general merchandise business plan sample

How to Write a Business Plan For a Retail Store: Complete Guide

• August 3, 2022
• Small Businesses

Whether you’re looking to raise funding from private investors or to get a loan from a bank (like a SBA loan) for your retail store, you will need to prepare a solid business plan.

In this article we go through, step-by-step, all the different sections you need in your retail store business plan. Use this template to create a complete, clear and solid business plan that get you funded.

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary of a business plan gives a sneak peek of the information about your business plan to lenders and/or investors.

If the information you provide here is not concise, informative, and scannable, potential lenders and investors will lose interest.

Though the executive summary is the first and the most important section, it should normally be the last section you write because it will have the summary of different sections included in the entire plan.

Why do you need a business plan for a retail store?

The purpose of a business plan is to secure funding through one of the following channels:

• Obtain bank financing or secure a loan from other lenders (such as a SBA loan )
• Obtain private investments from investment funds, angel investors, etc.
• Obtain a public or a private grant

How to write your retail store business plan’s executive summary?

For any retail business, the following information must go into the executive summary:

• Business overview : include your business name and model (independent retail store or franchise model), the products you intend to sell (and whether you want to expand with additional product offerings), the legal structure of your business, etc.
• Market analysis : how many retail stores operate in your area and what do they sell? The estimated number of visitors your customers receive per week, target audience demography (the products you sell must fulfill their needs), purchasing power, etc. must also be included
• People : organizational setup and the management hierarchy along with retail store experience of the key people in the management
• Financial plan : how much profit and revenue do you expect in the next 5 years? When will you reach the break-even point and start making profits? It is ideal to include a chart depicting your key financials such as revenue, gross profits, and net profit
• Financial ask : what loan/investment/grant are you seeking? How much do you need? How long will this last?

2. Business Overview

The business overview is essentially the company description. The second section of your business plan, it should cover the following for a retail store:

• The products you will sell in your store
• The price range of the products
• The company structure
• Target audience information

Let’s look at different subsections that you must include:

Give a brief explanation of why you want to open a retail store. It must display two things:

• Your passion & interest for this type of business
• Feasibility of the business

There may be other retail stores in your area, but they don’t fulfill certain needs of the potential customers. Your business may fill in that gap. 

For example, there may not be any retail store in your area addressing the needs of cyclists. Even if there are competing retail stores, are they offering everything like electric bikes, mountain bikes, touring bikes, BMX, folding bikes, etc.? Do they offer spare parts and customizations?

b) Business Model

This is where you will explain the following:

• Is your retail store independent?
• Are you buying an existing retail store?
• Are you settling for a franchise store of an established bike brand?

c) Products

Your retail store can sell various products. Lenders or investors must get a clear idea of the products you intend to sell. If you want to focus on one or two specific products, you must clarify that, too.

For instance, if you are opening a retail bicycle or bike store , do you intend to sell only assembled bikes or do you intend to sell spare parts, too? What about toolkits? Do you have plans to sell supporting products for cyclists such as helmets, pants, shorts, gloves, eyewear, etc.?

If you have plans to specialize in something (for example, mountain bikes with shock absorption, gears, disc brakes, etc.), mention that.

d) Pricing Strategy

It is important that you add a pricing list here. You don’t need to go into extreme details. Just an average range will be more than enough. 

For instance, mountain bikes can cost anywhere between $400 and $800 . Depending on the components used, the average price can increase or decrease.

A pricing chart for all major products you are offering can help the investors or lenders to tie your pricing strategy with your financial projections.

e) Target Audience

Knowing your customers is very important. That will give you an edge over your competitors. For example, if you are opening a retail bicycle store, you must know whether your potential customers will be enthusiasts, hobbyists, or professionals.

Another important aspect is to understand the type of cyclists you will focus on. The products you sell will depend on that.

Knowing your customers well help in two things:

• You can better retain your customers
• Lenders or investors will be more confident about your business strategy

f) Legal Structure

Finally, your business overview section should specify what type of business structure you opt for. Is this a corporation or a partnership (LLC)? Who are the investors? How much equity percentage do they own? Is there a Board of Directors? If so, whom? Do they have experience in the industry?

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis is the next most important aspect of your retail store business plan. You must demonstrate to the potential investors that you know your market. Investors must be confident that the retail store you are trying to open (or you are already operating) makes sense.

For example, if you want to open a retail store specializing in mountain bikes, it’d be better if you’re located in states like Utah, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, etc., because these states have ideal mountain bike destinations. Similarly, Texas isn’t really popular for mountain biking.

Again, you will never want to sell high-end bikes in a middle class neighborhood because they will most likely not be able to afford those items.

a) Retail Market Trends

You must also focus on the market size and growth opportunities . For example, if the location of your retail store doesn’t have enough cyclists, your bicycle business will probably not make enough profits. Again, if there are way too many competitors, the growth opportunities may be stifled.

Find market data for your city / area

It is always a good idea to get city-level data to get a clearer picture of the market size in addition to any national-level data you are providing.

Getting city level data might not be an easy task. In fact, you may have to get out and collect the necessary data. You may have to do some math. For example, if there were 30 bicycle retailers in your city in 2019 and the number grew to 33 in 2020, the annual growth rate will be 10%. 

You may want to investigate the factors leading to such growth. For instance, median income may have increased, there may be an influx of population, growing environmental consciousness, increased health awareness, etc., can be some of the factors.

However, you may actually notice a drop. In such a case, you must investigate the reasons. There can be varied factors like drop in income (and hence, sales that led to closure of businesses), decrease in population (may be younger popular moved out of the location), etc.

If there is a drop, you must explain the rationale behind opening a business, the industry of which is showing a gradual decline. It may also happen that the market may rebound back after a temporary decline.

b) Competition

Your competitor analysis is very important. Here are a few questions that you must answer:

• How many retail stores are there?
• How many of those stores are your direct and indirect competitors?
• What type of products do your competitors sell?
• What is the price your competitors are charging for the same or similar product?
• How many employees do your competitors have on an average?
• How many customers do they receive per month?

Some of the answers will end in approximation of data. That’s totally fine. For example, you may not be able to get the exact number of customers your competitors receive.

Draw a strong conclusion for your competitive analysis

Your competitive analysis must bring out the reasons why you are trying to open a retail store. For example (related to the retail bicycle store example):

• There are no specialised mountain bike retailers in the area despite a high percentage of mountain bikers
• Existing bike retailers offer only bikes and spares. No retailer offers clothing and protective gear

c) Customers

You already spoke about the target audience in the Business Overview section. Here, you must provide hard data that establishes the existence of your potential customers in the area.

This section must answer the following questions (with reference to the bike store example):

• What is the age group of the cyclists in your area?
• What percentage of the cyclists are women vs. males?
• What type of bikes are they mostly interested in?
• Do the customers also look for related accessories?
• Do they prefer online shopping or offline shopping?
• What is the average household income per month (and also their average disposable income)?

Much of this hard data will come from your competitor analysis. Also, the data must support your decision to open a retail store. For example, if people have a tendency to buy online, you may be better off opening an online retail store instead of a physical store.

4. Sales & Marketing Strategy

The 4th section of your retail store business plan is where you outline your customer acquisition strategy. Try to answer the following questions:

• What is your USP ?
• What marketing channels will you use (online or offline)?
• Do the marketing channels aptly grab the attention of your target audience? For instance, young adults will most likely not pay attention to TV ads. Instead, use social media
• How do you intend to track the success of your marketing strategy ?
• What is your CAC or customer acquisition cost?
• What is your marketing budget?
• What introductory promos and offers do you intend to provide for attracting new customers?

Let’s expand a bit on a few questions below:

a) Marketing channels

A few marketing channels retail stores typically use are:

• Email marketing
• SMS marketing
• Social media
• Pay-per-click campaigns (e.g. Google Ads, Amazon Ads)
• Partnerships (e.g. with companies to offer employees coupons, discounts, etc.)

b) What is your unique selling proposition?

In other words, how do you differentiate yourself vs. competitors? This is very important as you might need to win customers from competitors.

A few examples of USPs are (with reference to retail bike store example):

• Price : you may have cheaper prices than competitors
• Specialization : you may be specializing in some specific product
• Additional products : you sell additional accessories and safety gear that your competitors don’t
• Freebies : you may offer freebies like helmets or tail lights

Your USP will definitely depend on the products you are selling.

5. Management & Organizational Structure

You must address two things here:

• The management team and their experience / track record
• The organizational structure: what are the different teams and who reports to whom?

a) Management

Your store’s management will vary depending on the business type and size. For instance, if you are opening a franchise store, you may have to give a lot more details compared to an independent store.

You may have co-founders and/or senior managers. You must explain their roles, too. Apart from that, you must also explain their industry experience and why they are suitable for those positions.

b) Organizational structure

Note that even if you have not already hired senior managers and other team members, you must include the details. 

You must define their roles and the hierarchy of reporting. This will demonstrate to the potential lenders and investors the solid management plan you have in place to operate your business efficiently and successfully.

Create and attach an organizational chart for a visual understanding of your store’s staff and their reporting lines.

6. Financial Plan

The financial plan is perhaps, with the executive summary, the most important section of any retail store business plan.

Indeed, a solid financial plan tells lenders that your business is viable and can repay the loan you need from them. If you’re looking to raise equity from private investors, a solid financial plan will prove them your retail store is an attractive investment.

