BUSINESS PLAN

PREPARED BY
MD FAIZAN
Executive Summary 
Opportunity
Problem
New Look intends to lever up its position as an established
retail men’s clothing business now to become a
manufacturer of an upscale clothing line targeted at males
between the ages of 20 and 40. New Look not only develops
the clothing line, but supports it with advertising and
promotion campaigns. The company plans to strengthen its
partnership with retailers by developing brand awareness.
New Look intends to market its line as an alternative to
existing clothing lines, and differentiate itself by marketing
strategies, exclusiveness, and high brand awareness.
The key message associated with the New Look line is classy,
upscale, versatile, and expensive clothing. The
company’s promotional plan is diverse and includes a
range of marketing communications. In the future, the
company hopes to develop lines of accessories for
men, women, and children. These accessories will
include cologne/perfume, jewelry, eyewear, watches,
etc.
Solution
New Look not only develops the clothing line, but supports it
with advertising and promotion campaigns. The company
plans to strengthen its partnership with retailers by
developing brand awareness
Market
Our customers are males  between the ages of 20 and 40 with
a disposable household income. Within this group, there are
no color barriers, and customers have diverse backgrounds.
The New Look customer is a versatile man who can fit into
any environment and is willing to pay a high price for
quality clothingCompetition
Companies are restructuring to create leaner organizations
and adopt new technologies. Consolidation has been
prevalent in this industry in the past few years, as larger
companies gain leverage in market position and cost cutting.
In the apparel industry, companies can operate as retailers
or manufacturers (wholesalers) or both. For instance, Gap,
Inc., a vertical retailer, manufactures and markets their own
apparel and accessories. A company like VG Corporation is
a manufacturer and sells solely to retail channels. A
company like Tommy Hilfiger does both, selling its products
to both retailers and consumers (through retail outlets).
Why Us?
We are an alternative to existing clothing lines. We make
our own lines which offers exclusivity, your coworkers or
other fashion forward friends won’t be wearing the same
thing. We are also highly aware of trends and brands,  you
will be the envy of all your friends because you found us
first.
Expectations
Forecast
The company’s goal is to expand from retail into online, with
its own branding, to be sold by the end of the period in other
retail stores as well as online.
Financial Highlights by Year

.
Financing Needed
We are looking to expand our design line so our owner will
put in $65,000. Further we are looking for a $115,000
business loan. Both will be paid back by our second year
with our already established customer base and
relationships
Opportunity
Problem and Solution
Problem Worth Solving
The New Look strategy is to expand and grow our existing
retail clothing business by aggressively developing and
marketing a full range collection of its own brand. It intends
to market its line as an alternative to existing clothing lines
and differentiate itself through its marketing strategies,
exclusiveness, and brand awareness. New Look intends to
build on its core portfolio of products and overcome any
obstacles by using the company’s expertise in the clothing
industry.
The company’s goal over the long term is to make an
overwhelming impact on the fashion industry and create a
large consumer demand for the product. The company’s
goal in the next 2-5 years is to venture into women’s and
children’s clothing. It plans to also license a line of cologne
and perfume, bedding, underwear, small leather goods,
jewelry, and eyewear. According to Standard & Poor’s
(S&P’s), women’s apparel accounted for 52% of total
apparel sales in 2015.
Nashville Connection
The company has strategic alliances with Music Records and
the Entertainment Group. These alliances are valuable to
New Look because they provide the needed exposure for its
line and the association of its products with
celebrities. Celebrities are valuable assets because they
receive free clothing for interviews, concerts, and music
videos.
Our Solution
New Look clothing line is classy, upscale, versatile, and
expensive clothing. Our current customers are males
between the ages of 20 and 40. New Look not only develops
the clothing line, but supports it with advertising and
promotion campaigns. Our customers are the envy of their
fashion forward friends. Our prices are in the mid range to
upper level in the market, there are more expensive clothes
on the market. Our clothes are top notch. This allows our
customers to believe they are incredibly smart fashion
forward shoppers. 
