Do you want to start a fashion truck and need to write a business plan? If YES, here is a sample fashion truck business plan template & feasibility report.
There are businesses that someone with little schooling and no serious business background and training can start. One of such businesses is a fashion truck business. The major things you need to have in place to be successful in this business is a good truck, easy access to quality clothes, shoes, bags, and other fashion accessories and of course good customer service skill.
The truth is that if your fashion truck is attractive, if you are always positioned in locations with good human and vehicular traffic, and if you have quality fashion accessories from different designers and brands, you may not have to struggle to get people to visit your fashion truck whenever you are in their location. Below is a sample fashion truck business plan template that can help you to write your own with little or no hassles.
A Sample Fashion Truck Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
Fashion truck business is a subset of the boutique industry. Fashion trucks are mobile boutiques that can travel from one location to another, opening their business on wheels and selling to customers along their routes or in a location they choose to park for a period of time before moving on.
An ideal fashion truck has a fitting room and some are even equipped with air conditioning. The clothing boutique industry is made up of small retail stores that retail a limited range of apparel and fashion accessories. Please note that the clothing boutique industry is defined as single-establishment stores only.
Boutiques can be designer based (i.e. only one designer’s collection is sold there), or they may sell a mix of brands that are specifically catered to the local market. Clothing boutiques primarily cater to high-end or niche markets and are reliant on strong macroeconomic conditions.
Since the products sold at clothing boutiques typically come with a high price tag, the industry is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in the macroeconomic climate. For example, an increase in per capita disposable income generally has a positive effect on industry revenue.
The Clothing Boutique industry in the united states of America, just like most businesses in the retailing industry, depends on strong consumer spending to spur the demand for industry products. Over the last half decade, the economy has begun recovering from recessionary declines with both the Consumer Confidence Index and disposable income increasing.
Going forward, as the economy of the United States continues to recover and consumers are expected to loosen their discretionary budgets, the industry is anticipated to thrive. The Clothing Boutique industry is a thriving sector of the economy of the United States and the industry generates over $18 billion annually from more than 74,015 clothing boutiques stores (clothing trucks inclusive).
The industry is responsible for the employment of over 42,647 people. Experts project the industry to grow at -1.8 percent annual rate between 2014 and 2019. The market for the clothing boutique industry is open to all stakeholders because no clothing boutique has a lion share in the industry.
If you choose to start a fashion truck business or a mobile a boutique, your permit needs will vary from state to state and city to city. You will need some permits for the legal operation of your business, such as a business license — though not all cities or counties require one — and you will need to register to collect sales tax.
In a nutshell, the fashion truck business is a profitable business and it is open for any aspiring entrepreneur to come in and establish his or her business. As a matter of fact, with the right locations and network, you will just be fine with this business.
2. Executive Summary
Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. is a United States registered fashion truck store that will operate from Los Angeles – California, but cover major cities all across the state of California. We have been able to purchase fashion trucks that have a fitting room and are equipped with air conditioning and we are set to roll across the cities.
Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. will be involved in the sale of a wide range of authentic women’s clothing, men’s clothing, footwear and fashion accessories et al from different manufacturers (brands) from the United States of America and across the globe. We are set to service a wide range of clientele in and around different counties in Los Angeles.
We are aware that there are several fashion trucks all around Los Angeles – California, 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.
Much more than retailing a wide range of authentic clothing, footwear and fashion accessories et al from different manufacturers (brands) from the United States of America and across the globe, our customer care will be second to none. We know that our customers are the reason why we are in business which is why we will get them satisfied when they visit us.
We have a CRM software that will enable us manage a one on one relationship with our customers no matter how large our customer base may grow to. We will ensure that we get our customers involved when making some business decisions that directly affects them.
We are aware of the trend in the mobile clothing boutiques business and we are not only going to operate a system where our customers would have to come to our fashion truck to make purchase but we will also operate an online fashion store.
Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. is owned by Melvin Moore and his immediate family members. Melvin Moore is a diehard fashionista with over 15 years’ experience in the clothing boutique industry, working for some of the leading brands in the United States.
Although the business is launching out with just one fashion truck store in Los Angeles – California, but there is a plan to acquire more fashion trucks and then employ more drivers in order to cover other locations in key cities in the United States of America.
3. Our Products and Services
Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. is in the industry to make profits and we will ensure we make available a wide range of clothes and fashion accessories from different brands and designers. Our product and service offerings are listed below;
- Women’s clothing
- Men’s clothing
- Footwear (Shoes, Canvas, Sandals and Slippers et al)
- Other fashion accessories (belt, handbags, sun shades, caps, hats and wristwatches et al)
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision is to become the leading fashion truck in California by running a one stop fashion truck that will become a household name.
- Our mission is to start a standard fashion truck that will make available a wide range of clothing and related fashion merchandize at affordable prices to the residents of different counties in Los Angeles and California and other cities in the United States of America.
Our Business Structure
Our intention of going into the fashion truck business is to build a standard business in Los Angeles – California and we will ensure that we put the right structures in place that will support the kind of growth that we have in mind while setting up the business.
We will make sure 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 our stakeholders. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our member of staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of ten years or more.
