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Sports icon Inline Hockey Service Business Plan

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The Skate Zone

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.

Inline hockey service business plan, market analysis summary chart image

Market Analysis
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Potential Customers Growth CAGR
Youths 30% 250 325 423 550 715 30.04%
Adults 25% 280 350 438 548 685 25.06%
Families 30% 450 585 761 989 1,286 30.02%
Other 15% 100 115 132 152 175 15.02%
Total 27.58% 1,080 1,375 1,754 2,239 2,861 27.58%

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.