I will be producing children’s clothes in the first year at an age range of 2 to 6; production would then expand to 0 to 8 years old in the hopeful future. The garments will be reversible, made of natural fibres and dyed with natural pigments.
Premises: the production of my clothes will be set up in a workshop situated in the village of Puacuaro, Michuacan.
The premises of 1500sq feet has been offered by Mr. Gamaliel Ascencio, a carpenter in the village; the business of this well respected man has been expanding through the years, therefore he had to build a larger premises on the outskirts of the village, giving me the opportunity to use the old premises within the village.
The old premises is within the center of the village, which is a plus as this means the women will not have to pay for transport and can go to from the workplace easily.
The crèche we will provide will give equal opportunity for all the women of the village to share the task; obviously due to safety regulations, it will necessary to redesign and create a private and quiet space for the crèche.
Eventually I am aiming to set up other workshops with the same training and objectives in other villages to help the women from those villages to become financially independent, so as to secure the need of food and clothes for them and their children. Therefore our objective is to make a profitable business that will redistribute (transfer) 10% of the profit to help the start of these new projects.
Why Me? :
Over the last 5 yrs people have become more environmentally conscious, particularly mothers when buying all types of products; in clothes especially, as my research shows that 99% are looking for natural fibres. Also a book called “The Green Alternative” talks about the damages on our health caused by synthetic fibres (see attached documentation).
This is where my product(s) come in and give people a chance to be environmentally conscious and friendly, by buying my designer children clothes.
People are now also more aware of how they spend their money, so with my business I will be giving them the chance to support a ‘Third World Self-Help Project’. To encourage the public to buy my products, I plan to tag my products with the following information:
10% of the profit will be given to the mothers helping to set up
this environmental project.
That artificial fibres can have an effect on our skin: Synthetics…
(again, check attached documentation)
These garments will be designer label children’s clothes, at affordable prices, reversible (2 in 1) and of high quality & comfort; therefore they will be very economic and practical (in use) for the customers.
My Prices & Why (?) are:
*See documentation
When you look at the document attached you can see why I priced my garments at the prices I have chosen.
My Target Customer(s) are & Why (?):
I have decided to target an age group of children between 2 to 6 years of age for the first year of production with a strong emphasis on good quality at very competitive prices. I aim to ensure that the gross profit from the sales is … to ensure further expansion and so as to keep our prices competitive on the national and international market. At the same time, I will keep my costs to a minimum and my monthly drawings held down, until the business is in position to allow me to increase these figures. My businesses two main features will be:
- High Quality children’s designer clothes
- Concern for the Environment
This will assist our aims in securing the businesses future and its reputation spreading on a worldwide basis.
My Competitors are & Why(?) customers will buy my product(s):
From 25 children’s clothes’ wholesalers in the U.K, only 10 are in London: Adams, GAP, MotherCare; to give examples of the most popular, none of which are producing and/or promoting environmentally friendly children’s clothes.
There is a worldwide consumers awareness on environmentally friendly products. I believe people consciousness is increasing for the near future on organic clothing, slowly but steadily…
As I have said before, it has scientifically proven that synthetic fibres can be damaging to the health and when it comes to our children we need to be aware of how sensitive their skin is to give them a good start.
A family member went to a international children’s fashion show to conduct a market research on this, as most of the wholesalers only distribute their products in fashion shows; and the family member realized that my garments could stand out by their innovation, originality and very competitive prices.
My Use of Primary Data:
My Use of Secondary Data:
List of Factors that Affect Demands for My Product:
Price - Although it is produced abroad the wholesales price
remain low due to the fact that labour is cheaper.
Quality - As for the quality the material being 100% natural
fibre, such as cotton is the most reliable and durable.
Value - for money as they are designer clothes and are reversible
the cost remains at affordable prices.
Location - as wholesaled in fashion shows, it gives assess to a
wider market.
Competition - competitors are already well known and well
established in the market
Demand - (advertising and promotion) by allowing a percentage
of my budget in advertisement and promotion the demand will
increase.
Weather - considering the seasons when creating an outlet of
clothes will obviously improve public demand for your product;
though you will experience set backs when for example:
An expected summer becomes a downpour, meaning that there
will be no demand for the summer collection.
Fashion - due to how fast fashion changes, I will be expected to
be able to produce/create designs at a rate that is fast enough to
stay in the fashionable market.
How I Discovered & Analysed My Competitors:
I discovered my competitors by going out into the main shopping areas of London and taking note of all the businesses that do children’s designer clothing. They are the following:
However, indirectly I will be in competition with producers of other
items of consumer spending. Although expenditure on clothing in the UK is increasing imports are taking a larger proportion of these sales.
When analysing my competitors…
Distinction - Analysed Benefits & Risks Involved:
Benefits:
- Becoming an independent company (sole trader)
- The reward of becoming well known in the clothing industry
- Knowing you have done good for the environment
- Feeling good about producing clothing for children, which protects their skin.
- Being able to do something for the women and children of third world countries.
- Bringing awareness to people about the clothes they wear.
Risks:
- A larger company can copy the designs/ideas that you have created.
- If I become successful at a rate that is too fast for me to produce a sufficient supply of my product, I may find myself with too many orders to deal with.
- If I find that my budget is insufficient then I may not be able to continue my business plan.
- My colours & designs may not appeal to the public due to their originality.
- Problems with distribution due to distance of workshops.
aNnA Le Nahedic
Business Studies Intermediate
GNVQ