Target Market
Market Size & Segments
[note: information here is for illustration purposes only, to
serve as a sample business plan. It is not accurate and should
not be reused]
The company plans to target males between the ages of 20
and 40 with a combined household income of more than
$40,000. Within this group, there are no color barriers, and
customers have diverse backgrounds. The New Look
customer is a versatile man who can fit into any environment
and is willing to pay a high price for quality clothing.
The company’s target group is seen as having enough
disposable income to spend on high priced quality clothing. 
From 2000 to 2007, for example, disposable personal income
grew at a healthy average annual of 7.0%. Apparel and
footwear expenditures increased at a strong .2% annual rate
during the same period. After 2008, however, growth in
personal income slowed somewhat and so did apparel
expenditures. From 2008 to 2016 disposable personal income
rose at an average annual rate of 4.7%, while apparel and
footwear expenditures grew 4.5% per year.
According to S&P’s, in the men’s apparel segment, much of
the growth in spending is being driven by consumers with
annual household incomes of more than $60,000. Spending
in this segment increased by approximately 13% in 2010.
Apparel purchases by men from households with incomes
between $40,000 and $59,999 grew by 7% in 2010. Men’s
apparel sales at department stores and off-price retailers
grew at double-digit rates in 2010.
As growth slows in the mature U.S. apparel and footwear
markets, companies are increasingly looking overseas for
growth opportunities.  American brands translate well
internationally, and many expanding economies overseas are
interested in buying U.S. products. International business
has therefore become a focus of some U.S. companies.
Many apparel and footwear manufacturers see Europe, with
a population of 350 million, as an attractive market. Tommy
Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren recently opened flagship
stores in London in an effort to build up their brands in
Europe. Expansion in Asia, however, has been sidelined by
economic troubles. In other parts of the world, footwear
company Payless ShoeSource Inc., has been performing well
in Canada and South America.
Distribution
New Look plans to use a direct sales force, retailers, and the
Internet to reach its markets. These channels are most
appropriate because of time to market, reduced capital
requirements, and fast access to established distribution
channels. The manufacture of denim is expected to take
place in Mexico. Sweaters will be manufactured locally at
first, and will later take place in Italy and Hong Kong. Upon
arrival, the clothing will be placed in a warehouse. Initially,
the company plans to use a consolidated warehouse before
acquiring a warehouse of its own.
As companies in these mature industries continually look for
ways to compete effectively, U.S. apparel and footwear
manufacturers have increasingly moved their production
facilities to lower-cost locations outside of the United States.
Although some manufacturers have moved operations
completely offshore, others are retaining a few production
facilities in the United States to manufacture products
requiring a quick turnaround time.
While manufacturing in Asia remains substantial, the
growth of apparel manufacturing in Mexico and the
Caribbean has been significant due to the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the lowering of tariffs.
Apparel assembled in Mexico and the Caribbean nations
from fabric formed and cut in the United States accounted
for 27% of all apparel imports in 1998, up from 9% in 1990.
With an improved economic outlook, Asian currencies have
strengthened against the U.S. dollar over the past year. For
example, the Thai bhat and Korean won appreciated 13%
and 20%, respectively, from June 2013 to June 2014. While
this has benefited U.S. exports somewhat, it has put pricing
pressures on imported Asian goods. For the vast amount of
goods manufactured in China, however, no such benefit is
currently expected, as this country’s currency has remained
fixed in value versus the U.S. dollar.
Trends
[note: information here is for illustration purposes only, to
serve as a sample business plan. It is not accurate and should
not be reused]
Leaner inventories, but continued pricing pressures
After several years of inventory build-ups, the apparel
industry’s inventory-to-sales ratio declined steeply in 2008,
and through 2010 it remained near its lowest levels in 16
years. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the
inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.49 as of May 2016,
significantly below the 1.74 of a year earlier.
After several difficult years and many bankruptcies in the
early 2010s, the apparel industry is relatively healthier
overall, and its lower inventory levels are a sign of that.
Despite the lean inventories, however, prices of women’s
apparel declined in the first 6 months of 2015, compared
with year-earlier levels, after rising slightly in 1998. S&P’s
still expects some degree of apparel pricing pressure to
persist in the near future. Intensifying competition doesn’t
bode well for apparel manufacturers’ ability to raise prices.