There should be 3 sections to your financial plan section:

• Your historical financials (only if you already operate the business and have financial accounts to show)
• The startup costs of your project (if you plan to open a new retail store, renovate your store, etc.)
• The 5-year financial projections

Historical Financials (if any)

In the scenario where you already have some historical financials (a few quarters or a few years), include them. A summary of your financial statements in the form of charts e.g. revenue, gross profit and net profit is enough, save the rest for the appendix.

If you don’t have any, don’t worry, most new businesses don’t have any historical financials and that’s ok. If so, jump to Startup Costs instead.

Startup Costs

Before we expand on 5-year financial projections in the following section, it’s always best practice to start with listing the startup costs of your project. For a retail store, startup costs are all the expenses you incur before you open the space to your customers. These expenses typically are:

• The lease deposit for the space you rent
• The design and renovation of the existing facilities
• The equipment and furniture

The total startup costs depend on a number of factors, such as the size of your store, the quality of the building (whether there is a lot or remodeling to do or not), the quality of the furniture, etc.

Financial Projections

In addition to startup costs, you will now need to build a solid financial model over 5 years.

Your financial projections should be built using a spreadsheet (e.g. Excel or Google Sheets) and presented in the form of tables and charts in your business plan.

As usual, keep it concise here and save details (for example detailed financial statements, financial metrics, key assumptions used for the projections) for the appendix instead.

Your financial projections should answer at least the following questions:

• How much revenue do you expect to generate over the next 5 years?
• When do you expect to break even?
• How much cash will you burn until you get there?
• What’s the impact of a change in pricing (say 5%) on your margins?
• What is your average customer acquisition cost?

You should include here your 3 financial statements (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement). This means you must forecast:

• The number of customers over time ;
• Your expected revenue ;
• Operating costs to run the business ;
• Any other cash flow items (e.g. capex, debt repayment, etc.).

When projecting your revenue, make sure to sensitize pricing and the number of customers, sales as a small change in these assumptions will have a big impact on your revenues.

7. Use of Funds

This is the last section of your retail store business plan. Now that we have explained what your retail store sells and to whom, the industry, management and your marketing strategy, this section must answer the following questions:

• How much funding do you need?
• What financial instrument(s) do you need: is this equity or debt, or even a free-money public grant?
• How long will this funding last?
• Where else does the money come from? If you apply for a SBA loan for example, where does the other part of the investment come from (your own capital, private investors?)

If you raise debt:

• What percentage of the total funding the loan represents?
• What is the corresponding Debt Service Coverage Ratio ?

If you raise equity

• What percentage ownership are you selling as part of this funding round?
• What is the corresponding valuation of your business?

Use of Funds

Any business plan should include a clear use of funds section. This is where you explain how the money will be spent.

Will you spend most of the loan / investment in paying your employees’ salaries and the inventory? Or will it cover mostly the cost for the lease deposit and the renovation of the building?

Those are very important questions you should be able to answer in the blink of an eye. Don’t worry, this should come straight from your financial projections. If you’ve built solid projections like in our retail store financial model template , you won’t have any issues answering these questions.

For the use of funds, we recommend using a pie chart like the one we have in our financial model template where we outline the main expenses categories as shown below.

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Home » Sample Business Plans » Wholesale & Retail

How to Write a Retail Store Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a retail business? If YES, here’s a complete sample online retail store business plan template & feasibility report to help you get started. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a retail store. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample retail store marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for retail stores. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Why Start a Retail Store?

There are times when one might not be disposed to buy stuff in bulk. This might be due to financial constraint or other contingencies. This is one of the reasons why retail outlets are scattered all over the world. They know the importance of reaching all and sundry, and that is why they want to provide services that can reach all classes of people.

Those who are already in the trade know the huge profit levels which they attain always. If you have decided to start a retail business, then good news is that you are in a profitable trade, as nearly all the type of goods that are being dealt in is such that is important to all

A Sample Retail Store Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

When we talk about retailing, we talk about a business that deals in loads of consumer goods; which can be categorized into three major areas. These categories are: general merchandise, apparel, and furniture. In other words, retailers are engaged in the selling of finished goods; they get the goods from the manufacturers and they sell to the end users (consumers).

Retail goods can also be categorized into durable goods and non – durable goods. Durable goods are goods such electronics, computers and accessories, furniture, and other large appliances et al and non – durable goods are good such as food, toiletries, drinks, beauty products, jewelry, clothing and shoes et al.

The retail industry is a major sector of the economy of the united states which generates a whooping sum of well over trillion annually from more than a million retail outlets scattered all around the United States of America.

The industry is responsible for the employment of well over 15 million people which is about 12% of the workforce of the U.S. eMarketer.com published that in 2014 alone, the retailing industry on a global scale generated a revenue of well over $22 trillion; it goes to show that the industry is indeed a very large industry.

It is a fact that an estimated two-thirds of the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) comes from retail consumption. This is why the United States of America’s economy is measured with the yardstick of how well the retailing business is fairing in the U.S. In essence, when there is an unstable economy, purchasing power drops and it impacts the retailing industry negatively which may result in the closure of some retail stores.

In recent time, the retail landscape has seen tremendous changes in the last 20 years; it has grown from the usual mom and pop outlets to a more organized and far reaching venture. The introduction of franchise and online store makes it easier for a retailer to reach out to a larger market far beyond the areas where his physical store is located.

It is interesting to note that more retail shops; especially lager retail outlets have started to include self-serve checkout lanes in their stores. It creates shorter lines that appeal to consumers; the average customer would not want to stay longer on queue.

Over and above, the retail industry is a profitable industry and it is open to any aspiring entrepreneur to come in and establish his or her business; you can chose to start on a small scale in a street corner like the average mom and pop business or you can chose to start on a large scale with several outlets in key cities.

2. Executive Summary

People’s Choice Retail Shop is a retail shop that will be located in one of the busiest streets in Columbus, Ohio. We have been able to lease a facility that is big enough to fit into the design of the retail shop that we intend launching and the facility is located in a corner piece directly opposite the largest residential estate in Columbus, Ohio.

Our retail shop will retail a wide range of durable goods and non – durable goods at affordable prices from different brands. We retail goods such as groceries, clothes, sports equipment, beauty products, jewelry, baby stuffs, children’s toys, home furnishings and home appliances et al.

We are aware that there are several large and small retail outlets all around Columbus, which is why we spent time and resources to conduct our feasibility studies and market survey, so as to offer much more than our competitors will be offering. We have sell service options for our customers, and our outlet is well secured with the various payment options.

Much more than selling the goods and products of top brands in the manufacturing industry, our customer care is second to none in the whole of Columbus, Ohio. We know that our customers are the reason why we are in business, and that is why we will go the extra mile to get them satisfied when they visit our retail shop and also to become our loyal customers and ambassadors.

People’s Choice Retail Shop will ensure that all our customers are given first class treatment whenever they visit our shop. We have a CRM software that will enable us manage a one on one relationship with our customers, no matter how large the numbers of our customers base. We will ensure that we get our customers involved in the selection of brands that will be on our racks and also when make some business decisions.

We are aware of the trend in the retail industry and we are not only going to operate a system where our customers would have to come to our shop to make purchase or whatever they want but we will also operate an online store and our customers can order goods online and they will get it delivered to their houses or any location they want us to deliver the goods to within Ohio.

People’s Choice Retail Shop is a family business that is owned by Bob Wesley and Family. Although the business is launching out with just one outlet in Columbus, Ohio, but there is a plan to open other outlets all around Ohio.

3. Our Products and Services

People’s Choice Retail Shop is in the retailing industry and we will ensure we go all the way to make available a wide range of goods and products from top manufacturing brands in the United States and other countries of the world.

We will have available in our store a wide range of durable goods and non – durable goods at affordable prices. We retail goods such as groceries, clothes, sports equipment, beauty products, jewelry, children’s toys, baby stuffs, home furnishings and home appliances et al.

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to establish a one stop retail shop in Columbus, Ohio and in other cities in Ohio.
• Our mission is to establish a retail business that will make available a wide range of goods and products from top manufacturing brands at affordable prices to the residence of Columbus, Ohio and other cities in Ohio.

Our Business Structure

People’s Choice Retail Shop do not intend to start a retail business like the usual mom and pop business around the street corner; our intention of starting a retail business is to build a standard retail outlet in Columbus, Ohio. Although our retail business might not be as big as Wal-Mart or Marcy, but will ensure that we put the right structure in place that will support the kind of growth that we have in mind while setting up the business.

We will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, honest, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stake holders (the owners, workforce, and customers).

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more. In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
• Store Manager

Merchandize Manager

Sales and Marketing Manager

Information Technologist

• Accountants / Cashiers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for recruitment
• Responsible for payment of salaries
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization

Store Manager:

• Responsible for managing the daily activities in the restaurant
• Ensures that the store facility is in tip top shape and conducive enough to welcome customers
• Interfaces with third – party providers (vendors)
• Controls the sales floor inventory
• Ensures that goods and products are properly arranged
• Supervises the entire sales staff and workforce
• Any other duty as assigned by the CEO
• Manages vendor relations, market visits, and the ongoing education and development of the organizations’ buying teams
• Helps to ensure consistent quality of goods and products on our rack
• Responsible for the purchase of goods and products for the organizations
• Responsible for planning sales, monitoring inventory, selecting the merchandise, and writing and pricing orders to vendors
• Ensures that the organization operates within stipulated budget.
• Manages external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Models demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
• Manages the organization website
• Handles ecommerce aspect of the business
• Responsible for installing and maintenance of computer software and hardware for the organization
• Manage logistics and supply chain software, Web servers, e-commerce software and POS (point of sale) systems
• Manages the organization’s CCTV
• Handles any other technological and IT related duties.

