Sports Equipment Cafe Business Plan

The Boulder Stop uses a strategy of total market service.

Assumptions:

1. Every person is a potential customer and all our potential markets will experience growth.
2. Marketing to one segment of the population will lead to an expansion in overall market growth.

5.1 Strategy Pyramid

Our main strategy is to develop The Boulder Stop experience as part of the sport climbing activity. We don’t intend to be just a store, but rather a sport climbing cultural center for regulars and visitors to Smith Rock.

Underneath this strategy, our first tactic emphasizes the needs of the Hard-core climber. We assume that participation of the Hard-core set will generate interest for others.

5.2 Value Proposition

The Boulder Stop gives Smith Rock visitors the highest quality climbing gear, good coffee, and a place to meet, in a convenient locale.

5.3 Competitive Edge

Our location is a very important competitive edge. It will be difficult for our competitors to match our location.

The other competitive edge in development is our reputation and involvement with the community. The Boulder Stop is part of the Smith Rock experience, like the [Omitted] photography store used to be, in Yosemite Valley. That is why we are developing a community of employees who are sport climbing, and our sport climbing events, bulletin board, etc. This advantage is important to us because our prices are slightly higher than other cafes and other gear stores in Oregon.

5.4 Marketing Strategy

Our marketing strategy will focus on three segments. Those three segments are described in the following subtopics.

• The plan will benchmark our objectives for sales promotion, mass selling, and personal selling.
• We are focusing our marketing effort on the Weekend warriors and the Hard-core climbing community. We will implement a strategy that treats these customers as a community. This means our marketing resources will be centered around both sales promotions (events, displays) and personal sales (customer service, friendly atmosphere).
• The marketing budget will not exceed $5,000 per year.
• Marketing promotions will be consistent with the Mission Statement.

5.4.1 Promotion Strategy

The Boulder Stop will implement a strong sales promotion strategy. Advertising will be secondary.

• [Omitted] will be paid up to $4,000 to determine the needs of the surrounding population and how the company may best meet those needs with promotions, literature and other marketing programs.
• Promotional campaigns will be partially outsourced to [Omitted].
• Advertising will be consistent with [Omitted].
• Sales promotions and public relation strategies will work together to inform customers of new products, to encourage an image of community involvement for The Boulder Stop, and to limit environmental impact.

5.4.2 Distribution Strategy

The customers will buy our products directly from the store, in the store. We will also generate sales through our website and its secure server and we will ship all ordered products from the store. All telephone orders will be taken at the store through either our single (800) line or the local number. Mail orders will be processed at the main office in Bend and shipped from the store. All debits and credits, order transactions, charge backs, and price discounts will be accounted for on the SBT Accounting system at the Bend office.

5.4.3 Positioning Statement

For climbers who need a place to stop for gear and coffee near Smith Rock, The Boulder Stop offers high quality climbing gear, gourmet espresso drinks, and a comfortable place to meet and talk. Unlike our competitors, our store is near the park and offers exactly what most climbers and tourists need.

5.4.4 Pricing Strategy

We will encourage impulse buying, therefore it is important that we maintain a flexible pricing strategy.

• Our pricing strategy will be based on competitive parity guidelines. We will not exceed competitors’ prices by more than 10%, and if a customer sees a price elsewhere for less, we will give it to them for that price.
• Price says a lot about a product. The products that are innovative and not available elsewhere in the region will be marked up to meet the demand curve. We are not afraid of premium pricing a premium product.
• Espresso beverages will be priced slightly above the industry average. Although we will still be make money off our house coffee (not espresso), we consider this a “Loss Leader” product. WOM advertising brings customers in for the house coffee, simply to make them aware of our additional products and services.

5.5 Sales Strategy

We will promote to the Weekend warriors by hosting fun events like the “Fun Summer Climb ’98”. Our part-time sales clerks, also trained in the ways of promotional tactics, will call businesses within the Bend area and establish additional sponsors for these events. They will close the sale immediately if possible, enter the closure into the [Omitted] software accounting system, and provide post sales follow-up.

For in store sales, our strategy will be to maintain as much on-site point-of-purchase literature as is physically possible. Our part-timers will be responsible for informing customers of the products and creating the best fit between customer and product. Our salespeople will understand that selling is about filling a need, not pressuring the customer to buy. 70-80% of returns will be sent back to the distributor or vendor.

5.5.1 Sales Forecast

The following table and chart give a run down on forecasted sales. We expect sales to increase at a rate of 1-2% per month for each product in the first few months.

November through January may be slow months for The Boulder Stop. However, if we get our name out our target market we might benefit from holiday gift purchases of hardware and garments. For February through March, we expect 1% monthly sales growth becoming 2% growth as we reach the second summer. In 1999 and 2000, we expect solid 20-25% sales growth as The Boulder Stop becomes well-known in Central Oregon. 1999 and 2000 costs will decrease 4-7% due to lower agency and efficiency costs.

Note: For company purchases, the per-unit price of inventory purchases includes cost of shipping.

5.5.2 Sales Programs

Sales programs will include sales awards for highest sales and customer service awards for those employees who best exemplify The Boulder Stop’s commitment to customers. The owner will award these valuable employees yearly with a $200-300 vacation to the Sunriver Resort in Bend.

• We will request rebate info from manufacturers and use those rebates to drive traffic to the store. We will also offer coupons in local area newspapers. These coupons will offer buyers from 100% to 50% off any espresso drink and/or buy one get one free espresso programs.
• We will offer gear rentals all week. This will let climbers who don’t have 100% of the gear climb with their friends, creating goodwill and repeat customers. We will not rent carabiners, ropes, or cams; only shoes, bags, and helmets.

5.6 Milestones

The milestone table shows purchasing, sales, and marketing goals. The owner will conduct straight rebuys while touching base with the Espresso Harvest. We have paid a deposit of $700 (06/28/97) to establish a 30-day grace period on all purchases from Espresso Harvest. There is no franchise fee and Espresso Harvest will donate advertising, consulting, and literature, provided that all 40% of sales from Espresso Harvest mugs, cups, and T-shirts go directly to Espresso Harvest, Inc.