Friend’s Sports Store

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Friend’s Sports Store
Executive Summary
Friend’s Sports Store will be headquartered in Oakland. It is a sporting goods store that seeks to provide solutions to the clients in Oakland and its environs. Apart from selling real sporting products to the clients, the company will also offer the clients advice regarding the products needed. This sets the company apart because other companies do not go this extra mile when dealing with the customers.
The company will take advantage of the fact that many people are becoming health conscious with each passing day. They will make good customers for the company. The company will guide each customer on the best product depending on his or her need.
The company seeks $30,000, which will be used in start-up expenses. This will be combined with $10000 raised by the partners. Going by the size of our market, the sales projection for the first year is $15000. We expect a 40% growth in the first year. A small but steady increase in growth rate is expected over the next few years. As it stands, we already have a commitment from 1 institution. We expect to build the client base through word of mouth. The satisfied customers will help so much, and that is why we cannot compromise on quality.
Keys to Success:
Relationships- the company will rely so much on the relationships that it will create with the clients. This will help to develop loyal customers, who will advertise the company through word of mouth.
Quality- the company will never compromise on quality.

It will deal with high-quality products and offer a guarantee.
Responsiveness- the company, will offer fast response to any concerns from the clients
Company Description
Friend’s Sports Store (FSS) is a new company that will provide high-quality sports goods to athletes, potential athletes, and other clients. It will also offer advice to the clients. It is scheduled to start its operations on April 2, 2018, and will be located at Manila Avenue, Oakland. It will be a partnership, owned and operated by Jack London and (Client’s Name Here Please). Jack London has extensive experience in dealing with sports goods, having previously worked at Sportify. (Client’s Name Here) has knowledge about the area and has the much-needed sales and marketing skills. In addition, the company will have five employees. Among them, three employees will deal with the sales. Apart from actually selling the products, these employees will also offer advice to the clients. The employees will have experience in basketball, swimming, and cycling. The company expects that most of the clients will be interested in products that fall into these categories. The other employee will be a supplier. He or she will be driving the items to the institutions that make orders. The other employee will be the customer care. She will be helping the customers with their concerns. She will also be taking any recommendations that the clients may offer.
Friend’s Sports Store will target athletes, residence who wants to keep fit and guide potential athletes. It will target small teams and schools within Oakland to provide them with the products needed.
Through extensive research, the partners have established that other sports stores in the area do not offer advice to their clients after listening to their interests. While their main aim is to sell, the aim of Friends Sports Store is to become a friend that desires to fulfill all the client’s needs. The company is committed to going an extra mile to ensure that the customers happy with what they get. This makes it a go-to company for other professionals like coaches, who need particular products for their teams.
Our Mission Statement
Friend’s Sports Store will offer high-quality products that meet the customers’ needs, providing the personal advice that a real friend would give. Our team will ensure that the clients get what they need after listening to their interests.
The company’s objectives are:
To obtain commercial financing of $30,000 for startup and to cover initial expenses
To get a new client base (school, team, etc) every three months
To achieve a 40% growth for the first year
To expand to other cities
Products and Services
The company seeks to provide the customers with high-quality products typically found in every sports store. However, what sets Friend’s Sports Store apart is that before selling any product, it listens and asks questions to ascertain that the client really needs the product he or she wants to buy. After talking with the client, the employees will decide whether another product can serve the need better than the product that the client initially asked for. The perfect product will be sold to the client. If no product fulfills the client’s need effectively, the employees will make a promise to get it later. While other stores are only interested in selling the products, our company seeks to develop a friendship with its customers to retain them and to attract others through the word of mouth (Reichheld and Schefter 107)
The company will also deliver goods. The company seeks to enter into contracts with different institutions. It will be providing such institutions with the different products according to their needs. The company will be the friend of the institutions and deliver the products in time. Deliveries in the city will be done free of charge, something other stores cannot do. If the deliveries are made outside the city, an added amount to cover the cost may be added.
In line with being a friend to its customers, the company will create an FSS App through which clients can order products and have them delivered. Through the application, clients can also connect with employees for customer service. Just like face-to-face interaction, a customer ordering goods via the application will fill out some information that will ascertain their need for the goods ordered.
Unlike other sports stores, and other stores that state that goods cannot be returned once sold, Friend’s Sports Stores, is the friend that understands that one can make a mistake and it gives the customer a chance to return the goods and get others.
Marketing Analysis
In the current world, many people are becoming more and more health sensitive (Watson Par. 2). These people will require products that will help them to exercise. For example, some will require bicycles, basketball, and other products. Therefore, the demand for the company’s products already exists and it will keep increasing. According to research done by the company’s partners, Oakland has a high number of athletes and potential athletes. The company intends to be their number one choice when they need to purchase the sports products. Oakland also has many schools, and the company intends to supply them with products for their physical education lessons.
Marketing Strategy
The area has competitors that have been in the industry for some years. The main competitors are Montclair Sports and Cycle Sports. Cycle Sports only deals with bicycle products mostly, and as such will not compete with the company on the other products the company intends to sell. An analysis of the competition in the area shows that the competing firms do not offer barriers that can limit entry. To deal with the competition, Friend’s Sports Store will compete on pricing. Research shows that more and more people are becoming price conscious (Duff Par. 1). Therefore, they will want to go to a store that provides them with cheaper products and does not compromise on quality. Our second main advantage is accessibility. While the other companies do not deliver products to their clients, our company will be delivering the products to people who make orders in bulk, like schools. This method will help in advertising through word of mouth. Happy clients will invite others.
Management Summary
Friend’s Sports Store is a partnership. There are two categories of workers in the company. These are the management and the employee category. The management will be made up of two equal partners in the company. They will provide hands-on management. They will oversee the company. Both partners will make the important decisions of the company and will provide directions for the company to follow. Next in the hierarchy are the five employees of the company who will be dealing with different roles according to their expertise. Three will need to have expertise in the field of sports so that they can offer the clients the much-needed advice in making decisions about the product to get. One will be a driver dealing with the supplies to the different institutions. The other will deal with the customer care.
Financial Analysis
Description Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Sales 15000 21000 30000
Cost of goods Sold 7000 9000 13000
Gross Profit 8000 12000 17000
Operating Expenses 5000 6000 75000
Salary Expenses 800 900 1100
Office Expenses 800 900 1000
Maintenance Expenses 700 900 1000
Rent Expenses 1000 1000 1000
Payroll Expenses 800 900 1000
Accounting Expenses 800 800 1000
Legal Expenses 600 700 800
Telephone Charges 400 800 900
Interest 500 600 700
Tax 500 800 1200
Works Cited
Duff, Mike. “Consumers Price Sensitivity Grows but with an Everyday Focus.” CBS News, 7 Apr. 2009, www.cbsnews.com/news/consumers-price-sensitivity-grows-but-with-an-everyday-focus/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2018.
Reichheld, Frederick F., and Phil Schefter. “E-loyalty: your secret weapon on the web.” Harvard business review 78.4 (2000): 105-113.
Watson, Elwood D. “Younger Consumers Are Trending Toward More Health-Conscious Eating.” Huffpost, 2 Sept. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/elwood-d-watson/younger-consumers-are-tre_b_6632166.html. Accessed 17 Feb. 2018.