Accountant / Cashier:

• Receives payments on behalf of the organization
• Issues receipt to customers
• Prepares financial report at the end of every working week
• Handles all financial transaction on behalf of the company
• Interfaces with our bankers
• Responsible for payment of tax, levies and utility bills
• Any other duty as assigned by the CEO / store manager
• Responsible for cleaning the store facility at all times
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Cleans both the interior and exterior of the store facility
• Any other duty as assigned by the restaurant manager,

6. SWOT Analysis

Our intention of starting just one outlet of our retail store in Columbus, Ohio is to test run the business for a period of 2 to 5 years to know if we will invest more money, expand the business and then open other outlets all over Ohio. We are quite aware that there are several retail stores all over Columbus and even in the same location where we intend locating ours, which is why we are following the due process of establishing a business.

We know that if a proper SWOT analysis is conducted for our business, we will be able to position our business to maximize our strength, leverage on the opportunities that will be available to us, mitigate our risks and be welled equipped to confront our threats.

People’s Choice Retail Store employed the services of an expert HR and Business Analyst with bias in retailing to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to help us create a Business model that will help us achieve our business goals and objectives. This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for People’s Choice Retail Store;

Our location, the business model we will be operating on (physical store and online store), varieties of payment options, wide range of products and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for People’s Choice Retail Store.

A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new retail outlet and we don’t have the financial capacity to compete with multi – billion dollars retail outlets like Wal-Mart and co when it comes to retailing at a rock bottom prices for all their goods.

• Opportunities:

The fact that we are going to be operating our retail store in one of the busiest streets in Columbus, Ohio, provides us with unlimited opportunities to sell our goods to a large number of people. We have been able to conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey and we know what our potential clients will be looking for when they visit our retail outlets; we are well positioned to take on the opportunities that will come our way.

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new retail outlet in same location where ours is located.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

Retailing business has been in existence for as long as humans started trading goods, but one thing is certain, the retailing industry is still evolving. The introduction of technology and subsequently online retail store has indeed helped in reshaping the industry.

It is now a common phenomenon for retail outlets to leverage on technology to effectively predict consumer demand patterns and to strategically position their shop to meet their needs; in essence, the use of technology help retailers to maximize supply chain efficiencies. No doubt data collected from customers goes a long way to help retail shops serve them better.

Another common trend in the retailing industry is the pricing system. Aside from having varieties of products in a store, one of the easiest ways for retail stores to sell the goods on their racks as fast as they can and keep re – stocking is to ensure that the prices of their goods are a bit lower than what is obtainable elsewhere. For example; it is common to see items with prices in this format; $3.99, $99 and $199 et al as against $4, $100 and $200.

Retailers also engage in massive clearance sales and discount sales to attract customers. It is a strategy that helps them welcome new customers and also reinforce the loyalty of old customers.

8. Our Target Market

Perhaps the retailing industry has the widest range of customers; everybody on planet earth has one or more things that they would need in a retail shop. It is difficult to find people around who don’t patronize retail shops.

In view of that, we have positioned our retail store to service the residence of Columbus, Ohio and every other location our retail stores will be located all over Ohio. We have conducted our market research and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us. We are in business to retail a wide range of products to the following groups of people;

• Corporate Executives
• Business People
• About to wed couples
• Expectant Mothers
• Sports Men and Women

Our Competitive Advantage

People’s Choice Retail Store is launching a standard retail shop that will indeed become the preferred choice of residence of Columbus, Ohio. Our retail store is located in a corner piece property on a busy road directly opposite one of the largest residential estates in Columbus, Ohio. We have enough parking space that can accommodate well over 100 cars per time.

One thing is certain; we will ensure that we have a wide range of products available in our store at all times. It will be difficult for customers to visit our store and not see the product that they are looking for. One of our business goal is to make People’s Choice Retail Store a one stop shop. Our excellent customer service culture, online store, various payment options and highly secured facility will serve as a competitive advantage for us.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

People’s Choice Retail Shop is in business to retail a wide range of products to the residence of Columbus, Ohio. In essence, our source of income will be the retailing of a wide range of durable goods and non – durable goods at affordable prices. We will retail goods such as groceries, clothes, sports equipment, beauty products, jewelry, children’s toys, baby stuff, home furnishings and home appliances et al.

10. Sales Forecast

It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies, market survey and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. One thing is common with retailing business, the larger a retail store the larger the numbers of customers that will patronize them.

Although we may not be as large as Wal-Mart, but we will ensure that within our capacity we make available a wide range of goods from different manufacturing brands in our retail outlet. Below are the sales projections that we were able to come up with for the first three years of operations;

• First Year-: $200,000
• Second Year-: $450,000
• Third Year-: $700,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Before choosing a location for People’s Choice Retail Store, we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to be able to be able to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice for residence of Columbus, Ohio. We have a detailed information and data that we were able to utilize to structure our business to attract the numbers of customers we want to attract per time.

We hired experts who have good understanding of the retail industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market in Columbus, Ohio. In order to continue to be in business and grow, we must continue to sell the products that are available in our store which is why we will go all out to empower or sales and marketing team to deliver.

In summary, People’s Choice Retail Store will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;

• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters to residence, business owners and organizations
• Promptness in bidding for contracts
• Advertise our business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
• List our business on yellow pages ads
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Direct marketing
• Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Despite the fact that our retail store is well located, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for the business. We are going to explore all available means to promote our retail store. People’s Choice Retail Store has a long term plan of opening outlets in various locations all around Ohio which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Columbus before venturing out.

As a matter of fact, our publicity and advertising strategy is not solely for winning customers over but to effectively communicate our brand. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise People’s Choice Retail Store;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Columbus, Ohio
• Engage in road show from time to time
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where our retail store is located.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Pricing is one of the key factors that give leverage to retail stores, it is normal for consumers to go to places (retail outlets) where they can goods at cheaper price which is why big player in the retail industry like Wal-Mart will attract loads of consumers. Products in their store are tagged with the cheapest price you can get anywhere in the United States.

We know we don’t have the capacity to compete with Wal-Mart or any other big retail store, but we will ensure that the prices of all the products that are available in our store are competitive with what is obtainable amongst retail stores within our level.

• Payment Options

Our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that will be available in every of our outlets;

• Payment by cash
• Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
• Payment via online bank transfer (online payment portal)
• Payment via Mobile money

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our payment plans without any itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

This is the key areas where we will spend our start – up capital;

• The Total Fee for Registering the Business in Ohio – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $1,300.
• Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of People’s Choice Retail Store in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
• Cost for hiring Consultant – $2,500 .
• Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
• Cost for payment of rent for 12 month at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $105,600.
• Cost for Shop remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – $20,000.
• Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
• The cost for Start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of products) – $100,000
• Storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves, food case) – $3,720
• Cost for serving area equipment (plates, glasses, flatware) – $3,000
• Cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
• Cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs: $10,000
• The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al): $4,000 .
• The cost of Launching a Website: $600
• The cost for our opening party: $7,000
• Miscellaneous: $10,000

We would need an estimate of $500,000 to successfully set up our retail store in Columbus, Ohio. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first month of operation.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for People’s Choice Retail Store

People’s Choice Retail Store is a private business that is solely owned and financed by Bob Wesley and family. They do not intend to welcome any external business partner which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital to 3 major sources. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $200,000 ( Personal savings $150,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $300,000 from our bank. All the papers and document have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If any of these factors is missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

People’s Choice Retail Store will ensure that all the factors listed above are reinforced on a regular basis and also we will engage in continuous capacity building of our workforce. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more.

We will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that staff welfare is well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing of facility and remodeling the shop: In Progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from family members: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• writing of business plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
• Compilation of our list of products that will be available in our store: Completed
• Establishing business relationship with vendors – suppliers of all our needed raw materials: In Progress

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Retail Business Plan

A retail business plan is a document that gives you and your potential investors a roadmap on how your new retail business intends to get started and deliver its business goals over its initial few years (usually 5 years).

It is usually broken down into sections about the company, the industry it operates in, the competition it will face and a plan that covers marketing, financials and operations over the first few years in business.

Also check out this one-page Business Model Canvas for a retail business .

Retail Business Plan Template

You can download this free retail business plan template from the link below. You will be able to edit the word file and export it into PDF format afterwards.

In the coming sections, we will explain the different components that go into the retail business plan, which you can then apply to your own plan when completing the template.

Check out more free downloads .

Executive Summary

We recommend writing the executive summary at the end of the process, after you have filled out all the other sections in the retail business plan template.

In the executive summary you will cover the following points briefly:

• Types of products sold at the store
• Customers served by the store
• Company mission & vision
• Market share to be captured

You will also mention the total amount you will need to start this business, backed by the financial plan you prepared as part of this business plan.

The total amount that you want to borrow or have invested in your business will be the sum of pre-opening costs (initial inventory, equipment, rent,..) and the maximum negative cash flow as per your cash flow plan.

