Paintball Products Retail Business Plan

HPI’s strategy and implementation are summarized in the following “to-do” list below:

1. Funding: Acquire the necessary funding to “start-up” the business.
2. Remodeling: Create an attractive store and fill with product.
3. Marketing: Attract potential customers to the store and create a public awareness.
4. Customer Loyalty Programs: Use strategies such as sales/promotions/membership discounts as a way to keep customers satisfied and coming back.
5. Growth: Follow certain goals/objectives listed throughout the plan to obtain a strong, steady growth and profit.

HPI’s main objective for growth is to attract customers in Bombarde County by giving premier service, selection, sales, promotions, and prices.

5.1 Competitive Edge

The advantages Harquebus Paintball has over the competition are numerous:

• Sales/Promotions/Gift Cards/Membership Cards: HPI will host many sales/promos, unlike the competition, as well as offering gift cards and membership programs, which the competition does not participate in, and will increase customer savings and satisfaction to drive customers to the store.
• Internet: HPI will have a professional online website and eventually an online store that will provide products and community news.
• Service: HPI’s knowledge and service in the broad field of paintball will be extensive and satisfying. This will drive customer repair requests to the store, as well as pointing its customers in the right purchasing direction.
• Selection: HPI will offer a greater selection with better prices than the competition will hold.
• Attractiveness: HPI’s store will be clean, tidy, “hi-tech”, and advanced compared to OPC and Musketeer Paintball.
• Sponsorship: HPI will put together a team of tournament expert paintball players and sponsor them with HPI gear (jerseys; pants; etc.)and paintball equipment (guns; paint; etc.).
• Tournament Hostings: HPI will host several tournaments throughout the year, spreading the name of HPI even further, as well as generating additional income.

5.2 Marketing Strategy

Harquebus Paintball’s marketing strategy is to hit hard and fast, and will include the following, from three weeks before grand opening to approximately one week after grand opening:

1. Local Advertising:
• TV and Radio: HPI will advertise heavily three weeks before grand opening on television and radio stations (100 Targeted Rating Points, males 12-24) that focus on younger crowds to create a large public awareness.
• Live Remote: HPI will host a live remote with a radio station on grand opening day to attract potential customers to the store and to further create public awareness.
2. Giveaways: HPI will give away t-shirts for the first week of grand opening with the HPI logo embroidered on it for further advertising.
3. Sales: HPI will host a grand opening day sale to attract potential customers, such as 15% off all store merchandise.
4. Contests: HPI will also host a drawing on grand opening day for all customers who purchase something. Giveaway will include an item such as a “tricked out” gun valued at $1,500 or so.

These four strategies will be used to create public awareness of Harquebus Paintball’s grand opening, to drive customers to the store for the first time, to spread the word on how wonderful HPI is, and to keep the paintballers coming back, over and over again.

5.3 Sales Strategy

Harquebus Paintball’s survival will be riding on its wonderful savings and promotional opportunities, as well as its large product selection. Harquebus Paintball will gain/maintain customers through the following sales strategies*:

1. Sales: HPI will host weekly and monthly sales.
• General sales ($15 off this; 10% off that; etc.).
• The old buy one get one… (buy X amount of this, get X amount free; buy X amount of this, get X amount 1/2 price; etc.).
• The old two for one… (buy X amount for the price of X amount; etc.).
2. Promotions: HPI will host weekly and monthly promotions.
• Field paint store credit (buy a case of paint at HPI, bring in original receipt and field paint charge receipt and receive a store credit in the amount of the field paint charge).
• Purchase and contest (purchase anything and automatically be entered to win X; etc.).
• Purchase and installation (purchase any upgrade and receive free installation; etc.).
3. Gift Cards: HPI will allow for the use of gift cards (presents; HPI “debit” cards; etc).
4. Membership Cards: HPI will offer membership cards for even further savings in the future for repeat customers.
•  Spend X amount in HPI and receive X amount store credit.
5. Product Selection: HPI will carry a wide range of gear/equipment from low priced to high priced product, generic to brand name product, color variety, and popular to unique products.