Companies are continually searching around the globe for
cheaper sourcing and are looking for ways to cut operating
costs. Consumers are also very value conscious-they want
quality merchandise at the lowest possible price. This trend
is evident in the successful growth of off-price retail stores.
Modest growth in ’16
As with most mature industries, the apparel and footwear
industries are experiencing intense competition and pricing
pressures, while facing the need for constant product
innovation. However, these industries are enjoying a great
economic cycle, with low interest rates, low unemployment,
strong consumer confidence, and a low savings rate.
Consumers are continuing to spend at a healthy clip. As a
result, S&Ps expects sales for the apparel industry to rise
about 4% in 2016. We believe that maker’s with strong
brand recognition and those that are closely in tune with
consumers’ needs will enjoy average growth. The footwear
industry faces a tougher environment, however, considering
the still-high inventory levels and low-margin price points. 
Apparel outlook still positive
Although S&P’s doesn’t expect the economy and consumer
spending to sustain growth forever, we expect the overall
apparel industry to continue to post-modest gains through
2016. Among apparel makers, we expect the best
performances to come from companies with strong brand
recognition, such as Tommy Hilfiger Inc., Gap, Abercrombie
& Fitch, and Jones Apparel Group Inc. As more and more
companies have adopted casual attire in the workplace, the
trend toward casual dressing continues. This has sustained
the need for men and women to establish new wardrobes or
alter their existing ones. S&P’s believes this has had more of
an effect in the men’s segment, as evidenced by the higher
growth rate in sales of that segment in the past year.
Eventually, the casual trend will slow to a level of demand
that satisfies basic replenishment needs, but for now we
expect heightened consumer confidence to encourage
spending beyond basic needs. Current career offerings have
less structured looks, and consumers have favorably
received these.
S&P’s expects the branded apparel companies that sell to
the department store channel of distribution to grow
somewhat faster than the overall industry. In addition to
favorable demographic trends, this segment is benefiting
from its strength in design and marketing, which has led to a
high consumer awareness of and demand for branded
apparel. Nonetheless, because there’s little pent-up demand
for apparel, the need for freshness is still a vital part of
keeping customers interested.
In response to a challenging and saturated domestic market
with slower growth prospects, S&P’s expects that companies
with strong brands will increasingly turn to international
markets for growth. Companies are hoping that the
international consumer’s interest in the U.S. lifestyle will
translate into sales of brands that represent that lifestyle.
Many companies as a significant growth area see Europe,
and Asia appears to be recovering from the economic
turmoil experienced in the past couple of years.
Apparel companies have been quick to recognize the
importance of the youth market and have started to
establish product lines to target this group. Generation Y–
those individuals between four and 21 years of age–is a large
demographic group with considerable spending power. This
group is also significant in setting styles and trends that
influence the styles for older consumers.
The current environment of abundant supply, consolidation,
and intense competition has forced companies to maximize
profits, not only for growth but for survival as well.
Companies are constantly searching for ways to maximize
efficiencies, cut costs, and increase sales. S&P’s believes this
improved condition of apparel companies has positioned the
successful ones for a greater degree of growth and should
serve to develop a healthier industry.
Buy now, wear now
In the past, consumers purchased apparel and footwear for
the upcoming season when retail stores decided it was best to
carry the merchandise, usually months in advance. Times
are changing, however, consumers are buying apparel and
footwear closer to or during the season. The industry has
had to adjust to this trend, or risk losing sales and carrying
unwanted inventory. Companies have had to shorten design,
development, production, and distribution cycles.
In order to stay in tune with consumer needs and trends and
to aid in product planning, companies have established
internal teams or have hired firms to gather feedback from
relevant consumer groups. For example, Tommy Hilfiger
recently established what it calls Quick Response
Capsules (QRC), teams of designers and production staff to
work in collaboration with retail stores to bring out fresh,
new fashions within a month. When Nike recently
reorganized its apparel division, it created a strategic
response division to monitor consumer trends. Other
companies are doing this as well.