If you are writing this retail business plan for a financial institution to get a loan, mention how you expect to repay the loan, and you should have already included the loan installments in your financial plan.

If you are writing this plan for investors, mention how much equity they will receive in return for this investment and the expected return on investment, and expected cash distributions (dividends) based on your financial plan.

For example

An investment of 100,000$ in the business will result in the investor receiving 20% equity. We plan to distribute 50% of the profits every year, and based on our financial projections this will be a xx,xxx$ in the first year, xx,xxx$ in the second year, and xx,xxx$ in the third year,..etc.

Company Overview

Here you will write about your business and give a brief overview about the type of store you will be starting.

You can cover the following points:

• Store category (e.g. beauty store, toy store)
• Store location and brief description of the area
• Product categories carried
• Company legal structure

Industry Overview

Write an overview about the industry (retail/ecommerce) as a whole and the most recent trends specific to this industry.

Cover areas such as:

• Total retail sales
• Contribution of your retail category to the total sales (size of the market)
• Online vs. Brick & Mortar trends
• Recent industry trends and shifts in terms of products you are selling

You can find the most recent insights about retail in our Retail Statistics page.

Read Also: What is Retail ?

Target Market

Write about your target customers that you know will be interested in your products. Mention demographic and psychographic details in this section. This will help afterwards in drafting your marketing plan.

You can cover the following details:

• Age bracket
• Income level
• Educational level
• The specific needs that your products will fill for them

FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING

• Learn the fundamentals of marketing
• See how they apply to buying, merchandising & pricing
• Real-life case studies and examples

Competition

List the current competition in the market that are serving your target customers. Mention your top 3 competitors in your area.

You can also include indirect competition, such as online stores or marketplace sellers, if you think this might affect your business.

Cover information about:

• No. of stores
• Size of stores
• Product categories they sell
• Pricing level
• Sales per day estimates
• Strengths & Weaknesses

You can also create a summary table like the one below

Competitive Advantage

What will make customers leave the competition and come to you? Use the weaknesses areas that you mentioned about the competition in the previous section, and mention how you will improve on them.

This could be by:

• Superior quality
• Better prices
• Convenience
• More variety
• Better shopping experience

Marketing Plan

Describe your marketing strategy for your store and which channels you are going to use.

Cover the following areas:

• Brand Positioning
• Branding Strategy (Persona, tone, language,..)
• Product Strategy (Key products and product features that will attract your customers)
• Pricing Strategy
• Promotional Strategy
• Marketing Channels

Operations Plan

Write how you will operate your store and include details about your manpower plan.

This will include the management that you will hire for the store, visual merchandisers, sales staff and cashiers.

Cover the following:

• Management structure (store manager, supervisor,..)
• Staff plan (3 sales associates, 2 cashiers, etc.)
• Brief role descriptions
• Compensation structure

Read Also: Retail Scheduling

RETAIL OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

• Managing Store Operations
• Areas of Responsibility
• Assessing & Managing Performance

Financial plan

List estimates for the capital you will need to start and financial projections for the following years.

Capital Needed

Start with how much capital you will need to start the business

This will include:

• Initial rent
• Initial product order (Inventory)
• Initial staff salary
• Store fixtures
• Store equipment

Read Also: How Much Capital You Will Need For a New Retail Store?

Financial Projections

Include a 5-year financial projection for the business based on your forecasted sales and costs.

• Monthly income statement (P&L) for the first year
• Yearly income statement for the following 4 years
• Monthly cash flow projection for the first year

Learn how to create a sales budget for a new store, and 3 years financial projections in our Retail Budgeting Course

RETAIL BUDGETING & PLANNING

• The step by step retail budgeting process
• Set monthly targets adjusted to seasonality
• Templates download & practice exercise

Break Even Point

Include a snapshot of the 5-year P&L plan here and mention the SPD (sales per day) you need to breakeven, based on your P&L numbers.

We have created a sample table with retail data in the business plan template, and you can fill it with your own numbers.

Key Assumptions

Mention the assumptions you used for creating your financial projections.

For example , you assumed that sales per day for the first year will be 1000$ and then will grow by 20% in the second year, 15% in the third year and 10% in the fourth year, etc.

Retail Business Plan Tips

Sales projections.

We recommend being very realistic about your initial sales per day projections, as your entire financial plan will be directly affected by it.

When you then forecast your growth for the coming years, you should also be realistic about how much you will grow year-on-year.

From our experience, retail stores typically see higher growth after the first year and then this starts to level off from the third year onwards.

Having said that, there might be other growth drivers that can affect your business and accelerate your growth in the following years. This could be for example that your new store is in an area that is still under development and will be fully developed by the third year.

What we want to say is, do your due diligence thoroughly and based on that set realistic expectations.

Inventory Projections

The biggest asset you will hold and the biggest part of the investment/loan you will need to start your retail business will go for inventory.

So it is important to calculate your inventory needs correctly.

This will be based on your sales forecasts and the inventory turnover rate you expect or the forward stock cover you intend to maintain.

For example, if your inventory turnover target is 2, this means you maintain a 6 months cover. If your inventory turnover is 3, you maintain 4 months stock cover,..and so on.

We recommend checking out the benchmarks we have listed for different retail categories for inventory turnover and reading our complete Open to Buy guide to get started with calculating exactly how much inventory you will need.

Good luck in your new venture!

THE PROFESSIONAL RETAIL ACADEMY (PRA) ™

• In-depth retail management courses
• Learn the best practices of the industry
• Download ready-to-use professional templates
• Get certificates of completion for each course
• One membership = Access to all courses

More Resources

Thank you for reading this article on Retail Business Plan. We recommend the below free resources as well:

• Retail Management
• Starting a Retail Business
• Buying a Retail Business

Join the academy and get all access to all our resources, which will help you manage your retail business more efficiently.

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CONNECT THE DOTS

Learn how to manage a retail business end-to-end.

We’ve put together a curriculum, specifically designed for retail owners or retail professionals who want to advance into senior management roles.

Learn how to connect the dots of the business and take the basic knowledge to the next level of application . 

The Art and Science of Retail Merchandising

By Kate Eby | September 20, 2017

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Retail merchandising is subtle. When customers walk into the store, they don't consciously think about the sensory experience. Rather, the colors, sounds, smells, temperature, and the way the merchandise feels combine to deliver an experience to the customer psyche that they may not even realize. Retail merchandising is an art and science. Decades of customer research, driven by the overwhelming economic importance and growth of the retail industry, arm retailers with actionable data for effective merchandise strategies and best practices. 

This article provides information for retailers to better understand retail merchandising and the difference between related concepts. Whether you are new to retail, have been a retailer for years and are looking for new inspiration to outperform the competition, or work for an e-commerce giant, there's something here for you. Learn tips and the new visual merchandising concepts from experts and researchers who are using cutting-edge science to study buyer behavior. Explore the impact that retail merchandising has on customer experience as well as the business of merchandising, including criteria for selecting a merchandising solutions provider. Discover the new rules of visual merchandising and how to be successful as a merchandise manager.

Free E-book: Building the Retail Store of the Future 6 Essential Concepts to Maximize Retail Profitibility  Get it here

What Is Retail Merchandising?

Retail merchandising refers to the various activities and strategies used to visually optimize retail displays in order to attract customers. These activities include in-store design, selecting specific merchandise to match a target market, and marketing merchandise to customers.

In the retail sector, professionals use the classify things as merchandise to categorize the industry by the types of goods and services offered (e.g., automotive parts, shoes, jewelry, etc.). Merchandising is both an activity and a strategy that contributes to selling goods and services by stimulating interest or otherwise enticing customers to make a purchase (e.g., promotional deals and discounting methods).

The goal of retail merchandising activity is to support a retail strategy that generates revenue for the retailer and value for the customer. The selection of retail merchandise and the type of goods and services a retailer decides to stock are key retail strategies. According to author Michael Levy in Retailing Management , the decision to carry particular merchandise is tactical rather than strategic. Merchandise management, along with store management principles, are the "tactical decisions" that Levy believes help implement retail strategy. For example, Lululemon uses attractive packaging to market its apparel. Lululemon provides customers with reusable bags in a variety of sizes and styles. The bags leave the retail store and serve as a type of moving merchandising strategy for brand awareness. The packaging is so effective and recognizable among the brand’s loyalists that there is a resale market on ebay for the bags. 

The Difference Between Retail Strategy and Merchandising Strategy

Levy believes merchandise management decisions, like Lululemon’s impressive presentation of seasonal athletic apparel worn by local yoga instructors on in-store posters, have short-term - rather than long-term - impact. (Long-term retail strategies are more resource dependent.) A merchandising philosophy that combines Levy's retail strategies (such as store location, systems technology, or customer relationship strategy) with tactical decisions (such as the type of merchandise a retailer carries) contributes to a customer's overall brand loyalty. 

• The target market(s) in which a retailer focuses its resources
• The retail format (products and services, pricing, communications, location) that satisfies the needs of the target market
• How the retailer will build a sustainable (long-term) advantage over competitors
• Merchandising Strategy: Merchandising strategy involves the tactics (or business processes) that contribute to the sale of goods and services to the customer for profit. Tactics within the overall retail strategy include the variety of merchandise available for sale in store or online and how the retailer advertises and displays that merchandise to stimulate interest and create a customer experience. A sound retail strategy involves developing a desirable retail merchandise mix of products that add unique customer value. 

