare on the Northwest side of Miami.