By offering a large product selection and these savings and promotional opportunities, HPI will be the premier retail paintball center throughout Bombarde County, if not the entire state .

* all sales strategies (sales and promotional activities) will be tailored to maintain a healthy profit margin.

5.3.1 Sales Forecast

HPI estimated a profit margin for each category (guns; hoppers; paintballs; etc), and an applied an estimated growth rate to the sales and the direct costs of sales. As you can see by the table and charts on the following pages, HPI estimates that total sales for the first year of business will be excellent, with the comfortable profit margin, but only a modest growth rate. HPI derived these estimates in the following manner:

• Finding The Averages (Sales Projection):
• HPI created an average price for each subcategory within the main category. (ie: Gun Sales  –  Gun Price Range: Low/Mid/High.  Apparel – masks; jerseys; pants; gloves; shoes; etc.)
• Heavily researched the “best selling” products for each category from other competition stores to get a general idea of which sub-categoric products will sell the most in each main category, and created realistic sales models for those products (ie: Gun Sales  –  Gun Price Range: Low/Mid/High.   Frequency: Mid sold the greatest, followed by high, and then the lows).
• Averaged out the sub-categoric prices with the frequency at which they were being sold at to find the average price of each main category.
• Paintball Evolution Theory, “PET Theory” (The Driving Force):
• HPI created a simple theory (based upon a paintball sales market study) to reduce, define, and fine-tune the basic dynamics of each individual paintball player’s yearly purchases.
• The PET Theory states that each player will purchase one new item from each of the main categories listed in the “Sales Forecast” below at least once a year (due to depreciation of goods, new technology, and skill level of player), and at least one box of paintballs will be purchased once per month.
• Market Audience (Market Analysis):
• HPI estimates that out of the total 2,142 active paintball players in Bombarde County, an average of 50% (1,072 players) will purchase their goods from Harquebus Paintball. This estimate was found by splitting the geographical Bombarde County region into three sections: Top/Mid/Bottom. The top section (Northern Bombarde County) labeled as 25% of the paintball players in Bombarde County, the mid section (Mid Bombarde County) labeled as 50% of the paintball players in Bombarde County, and the bottom section (Southern Bombarde County) labeled at 25% of the paintball players in Bombarde County. HPI, as well as OPC and Musketeer fields, are all located in the “mid” section.
• Compilation (Conclusion):
• Due to the “PET” Theory, if each paintball player purchases one new item from each main category once a year in the “Sales Forecast,” then taking the average item cost for the main category and multiplying it by the 50% target audience, 1,072 players, and dividing that figure by 12, HPI found the monthly average revenue for each category, with the exception of paintballs.*
• Main Category’s Average Price  x  1,072 players = Category’s Annual Revenue.

HPI feels that the Paintball Evolution Theory is reasonable and reliable from the fact that nearly every paintballer switches out equipment/gear at least once a year due to the technological advances in product, the rapid depreciation of paintball equipment/gear, skill level advances in players, etc.

HPI believes that paintball games will continue to grow over the next several years, and may increase HPI’s overall growth rate. With the offering of a large product selection, sales, and promotions, HPI will sustain a continuously growing customer database which will allow the following sales projections to be realistic and true.

Limiting factors such as rain should not have a deep impact on day-to-day sales due to the fact that Musketeer’s paintball field is indoors. Other limiting factors, such as economic recession, may hurt HPI’s monthly sales due to the fact that paintball, like many other things, are items of want and not need (such as groceries).

* It is stated in the PET Theory that one case of paintballs will be purchased once a month: 1,072 players   x  12 months  x  average paint price = Annual Paintball Revenue.

5.4 Milestones

The following table represents important goals or “milestones” with their starting/ending dates, budget, manager in-charge, and the department for Harquebus Paintball. The table is sorted in ascending order by “start date.”

The first milestone will be the “soft” opening of the store. This will be the first day of opening. The next five milestones are for public awareness and to drive customers to the grand opening of the store. The Membership Promotion is for building a customer database and acquiring customer loyalty. The next three milestones are setup to further promote HPI’s wonderful savings opportunities with major sales. 

More sales and promotions will be added at a later date, and current milestones can also be shifted to different dates if needed.