Learn more about retail management strategy in the article How to Survive and Thrive in Retail Management .

The Difference Between Fashion Merchandising and Retail Merchandising

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) , which classifies and measures economic activity in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, classifies retail merchandising and fashion merchandising as two separate categories. NAICS organizes the retail trade industry (code 44-45) according to the “similarity in the processes used to produce goods or services.” Retail merchandising refers to business activities and retail management philosophy that cover a wider category of goods and services than fashion merchandising. For example, retail merchandising includes classifications like Clothing Accessories Stores (code 448150) and Shoe Stores (code 448210). The NAICS accepts that “knowledge of fashion trends” is a service that various retailers in the retail merchandising category provide. However, fashion merchandising services also represent a separate economic activity under the Specialized Design Services (code 541490) category.  

While there is some overlap between fashion merchandising and retail merchandising, fashion merchandising also involves a different supply-chain partnership and a unique retail mix. Retailers typically occupy the end of the supply chain involving manufacturers, wholesalers, and other suppliers and agents. Retail merchandising is, therefore, responsible for selling directly to the customer. Fashion merchandising may involve direct, value-added customer activities, but fashion merchandising professionals often sell directly to wholesale suppliers as well. 

Levy defines the retail mix as “the combination of factors used by a retailer to satisfy customer needs and influence their purchase decisions.” According to Levy, the retail mix involves the following factors: 

• The merchandise and services that a retailer offers
• The merchandise price 
• The advertising and promotional activity 
• The design and layout of stores (digital and physical)
• The visual merchandising

Fashion merchandising concerns a different combination of factors (and a narrower category of goods and services) than retail merchandising. For example, the merchandise, services, and store-design methods involved with fashion merchandising activities would not apply to used car dealers. The last component of the retail mix, visual merchandising, is another type of merchandising activity in the retailer’s tool belt.  

What Is Visual Merchandising in a Retail Store?

Visual merchandising guides the planning and activities responsible for how customers see your physical and digital stores, and the goods and services visible within. It helps create value by making the shopper journey memorable and motivates customers to purchase goods.

Visual merchandising includes everything from the store’s exterior to the entryway lighting, all the way through to well-placed furniture, fixtures, and promotional displays.

In today's omnichannel marketplace, e-commerce, retail stores, and mobile channels converge to shape the customer experience. Visual merchandising is responsible for creating the digital or physical environment that appeals to your target customer and aligns with your overall retail value proposition. The creative methods of visual merchandising stimulate customers to make purchases. Retailers can design a customer experience with the layout of store merchandise, the UX design of e-commerce landing pages, and the usability and imagery of a mobile app.

The Science of Visual Merchandising

With visual merchandising, retailers can influence how customers choose and what choices they make based on what those customers see in physical stores and online. Modern neuroscience studies suggest that the impact of messaging via optical stimulation is measurable and real. The field of neuro-marketing studies how customers make purchasing decisions and how retailers can influence customers. In the book Retail Marketing Strategy: Delivering Shopper Delight , author Constant Berkhout discusses how brain research is an appropriate retail marketing tool. For example, he cites a study in which researchers affixed smiley face stickers to merchandise price tags. These emojis gave shoppers the perception that the prices of the items displaying the stickers were lower than the prices of the items without the stickers. Berkhout explains that shoppers are “unconsciously attracted by pleasure and a feeling of reward.” A well-known and simple visual image — in the relatable and popular form of communication (emojis) preferred by highly sought-after millennials and Gen-Zers — had a powerful effect on customer value. 

Image Adapted from Source: Retail Marketing Strategy, Constant Berkhout

Visual Merchandising Tips from Neuro-Marketing Research

In Retail Marketing Strategy , Berkhout offers a summary of practical suggestions. He gleaned this information from his time with neuroscientists who were trying to understand the brain activity that accompanies the ideal shopping experience. He also cites research from The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind , by Dr. A.K. Pradeep. Here is a list of the visual merchandising tips that Berkhout adapted from this neuro research. They include observations on how to turn insight into retail solutions:

• Signs Point the Way: Shoppers are scanners. They routinely look for changes in familiar retail environments (or on landing pages) and use visual stimuli closest to their point of entry. Place signs closest to the customer’s entry point, and guide the shopper journey with images rather than text to avoid overstimulation. 
• Display Images: The images retailers use for in-store displays or online stores should have a left-right orientation. (The picture should appear on the left, and the associated text should appear on the right.) The “shopper’s eye,” according to Pradeep, delivers observations more effectively in this way. It takes more effort for scanning shoppers if the text appears on the left, and the image appears on the right. 
• Aisle Attraction: Aisles that end with rounded gondola displays entice customers more often. These round-end caps should help the shopper navigate by providing clues to what they will find on the rest of the aisle. The ideal length of an aisle is approx. 20-22 ft., and, halfway down each aisle, there should be some “visual interruption,” such as special lighting or a floor display, to attract the shopper.  
• Show Off Consumption: Visual displays that show off consumption of goods and services prompt more action. If the display features people, it should always include imagery of smiling, happy customers. For example, if you wish to promote the breakfast items on your menu, it is better to show a person consuming said items rather than the product by itself. If your merchandise is apparel, it’s preferable to show that apparel in action. 
• Material Matters: Shoppers (and their brains) enjoy touching round, soft items. Place such items at eye level, and design merchandise displays with “touch moments” in mind. Also, the material of the shelving and displays matters to the customer’s visual perception of value. Wood gives the impression of “real, authentic, and organic,” but shoppers may perceive a higher price point for items displayed on natural wood shelves.
• Cross-Merchandising Solutions: Retailers should cross-promote solutions with visual merchandising. For example, position batteries next to electronic devices, stage merchandise kits next to core products (for example, socks, shoe laces, and shoe cleaner), and place unrelated (but logical) products on display with profitable merchandise.

The New Rules for Retail Merchandising

Studies cited by Shop: The International Magazine for Retailing and Shop Design indicate that conventional market research “is reaching the limit of its effectiveness.” The magazine cites the research of marketing expert Arndt Traindl (in partnership with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Functional Brain Topography). An investigation of brain activity during a “visual stimulation of goods” demonstrated the potential of neuro-marketing by finding that unconscious thought drives up to 80 percent of customer purchase behavior. The “rational customer” is a myth, and the point of sale itself can directly influence customers — especially if that customer fits the individual motives of the retailer’s target customer group. What does this mean for retail merchandising? A new set of retail merchandising rules must account for the emotional, irrational customer behavior discovered by scientific methods (such as neuro-marketing) and the customer experience demands of a digital era.

• The Rule of Three: Constant Berkhout writes about the challenges of “over-choice.” Behavioral economics and science indicate that too many choices does not work well for the shopper journey. The consequences include cart abandonment and order cancellation or, worse, choosing the competitor's environment that has fewer choices. According to findings cited by Berkhout, shopper happiness increases when retailers reduce choices. Consider three to be the magic retail merchandising number: Explore a category management strategy with three core products that you offer quarterly (every three months) to create demand and keep up with changing customer trends. 
• The Personalization Rule: Research suggests customers want to shop on their own terms. Using statistics from Malcolm Gladwell’s research, Berkhout writes that our contemporary life bombards shoppers with hundreds of daily messages in the form of TV, radio, and digital media ads. He uses the principle of availability to point out that people don’t have the time or capacity to process these messages and only pay attention to personal events that have occurred recently. Personalized service as well as a customer experience that matches the target customer’s lifestyle are more likely to create customer value. Leverage the segmentation capabilities of social media advertising platforms, and experiment with ads personalized for your customers. Make retail merchandise physically accessible to customers. 
• The Experience Rule: Products and services are two thirds of the equation now. An  outstanding customer experience is the final piece of the customer value puzzle. By using innovative in-store technology (and, thus, replicating the high-tech customer experience that makes digital retail channels so compelling), department store Neiman Marcus is combatting the shift of retail sales to digital channels. The company’s iLab project created a “Memory Mirror” for in-store customers trying on clothing. While the shopper spins around, the digital mirror records eight-second video clips, capturing multiple angles and building a library of different options side by side. Shoppers can then share the videos on Facebook or Instagram for feedback on different retail merchandise. The iLab project also rolled out Charge It Spot stations that allow customers to charge their mobile devices while shopping, simultaneously encouraging more time in the store and the digital discovery of retail merchandise. A retail merchandising strategy that successfully embraces the physical and digital customer experience doesn’t necessarily require the resources of a retail giants like Neiman Marcus - small, independent retailers can leverage retail management software that allows customers to reserve products online and pick them up in the store.

What Is a Merchandising Business?

Merchandising businesses provide expertise and resources for retailers of all sizes and industries to successfully plan and execute retail strategies. Retailers without the in-house resources to oversee merchandising budgets and activities rely on third-party solution providers.

According to their website, Umdasch Shopfitting provides international “consulting and value engineering experts” for the “development and planning of retail solutions.” The company calls the architects, graphic artists, interior decorators, designers, and marketing specialists “shop makers.” The shop makers work across four branches of expertise, including lifestyle retail, food retail, premium retail, and digital retail. According to Wikipedia, shopfitting is the “trade of fitting out” retail stores with equipment, fixtures, and fittings.” A shopfitting firm “typically incorporates professional expertise in interior design, the manufacturing of bespoke furniture, signage, fittings (with one’s own or outsourced facilities), and the purchasing of retail equipment.” 