In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;
- Manager (Owner)
- Fashion Truck Driver
- Cashiers
- Sales Girls and Sales Boys
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Manager (Owner):
- Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
- Creating, communicating, and implementing 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 providing direction for the business
- Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
- Evaluates the success of the organization
Store Manager (Driver):
- Responsible for driving the fashion truck from one location to another
- Responsible for managing the daily activities in the fashion truck
- Ensures that proper records are kept and our racks and warehouse does not run out of products
- Ensure that the facility is in tip top shape and clothing are properly arranged and easy to locate
- Interfaces with third – party suppliers (vendors)
- Control goods distribution and supply inventory
- Supervise the workforce
Accountant/Cashier:
- Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
- Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
- Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
- Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting
- Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
- Responsible for administering payrolls
- Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
- Handles all financial transactions for the organization
- Serves as internal auditor for the organization
Sales Girls and Sales Boys
- Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
- Through interaction with customers on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
- Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to customers when they make enquiries (answer customer queries regarding the store and the merchandise)
- Find out the customer’s needs, recommend, select and help locate the right merchandise
- Make suggestions and encourage purchase of products
- Bag or package purchases and gift wrap merchandise
N.B: Please note that the above business structure was put in place to support our vision for setting up our standard and world – class fashion truck business with trucks in different locations all across California and subsequently in key cities in the United States. But for now, the owner/manager will occupy most of the positions listed above.
6. SWOT Analysis
Our intention of starting with just one fashion truck in Los Angeles – California is to test run the business for a period of 6 to 18 months to know if we will invest more money, expand the business and then purchase more trucks and get them to move around key cities in California and in the United States of America.
We are quite aware that there are several mobile boutiques and even physical clothing boutiques all over California and even in the same location where we intend sourcing for customers, 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 equipped to confront our threats.
Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. employed the services of an expert HR and Business Analyst with bias in new business 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 Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc.;
- Strength:
The business model we will be operating on, varieties of payment options, a wide range of authentic women’s clothing, men’s clothing, footwear and fashion accessories et al from different manufacturers (brands) and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc.
- Weakness:
A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new fashion truck business and we don’t have the financial capacity to compete with franchise stores who are already determining the market direction for the industry in the United States.
- Opportunities:
Per capita disposable income determines consumers’ ability to purchase goods or services. An increase in per capita disposable income enables consumers to spend more on clothing. Furthermore, boutique clothing stores tend to be more expensive; therefore, rising per capita disposable income is crucial to improving industry demand.
Per capita disposable income is expected to rise in the coming year, representing a potential opportunity for the industry. The fact that we are going to be operating our fashion truck store in busy commercial districts in Los Angeles and other cities in California provides us with unlimited opportunities to sell our wares to a large number of people.
- Threat:
The percentage of services conducted online represents usage of the internet by consumers and businesses. An increase in the percentage of services conducted online hurts industry growth, as boutique stores and fashion trucks generally do not have a sufficient online presence to compete with major retailers. The percentage of services conducted online is expected to grow in the coming year, posing a potential threat to the industry.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
If you are conversant with the clothing boutique Industry, you will quite agree that the changes in disposable income, consumer sentiment, and ever – changing trends are major growth drivers for sales in this industry. No doubt, a massive rise in consumer confidence has also contributed in helping the industry experience remarkable growth, but uneven performance in these drivers has led to slightly constrained revenue growth for the industry.
So also, the rising demand for trendy clothes, shoes, and other fashion accessories, as a result of increasing disposable income and consumer sentiment, will result in revenue growth, but profit margins will stagnate as boutiques and clothing stores keep prices low to attract more sales amid growing competition.
As part of marketing strategies, boutiques 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. In this era when the online community is growing rapidly, you would do your business a whole lot of favor if you create your own online presence.
One of the easiest ways to get people to see you as an expert in your line of business is to blog constantly about fashion trucks and mobile boutiques. You may also want to leverage social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and others to publicize your fashion truck.
You can as well go ahead to open a fashion truck store where people can order a wide range of wears from your fashion truck store. You must ensure that your delivery system (shipping) is efficient if you intend to do well with your business.
8. Our Target Market
We are aware that loads of Americans, both male and female alike patronize boutiques. In view of that, we will position our fashion truck to service the residents of the cities and counties and every other location where our fashion truck will travel. We have conducted our market research and feasibility studies and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us.
Our Competitive Advantage
Looking at our business model, we can boast of the fact that our pricing policy is appropriate, we have a diverse range of customers, taking our clothing boutique to the doorstep of our customers and of course, our ability to quickly adopt new technology is part of our competitive advantage.
We are not ignoring the fact that Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. is launching a standard fashion truck store that will indeed become the preferred choice for people who live in and around Los Angeles – California. Our fashion truck store is going to be a one stop mobile clothing boutique with a wide range of authentic women’s clothing, men’s clothing, footwear and fashion accessories.
One thing is certain, it will be difficult for customers to visit our fashion truck and not make a purchase. One of our business goals is to make Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. a one stop fashion truck store. Our excellent customer service culture, online store, various payment options well – branded, easy to spot and highly secured fashion truck will serve as a competitive advantage for us.
Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry, meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. is in business to retail a wide range of authentic clothing, footwear and fashion accessories to the residents of Los Angeles – California and other cities in the United States via our mobile clothing boutique. In essence, our source of income will be the retailing of;
- Women’s clothing
- Men’s clothing
- Footwear (Shoes, Canvas, Sandals and Slippers et al)
- Other fashion accessories (belt, handbags, sun shades, caps, hats and wristwatches et al)
10. Sales Forecast
One thing is certain when it comes to fashion truck store, if your truck is well stocked and you know the locations to position your truck per time, you will always attract customers cum sales and that will sure translate to increase in revenue generation for the business.
We are well positioned to take on the available market in Los Angeles – California and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income/profits from the first six months of operation and grow the business and our clientele base.
We have been able to examine the clothing boutique store industry, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. Below are the sales projections for Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc., it is based on the location of our business and other factors as it relates to fashion truck store startups in the United States;
- First Fiscal Year (FY1): $200,000
- Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $350,000
- Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $550,000
N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same business model, products and customer care services as we do within same location. 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 locations to travel through, we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to be able to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice in Los Angeles – California. We have 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 fashion truck stores 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 Los Angeles – California.
In summary, Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;
- Open our fashion truck store in a grand style with a party for all.
- Introduce our fashion truck store by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to organizations, religious centers, actors, celebrities, households and key stake holders in and around Los Angeles – California
- Ensure that we have a wide range of clothes and fashion accessories and other merchandize in our store at all times.
- Make use of attractive hand bills to create awareness and also to give direction to our fashion truck will pass through and be positioned per time.
- Create a loyalty plan that will enable us reward our regular customers
- Engage on roadshows within our neighborhood to create awareness for our fashion truck store.
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
Despite the fact that our fashion truck store is well branded, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for the business.
Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. has a long – term plan of acquiring more fashion trucks and positioning them in various locations all around the United States which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Los Angeles before venturing out.
Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc.;
- Place adverts on community based newspapers, radio and TV stations.
- Encourage the use of word of mouth publicity from our loyal customers
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Google+ and other platforms to promote our business.
- Ensure that we position our banners and billboards in strategic positions all around Los Angeles – California
- Have in-store ads to promote the fact that people can get a discount if they share a photo of our fashion trucks on Instagram and mention our brand.
- On certain days of the week (ideally in areas where we have low foot traffic), let people know they can get a reward (like a free fashion accessories) if they post an Instagram photo of our products and mention our brand’s hashtag(s).
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in and around our neighborhood
- Advertise Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. business in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site
- Brand all our fashion trucks and vans and ensure that all our staff wear our branded shirt or cap at regular intervals.
12. Our Pricing Strategy
We know we don’t have the capacity to compete with bigger fashion trucks, but we will ensure that the prices of all the products that are available in our fashion trucks are competitive with what is obtainable amongst fashion truck stores within our level.
- Payment Options
The payment policy adopted by Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.
Here are the payment options that Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. will make available to her clients;
- Payment via bank transfer
- Payment with cash
- Payment via credit cards
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via check
- Payment via mobile money transfer
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our clients make payment for our wares without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials.
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
From our market survey and feasibility studies, we have been able to come up with a detailed budget for establishing a standard and one stop fashion truck store and here are the key areas where we will spend our startup capital;
- The total fee for registering the business in the United States of America – $750.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $3,300.
- Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. 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.
- The cost for hiring business consultant – $2,500.
- Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $22,400.
- The cost for the purchase of the first set of fashion trucks: $55,000
- The cost for facility 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, fueling, maintenance and servicing of the truck, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
- The cost for start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of authentic women’s clothing, men’s clothing, children’s clothing, footwear and fashion accessories) – $50,000
- The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
- The cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs – $5,000
- 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 – $5,000
- Miscellaneous – $5,000
We would need an estimate of $200,000 to successfully set up a standard and one stop fashion truck store in Los Angeles – California.
Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc.
Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. is a private business that is owned and financed by Melvin Moore. He has decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital to 3 major sources.
- Generate part of the startup 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 $100,000 (Personal savings $60,000 and soft loan from family members $40,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $100,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents 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
Part of the plans we have in place to sustain Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. is to ensure that we continue to make available a wide range of authentic women’s clothing, men’s clothing, footwear and fashion accessories, deliver quality services, improvise on how to do things faster and cheaper.
From our findings, another factor that kills new business such as ours is financial leakages. In order to plug financial leakages, the management of Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. will adopt the use of payment machine and accounting software to run the business.
We are quite aware that our customers are key components to the growth and survival of our business hence we are going to continuously engage them to give us ideas on how to serve them better and the products they want to see in our store. We will not waste time in adopting new technology, best practices and diversifying our services; expand our product and service offerings once the need arises.
Melvin Moore® Fashion Truck, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are 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.
We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.
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
- Purchasing a fashion truck and remodeling the fashion truck store: 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
- Printing of Packaging and 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 shop: Completed
- Establishing business relationship with fashion designers and wholesalers – suppliers of authentic women’s clothing, men’s clothing, footwear and fashion accessories: In Progress