Music Retail Business Plan

Executive Summary

Mojo Music will be a CD store that specializes in used CDs and DVD rentals as well as blank CD/DVD recording media.  Our target customers are the 23,000 students of State University and 40,000 non-student residents of the university area.

Mojo Music will be located one half block from the university campus on Taylor Street which is the major retail/commercial section of the university area.  The student foot traffic on Taylor is heavy.  The university bookstore is on Taylor Street, as well as numerous coffee houses, restaurants, and shops that cater to the student population.

Though the location is perfect for our target customers, it is more important to understand what our customers want from a CD store.

Twenty five years ago, it was popular among young adults to create mix cassette tapes of their favorite music for personal use and as gifts for friends. Today, with the wide distribution of CD recording equipment, Internet technology, and new recording formats like MP3, young adults now have the ability to create personalized presentations of their favorite music.  The market for used CDs has exploded as a consequence of young listeners' ability to create quality duplication from CDs. With the average price for a new CD at $16-$18, young adults would rather buy a used CD for a little over half that price ($8-$11).  It is even more attractive if they can get in-store purchasing credit by selling their own CDs to the store.

Mojo Music will offer popular new releases and used CDs.  We will have a attractive CD buying program that will reward customers for spending money in the store. In addition to new CDs in the store, a customer will be able to order any CD that is currently issued.  We will have that CD in the store within three days.

Affordable blank CD/DVD recording media is another important key in bringing our target customers into the store. Young adults between 17-25 years of age are the largest group purchasing CD and DVD recorders.  There is no store that sells recording media within a 10 mile radius of the university.

Similarly, there is no video/DVD rental store next to campus.  The closest rental store is four miles off campus. Due to the drop in price for DVD players, many students own DVD/CD players, so the preferred format for movies is DVD.  This is not true for the larger community with still prefers video cassette. 

Mojo Music will sell blank recording media and rent movies in DVD format.

1.1 Objectives

• To become the first place our target customers will go to sell and buy CDs.
• To create a strong DVD rental business.
• To increase blank media sales by 20% each year.

1.2 Mission

Mojo Music's mission is to offer our target customers:

• The best quality popular used CDs at affordable prices.
• The most popular new CDs at the lowest prices.
• The best recording media at affordable prices.
• A large selection of DVD rentals.

1.3 Keys to Success

The Keys to Success for Mojo Music are the following:

• Keep the money paid for used CDs in the store.
• Offer a quality selection of used CDs.
• Offer popular new CDs at a discounted price.
• Offer popular DVDs for rental.
• Offer recording media at a discounted price.