Umdasch Shopfitting is an example of a traditional retail merchandising business operating and evolving in the digital era. The company provides general contracting and design services, and retail equipment specialization (shelving, furniture, lighting accessories, etc.). They also provide project management and digital retail professionals to implement advanced retail strategy and technology. Here’s a list of other prominent retail merchandising businesses and a snapshot of their advertised capabilities:

• ManagementONE: Management One provides international retail experts for merchandise planning and professional retail services, such as traffic and conversion management. The company offers turnarounds for retailers behind on expenses and a retail diagnostics program for financial analysis, industry benchmarking, and compensation review.  
• SPAR Group Retail Merchandising: SPAR Group is a publicly-traded international retail merchandising service provider. The company offers three categories of service: syndicated, project, and dedicated services based on the size of operation and the specific needs of the retailer. Within these categories, SPAR Group provides retailer directed in-store merchandising services dedicated to all manufacturers, new store set and remodel, events and demo management, audits, and assembly services.
• Advanced Retail Merchandising: ARM provides merchandising services, mystery shopper audits, planogram and presentation development, data collection, and market research for retailers located in the southeastern United States (Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina). The company uses an activity-based model to support each retailer partner and dedicates a team to the independent projects for tailored customer support and complete budget control.  
• Mi9 Retail: Named after the British military intelligence service (MI9), Mi9 Retail provides software solutions and professional retail services for merchandising, store operations, customer engagement, e-commerce, and business analytics across most retail categories. The company offers ERP integrations and retail management systems software implementation for a variety of proprietary software deployed as cloud-based SaaS or hosted on-premise. 
• Retail Merchandising Services: RMS is a privately held, family-owned company providing in-store visual merchandising and display solutions in the US. RMS employs retail merchandising service representatives, field coordinators, and management in geographic territories. The company lists a range of merchandising services including count updates, item corrections, instant rebate coupons, safety recalls, fixture/signage surveys, and endcap setup and maintenance. 

Choosing a Merchandising Solution

The decision to partner with professional merchandising solutions providers is largely an analysis of in-house merchandising management resources and capabilities. Retail merchandising strategy for small independents is distinctively different compared to omnichannel retailers or large multi-store retailers. Merchandising solutions businesses offer professional services for retailers or all sizes; however, many leverage their large workforce, proprietary technology solutions, and the expertise of various professions (architects, digital marketers, contractors, etc.) to solve complex retail merchandising challenges. Merchandising solution providers specialize in online retail stores and managing digital channels as well. If your IT capabilities or resources are limited, it is important to work with partners familiar with the complexities of online security, cloud-based software deployment and management, digital marketing, and web analytics.     

Joe Holley is the VP New Business Development - Displays/Merchandisers, for Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc . The company designs and manufactures point of purchase displays and kiosks for in-store environments. Holley has more than 20 years of experience in developing custom branded, in-store marketing solutions for retailers. He offers the following qualitative criteria for evaluating merchandising partners:

• Continuity: Holley recommends asking questions about the company’s longest-running retail merchandising client — a question you can pose to the company representatives partnering with you as well. How many clients partner with them on multiple projects? Can they provide real-world examples when a merchandising project was sidetracked and what the company felt was the positive, and negative, outcome? 
• Creativity: “Don’t tell me, show me,” is the adage Holley recommends applying to this criteria. Request physical samples of merchandise displays or a portfolio of digital media and pay attention to the small details. Review the merchandising solutions the company creates for their clients. Does their portfolio back up claims of creative capabilities and customer insights? What is the depth of creative resources on their team and how many designers work on a project on average? Concentrate on the design quality of graphics and use trade shows to scout how the company represents their craftsmanship for their own marketing and customer experience.
• Agility: Holley refers to this criteria in terms of in-house capabilities. “The greater the array of in-house capabilities, the more nimble an in-store merchandising partner can be,” writes Holley. It is important that your merchandising partners are willing to be flexible and modify solutions when challenges arise. Can they achieve the original plan on the agreed upon dates consistently? Ask questions to determine how nimbly the partner works around the challenges of the retail supply chain, involving multiple trade and category managers with a stake in the design and display of their products. 

Retail Supply Chain Merchandising

The retail industry relies on the cooperation of a supply chain made up of manufacturers, wholesale suppliers, distributors, transportation and logistics providers, and merchandising solutions providers. Supply chain merchandising is a partnership between merchandise managers and their network of suppliers, who use shared resources to stock products and displays for customers to access. This merchandising activity is done by the manufacturer, vendor, or wholesaler that provides the products to the retail store and in some scenarios, may include the partners who select the merchandise mix for retailers. Grocery retailers, for example, rely on the in-store merchandising services of their partners for activity such as shelf stocking, inventory management, and promotional display creation. Omnichannel retailers partner with suppliers and third party vendors on e-commerce merchandising activity such as implementing cart abandonment technology on a hosted website or managing dropshipping partners in the supply chain.

What Does It Take to Succeed in Merchandise Management?

Merchandise management is more than making sales. Managers must be skilled in retail management philosophy, planning, strategy, and the associated activities. Specialized roles in the field include specialty buyers, purchasing and vendor managers, sales trainers and consultants, professional service providers, and turnaround managers.

Retail merchandise management responsibilities include the following activities:

• Merchandising Planning: The expenses involved in running a retail business can make or break a retailer because of slim operating margins and strict competition. In fact, proper retail merchandise planning is so critical to profitability that the retail industry supports separate job categories for merchandise planners and the major retail management system software solutions providers design planning tools and technology for users. The planning responsibilities for merchandise managers include sales forecasting, inventory planning, customer trend analysis with vendors, visual merchandising design, and seasonal store layout.   
• Merchandise Budgeting: Managing and selling inventory is not an easy task, and retailers with large amounts of inventory or expensive merchandise rely on the accuracy of their merchandising budgets. The merchandise budgeting process requires projecting demand, projecting sales, determining which costs to attribute (cost of goods sold, marketing expenses, software cost, shipping) and estimating purchases and reduction (inventory theft or damage). The budget may be static or flexible, depending on the business history and retail category, and consists of projected sales, inventory cost, estimated reduction, and estimated purchases. 
• Inventory Planning: Merchandise managers are responsible for maintaining accurate inventory levels according to customer demand and operational capacity. The ultimate goal for retailers is profitability, and there are various methods used to manage a profitable inventory. For example, merchandise managers budget for real-time inventory expenses to identify how much capital is available at any given time. This portion of the merchandise budget is called open to buy (OTB). For more information on common retail formulas related to inventory planning methods, including average inventory, stock-to-sales ratio, sell-through rate, and stock turnover, visit the article How to Survive and Thrive in Retail Management .  
• Retail Assortment Strategies: Assortment strategy is the process of planning for the type and number of products a retailer carries. Merchandise managers plan for how many product variations of a particular product to carry, as well as how many types of products to carry overall. This requires determining trade-offs and savvy analysis of customer trends, operational capacity, and internal capabilities (such as sales staff experience). Merchandise managers may work for retailers known as category killers : A retailer using a deep assortment strategy of a limited number of products to dominate a category and make competition difficult (for example, Staples’ assortment of business supplies and services). A greater percentage of retail sales shifting to digital channels makes category killers less of a threat to smaller retailers leveraging narrow assortment strategies.  

The majority of merchandise managers have a bachelor’s degree (for BA/BS in Business, BS in Fashion Merchandising, and BA/BS in Marketing) or equivalent industry experience. The role is diverse, as merchandise management includes sales forecasting, creating merchandise plans and inventory budgets, evaluating market trends, and working with buyers to manage supply and demand. Merchandise Managers are often involved in the day-to-day activities in a variety of retail environments that include creating displays, stocking shelves, managing inventory, training sales staff, and working with information systems for inventory management and sales reporting. 

Job Hero is a comprehensive online resource for building resumes, cover letters, and career overviews. Here is a sample of highlights from the website’s merchandise management resumes:

• “Managed products through their lifecycle, from creation to disposition, vendor management, meetings, and negotiations, including minimum purchase quantities, rebates, and costs.”
• “Initiated a bridal registry system that increased registries by 33% and sales by $800 thousand and improved customer service in the first year.”
• “Managed team of product coordinators, analysts, event managers, and web merchandisers.”
• “Analyzed sales data in depth to optimize merchandise presentation and selection. Achieved consistent 4-5% comp growth in responsible departments.”
• “Successfully planned and executed substantial merchandise initiatives and relays, including new department rollouts, NOOK, and digital initiatives.”
• “Designed and launched new merchandise website with revenue doubling LY.”
• “Successfully reduced inventory 30% by implementing mark-down strategies and open to buy.”

Image source: Indeed.com

The Importance of Retail Category Management

At the center of retail merchandising management is the desire to understand customers in order to create customer value that leads to profitability. To do so, merchandise managers need to consider how every retail merchandising decision helps the customer. According to Berkhout, this is the core of category management. Professionals originally used the term category management to describe the joint business planning between retailer and supplier, writes Berkhout. Over time, the definition changed to include “the process of managing categories as strategic business units, producing advanced results by focusing on delivering consumer value.” He credits Brian Harris , at the time a University of Southern California Professor of Marketing and Procter & Gamble (P&G) consultant, for creating the term and the business model. The practice completely changed the way P&G and Walmart collaborated after the first-ever category management project between the two retail titans took off in the 1980s. Berkhout writes that the concept rests on four principles:

• Think category rather than brand or product.
• Include supply and demand retail activities as an integral part of your overall process. 
• Deliver customer value.
• Collaborate closely with suppliers.

Holistic, mutually beneficial collaboration between retailers and their supply chain partners is essential to surviving in the retail jungle. Category management is less dependent on customer behavior or motivations, and relies more heavily on strategic planning, understanding and analyzing data, and retail merchandising tactics. Merchandising strategy is what small, independent retailers need to understand in order to respond to the threat of retail giants, deep-assortment discounters, and digital disruption.

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How To Start A Merchandise Business

Starting a merchandise business requires identifying a product or products you want to sell, creating a strong business plan, securing suppliers, setting up an online or physical store, marketing your products, and ensuring compliance with all legal and tax requirements.

• Last Update: November 23, 2023

• Steps in this Guide: 11

Starting a merchandise business can be an exciting venture, especially in today’s fast-paced and digital world. Whether you want to promote your brand, an artist’s work, or simply tap into a niche market, launching a merchandise business can offer tremendous opportunities for growth and profitability. However, like any other business, there are certain key steps and strategies that need to be taken into consideration for a successful launch. In this blog post, we will guide you through the essential steps to start a merchandise business, covering everything from identifying your target audience to sourcing and marketing your products effectively. So, if you’re ready to turn your passion into a thriving business, let’s dive in and explore the world of merchandise entrepreneurship.

How To Start A Merchandise Business: Step-by-Step

Step 1: business idea and services.

In order to succeed, a potential owner must develop a distinctive and profitable business concept that aligns with consumer needs and preferences, defining the products or services they will offer and how they will satisfy market demands.

Step 2: Market Research

Understanding your target market and potential customers is vital for tailoring your products, pricing, and location. Thoroughly research demographics, preferences, and shopping habits to effectively reach and cater to your intended audience.

Step 3: Business Plan

A well-crafted business plan outlines business goals, costs, strategies, and targets, crucial for directing the business toward success. It is a prerequisite for obtaining business loans from banks, ensuring financial support for growth and development.

Step 4: Securing Funds

Funding plays a pivotal role in meeting the business’s financial requirements. Entrepreneurs can tap into personal savings, approach banks for loans, attract venture capital investments, or leverage crowd sourcing platforms, considering the scale and complexity of the organization.

Step 5: Legal Formalities

Depending on your region, you must obtain a business license, registration number, tax identification, and other necessary legal documents to ensure the lawful operation of your business. Compliance with these requirements is crucial for running a legitimate and successful business.

Step 6: Finding a Location

When selecting a location for your business, consider proximity to your target market and other businesses that can enhance your offerings. It’s crucial to ensure that the location adheres to local zoning regulations to avoid any legal complications.

Step 7: Procuring the Merchandise

This process encompasses strategically selecting, engaging in price negotiations with, and procuring your products from manufacturers, wholesalers or importers. It requires careful consideration of your target audience and staying attuned to prevailing market trends.

Step 8: Hiring and Training Staff

It is important to hire staff based on the business size. This includes selecting, training, and ensuring the team understands the business, products, services, and how to effectively serve clients.

Step 9: Marketing and Advertising

Spreading awareness about the business is vital to its success. Utilize online marketing, print media, or billboards to reach a wider audience. Attract initial customers by offering special discounts or perks as incentives.

Step 10: Store Setup

To maximize sales and customer satisfaction, strategically display your products in an appealing and organized fashion. Create a welcoming atmosphere through cleanliness and a layout that optimizes customer navigation and convenience.

Step 11: Launching and Continuous Improvement

Once your business is up and running, regularly assess performance to enhance customer satisfaction, service quality, product offerings, and marketing tactics, ensuring continued success and growth.

Starting a merchandise business can be an exciting venture, but it’s important to approach it with careful planning and foresight. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can set the foundation for a successful and profitable business.

First, define your target audience and research their preferences and demands. This will help you create products that appeal to your customer base and stand out in the market. Next, develop a strong brand identity and a compelling story that resonates with your audience. This will help you establish an emotional connection with your customers and differentiate yourself from competitors.

Investing in quality materials and production processes is crucial to delivering high-quality products that customers will love. Remember to calculate costs accurately and set appropriate pricing to ensure profitability. Utilize effective marketing strategies to reach your target audience and build brand awareness. Social media platforms, influencer partnerships, and email marketing can all be powerful tools in this regard.

Additionally, consider diversifying your product range to cater to different customer preferences and increase your market reach. Stay up to date with industry trends, monitor customer feedback, and adapt your offerings accordingly.

Finally, prioritize exceptional customer service to cultivate loyal customers and encourage repeat purchases. Respond to queries promptly, resolve issues efficiently, and consistently exceed customer expectations. This will help you build a strong reputation and leverage word-of-mouth marketing.

Remember, starting a merchandise business requires patience, perseverance, and a strong entrepreneurial spirit. So, stay committed, remain adaptable, and continue to learn and grow. With determination and strategic planning, your merchandise business can thrive and succeed in the competitive market.

Clothing & Accessories Retail Business Plans

Bridal gown shop business plan.

Recycled Dreams provides rentals of wedding gowns and formalwear to brides, bridesmaids, attendants, etc.

Clothing E-Commerce Site Business Plan

Liquid Culture will offer creative women’s outdoor clothing, online, that is both functional and beautiful.

Clothing Retail Business Plan

Mahogany Western Wear is a new clothing store that offers quality, name brand western wear in an assortment of sizes and styles to accommodate all varying body styles and shapes.

Custom Quilt Artist Business Plan

Sew Distinct is the venture of custom art-quilter Sally Stitch. Sally designs and creates custom quilts as gifts and art for clients seeking that personal touch.

Specialty Clothing Retail Business Plan

Chicano Stylez is a dazzling clothing and accessories store aimed at the growing Chicano/Hispanic population in Eugene, Oregon.

Family Clothing Business Plan

ReHabiliments is a clothing and apparel company that sells merchandise to an international market consisting of individuals of all ages, from all walks of life.

Lingerie Retail Clothing Store Business Plan

Bra~vo Intimates is a new lingerie and intimate apparel retail store.

Lingerie Shop Business Plan

clair de lune is a start-up lingerie retailer, filling an empty niche market in its community.

Maternity Clothing Business Plan

Malone's Maternity is a start-up retail boutique specializing in upscale maternity fashions and accessories, and clothes for newborns and toddlers.

Women's Boutique Shoe Store Business Plan

One, Two, Step! is a start-up, sole-proprietor, home-business selling women's shoes and accessories.

Womens Clothing Boutique Business Plan

De Kliek Style Studio is an upscale women's clothing boutique.

Women's Shoe Store Business Plan

Passion Soles is an upscale shoe store, offering an unmatched and extensive selection of women's shoes.

Vintage Store Business Plan

541 Vintage is a sustainable and environmentally conscious vintage store focused on providing stylish clothing not found in the fast fashion industry.

Do you have a winning idea for the latest and greatest clothing trends? Give your fashion-forward retail dreams the best chance at success with our clothing and accessories sample business plan. This downloadable plan will give you the tools necessary to start a successful store for online or in-person shopping.

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Operations and Standards

How top retail and hospitality brands execute programs and standards on time, in full, at every site

How to create an Effective Merchandising Plan

It wasn’t too long ago that retailers and consumers were facing a plague of out-of-stock merchandise and empty shelves — on account of supply-chain disruptions in global retail. 

Times have certainly changed since then, and so have the challenges. A recent study shows that 50% of retailers in the U.S. are struggling with unsold inventory even after New Year discounting. What’s more, 53% of them believe there could be “dangerous ramifications” if they fail to sell the excess stock. 

The good news is, with proper planning, not only can you ensure that the right, in-demand products are available to customers when they need them, but also avoid ending up with excess inventory. This is where a merchandising plan can help. 

This article will guide you through the process of crafting an effective merchandising plan for your retail store.

Let’s get started.

What is a merchandising plan and why should retailers care?

According to Bob Phipps , CEO of The Retail Doctor, “ Merchandising is one of the most impactful strategies you can implement to influence a brick-and-mortar consumer and cause them to pause and consider.”  

He says when customers shop online, they can’t connect emotionally with the merchandise, so most often, they simply look for the cheapest option. However, when they take the trouble to visit a physical store, your display skills give you an opportunity to tell them, “it’s different here.”

“Then, they aren’t just looking for the cheapest but are open to having an emotional connection with your products that they can touch, hold, and try on,” he adds.

An effective merchandising plan can help you:

• Increase sales by creating a visually appealing shopping experience that encourages customers to buy more
• Manage inventory effectively by highlighting products that are popular and in demand
• Build brand awareness by showcasing products in a way that reflects your brand values and image
• Stay competitive by keeping up with the latest industry trends and customer preferences

Let’s now take a look at the different aspects of creating an effective merchandising plan.

Market research

Before creating a merchandising plan, it’s important to conduct market research to understand customer preferences and buying habits. Analyze your past sales data, market surveys, and industry trends to forecast consumer demand for the current season. 

This will help you figure out how much inventory you may need to order for each product. Remember to take into account the current state of the economy and the sales potential of an item in your calculations.

Product selection

Based on your target customer’s preferences and past sales data, you’ll need to figure out your product mix — product types, price range, and the number of SKUs for each. You should also think about how you’ll arrange your products on your store shelves. 

For example, placing similar products — say beach hats, swimwear, sunglasses, etc. — close to each other is a good way to ring in more sales. Display your most profitable products at eye level or at your endcaps as products placed in these locations generally sell better. 

Visual merchandising

Let’s face it. Shopping can be stressful for some — more so if customers can’t easily find what they are looking for. If your store is dirty, messy, or unorganized, you’re sure to send them packing, never to return. 

Retail consultant and influencer, Ian Scott , says, “If stores are poorly presented, all the hard work from marketing, advertising, sourcing, and construction is wasted because shoppers won’t be inspired at the final point of purchase.”

That’s why you should pay special attention to visual merchandising . Let’s take a look at some of its most crucial elements.

Store layout 

Whether you choose a loop, a grid, or a free-flow layout for your store, your goal should be to maximize the floor space so that customers can easily navigate your store and locate what they need. 

Also, make sure to incorporate design aesthetics and branding elements throughout your store to offer a fully immersive shopping experience to your customers. 

Specialist in retail and consumer behavior, Dr. Esther Pugh , says, “Space is invisible and intangible, yet its sensitive management is absolutely essential for creating atmosphere and ambience.”  

Signage 

In-store signage plays a crucial role in helping customers navigate your store , find the items they need, and perhaps even discover new products in the process. Typically, in-store signage is of three types: informational, navigational, and promotional. 

Most customers tend to have a short attention span, so make sure to incorporate smart visual cues that help them make a purchase decision quickly. 

For example, sometimes retailers use informational signs to convey the features of a product. While these may be useful, they may not be what it takes to sell. Instead, focusing on a product’s benefits or how it solves a particular challenge may be more effective.  

The secret to keeping your customers engaged and inspired is to change up your displays — at least every month. The simplest way to do this is to move around the location of your displays within the store. 

Use your displays to narrate a story or offer creative new ideas for using your products. It’s also a good idea to place your freshest, fanciest, dream-worthy impulse items prominently on display at the front of your store. 

Remember the old saying, “hope is not a management strategy”. So, don’t just hope that your signage and displays are properly put up,  inspect them regularly  and  assign corrective actions  when issues are found.

Pricing and promotion

Your job doesn’t end at getting people in through the door. You should determine your pricing strategy based on your target audience and the competition. It should be competitive, but also take into account your overhead costs and desired profit margins.

Also, plan your in-store advertising such as limited-time sales, special discounts, or seasonal events. Make sure to highlight any deals currently on offer or upcoming sales events to encourage customers to come back in the future.

Implementation and audit

Finally, you must ensure that the execution of your merchandising plan is on point. With a platform like Bindy , implementation of your merchandising plan won’t give you sleepless nights. 

You can put all the resources your team needs — customized checklists, best practice photos, and supporting documents — in one place for easier execution and management. Not only will you be able to track compliance in real-time but also take corrective action and uncover opportunities for staff training. 

Final words

An effective merchandising plan can go a long way in helping you outperform your competitors. In light of the current economic climate and the uncertainty associated with it, it’s even more crucial to get your merchandising plan right. 

Follow the tips mentioned above to craft a killer merchandising strategy and leverage Bindy to deploy and verify your program easily. Contact us today to learn more.

OTHER MERCHANDISING RESOURCES

Refer to the   Merchandising category  for checklists, how-tos and best practices for merchandising.

About the author:

Francesca Nicasio  is retail expert, B2B content strategist, and LinkedIn TopVoice. She writes about trends, tips, and best practices that enable retailers to increase sales and serve customers better. She’s also the author of  Retail Survival of the Fittest , a free eBook to help retailers future-proof their stores.

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Merchandise Business Plans Samples For Students

13 samples of this type

Do you feel the need to examine some previously written Business Plans on Merchandise before you get down to writing an own piece? In this open-access catalog of Merchandise Business Plan examples, you are granted a thrilling opportunity to discover meaningful topics, content structuring techniques, text flow, formatting styles, and other academically acclaimed writing practices. Exploiting them while composing your own Merchandise Business Plan will definitely allow you to complete the piece faster.

Presenting the finest samples isn't the only way our free essays service can help students in their writing efforts – our authors can also create from scratch a fully customized Business Plan on Merchandise that would make a strong foundation for your own academic work.

Free Business Plan About Marketing Plan: Manchester United Football Club

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Business plan on trendy counterculture image.

Successful creation of a trendy counterculture is based on exclusivity of products and unique shopping experience in a small store, which a retailer like Urban Outfitters can offer its specific niche of customers. Their customers are people, who try to differentiate and create their own image with the help of products they can find in the store. Moreover, Urban Outfitters’ target market is represented by women, who enjoy shopping and would like to buy something really special and unique to emphasize their own individual uniqueness.

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635th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment

635-й зенитно-ракетный полк

Military Unit: 86646

Activated 1953 in Stepanshchino, Moscow Oblast - initially as the 1945th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment for Special Use and from 1955 as the 635th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment for Special Use.

1953 to 1984 equipped with 60 S-25 (SA-1) launchers:

• Launch area: 55 15 43N, 38 32 13E (US designation: Moscow SAM site E14-1)
• Support area: 55 16 50N, 38 32 28E
• Guidance area: 55 16 31N, 38 30 38E

1984 converted to the S-300PT (SA-10) with three independent battalions:

• 1st independent Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion (Bessonovo, Moscow Oblast) - 55 09 34N, 38 22 26E
• 2nd independent Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion and HQ (Stepanshchino, Moscow Oblast) - 55 15 31N, 38 32 23E
• 3rd independent Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion (Shcherbovo, Moscow Oblast) - 55 22 32N, 38 43 33E

Disbanded 1.5.98.

Subordination:

• 1st Special Air Defence Corps , 1953 - 1.6.88
• 86th Air Defence Division , 1.6.88 - 1.10.94
• 86th Air Defence Brigade , 1.10.94 - 1.10.95
• 86th Air Defence Division , 1.10.95 - 1.5.98

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Out of the Centre

Savvino-storozhevsky monastery and museum.

Zvenigorod's most famous sight is the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, which was founded in 1398 by the monk Savva from the Troitse-Sergieva Lavra, at the invitation and with the support of Prince Yury Dmitrievich of Zvenigorod. Savva was later canonised as St Sabbas (Savva) of Storozhev. The monastery late flourished under the reign of Tsar Alexis, who chose the monastery as his family church and often went on pilgrimage there and made lots of donations to it. Most of the monastery’s buildings date from this time. The monastery is heavily fortified with thick walls and six towers, the most impressive of which is the Krasny Tower which also serves as the eastern entrance. The monastery was closed in 1918 and only reopened in 1995. In 1998 Patriarch Alexius II took part in a service to return the relics of St Sabbas to the monastery. Today the monastery has the status of a stauropegic monastery, which is second in status to a lavra. In addition to being a working monastery, it also holds the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum.

Belfry and Neighbouring Churches

Located near the main entrance is the monastery's belfry which is perhaps the calling card of the monastery due to its uniqueness. It was built in the 1650s and the St Sergius of Radonezh’s Church was opened on the middle tier in the mid-17th century, although it was originally dedicated to the Trinity. The belfry's 35-tonne Great Bladgovestny Bell fell in 1941 and was only restored and returned in 2003. Attached to the belfry is a large refectory and the Transfiguration Church, both of which were built on the orders of Tsar Alexis in the 1650s.  

To the left of the belfry is another, smaller, refectory which is attached to the Trinity Gate-Church, which was also constructed in the 1650s on the orders of Tsar Alexis who made it his own family church. The church is elaborately decorated with colourful trims and underneath the archway is a beautiful 19th century fresco.

Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is the oldest building in the monastery and among the oldest buildings in the Moscow Region. It was built between 1404 and 1405 during the lifetime of St Sabbas and using the funds of Prince Yury of Zvenigorod. The white-stone cathedral is a standard four-pillar design with a single golden dome. After the death of St Sabbas he was interred in the cathedral and a new altar dedicated to him was added.

Under the reign of Tsar Alexis the cathedral was decorated with frescoes by Stepan Ryazanets, some of which remain today. Tsar Alexis also presented the cathedral with a five-tier iconostasis, the top row of icons have been preserved.

Tsaritsa's Chambers

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is located between the Tsaritsa's Chambers of the left and the Palace of Tsar Alexis on the right. The Tsaritsa's Chambers were built in the mid-17th century for the wife of Tsar Alexey - Tsaritsa Maria Ilinichna Miloskavskaya. The design of the building is influenced by the ancient Russian architectural style. Is prettier than the Tsar's chambers opposite, being red in colour with elaborately decorated window frames and entrance.

At present the Tsaritsa's Chambers houses the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum. Among its displays is an accurate recreation of the interior of a noble lady's chambers including furniture, decorations and a decorated tiled oven, and an exhibition on the history of Zvenigorod and the monastery.

Palace of Tsar Alexis

The Palace of Tsar Alexis was built in the 1650s and is now one of the best surviving examples of non-religious architecture of that era. It was built especially for Tsar Alexis who often visited the monastery on religious pilgrimages. Its most striking feature is its pretty row of nine chimney spouts which resemble towers.

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