S&P’s believes that the abbreviated production cycles
brought about by this "buy now, wear now" phenomenon
has caused companies to re-evaluate their manufacturing
processes. With more and more production taking place
offshore, the turnaround time for garments can be lengthy.
Shortened cycles call for production sites in closer proximity
to distribution points. 
At the moment, a few apparel companies are using domestic
plants to fulfill small orders for fresh products. Although
indications now are that most merchandise will continue to
be sources offshore, some seasonal/special items may need to
be produced domestically. If such demand increases, there
may be some benefit to the rapidly shrinking domestic
production industry. This buy now, wear now trend is a
manifestation of the power that consumers now have in the
mature apparel and footwear industries. Consumers dictate
price, location, styles, and time of purchase more, something
we don’t see changing anytime soon.
What’s in a name?
In a market where consumers are barraged by advertising
and marketing campaigns delivering an onslaught of lifestyle
and fashion messages, a brand name is a powerful weapon.
Brands have become an increasingly significant factor in
apparel and footwear. Many consumers have less time to
shop an are spending their disposable income more
carefully. Established brand names, with their quality
image, make the shopping experience easier and faster for
many consumers. For manufacturers, brands build
consumer loyalty, which translates into repeat business.
Many established brand manufacturers, such as Tommy
Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren Corp., Jones Apparel, Liz
Claiborne Inc., and Nautica Enterprises Inc., are leveraging
their existing brand names by adding various accessory
lines, such as sunglasses, watches, fragrances, wallets, and
footwear. Jones Apparel’s recent acquisition of shoe retailer
Nine West Group Inc. was a strategic move aimed at
broadening the company’s product lines and creating
opportunities to cross-sell products between the two brands.
However, most companies choose to extend their product
lines through licensing. Most recently, Tommy Hilfiger
announced new licensing deals to market jewelry, hosiery
and, most notably, watches through Movado.
A company with an impressive brand name must exercise
caution when entering into licensing agreements. If a new
product line doesn’t live up to the quality standards that
consumers have come to expect from the brand name, the
brand’s image can be tarnished. It remains to be seen how
consumers will react to this onslaught of new brand name
product introductions. To date consumers have embraced
the extended product lines.
Competition
The Apparel Industry
[note: information here is for illustration purposes only, to
serve as a sample business plan. It is not accurate and should
not be reused]
The U.S. apparel industry is large, mature, and highly
fragmented. Apparel sold in the United States is produced
both domestically and in foreign locations. According to
estimates from the American Apparel Manufacturers
Association (AAMA), an industry trade group based in
Arlington, Virginia, the dollar value of domestic apparel
production was $39 billion at the wholesale level in 2014
(latest available), which was less than the $46 billion (U.S.
wholesale value) of goods imported into the United States. In
addition, $15 billion of goods were produced in both the
United States and other countries.
The U.S. apparel market can be divided into two tiers:
national brands and other apparel. National brands are
produced by approximately 20 sizable companies and
currently account for some 30% of all U.S. wholesale
apparel sales. The second tier, accounting for 70% of all
apparel distributed, comprises small brands and store (or
private-label) goods.
Apparel is sold at a variety of retail outlets. Based on data
from NPD Group, discount stores, off-price retailers, and
factory outlets accounted for 30% of 2015 apparel sales,
while specialty stores and department stores accounted for
22% and 18%, respectively. Another 17% were sold at
major chains, and direct mail/catalogs accounted for 6%.
The remaining 7% of apparel sales occurred through other
means of distribution.
 
Current Alternatives
Although the apparel industry is mature and slow growing,
it exists in a dynamic and competitive environment. In order
to improve profitability, many companies are restructuring
to create leaner organizations and adopt new technologies.
Consolidation has been prevalent in this industry in the past
few years, as larger companies gain leverage in market
position and cost cutting. In the apparel industry, companies
can operate as retailers or manufacturers (wholesalers) or
both. For instance, Gap, Inc., a vertical retailer,
manufactures and markets their own apparel and
accessories. A company like VG Corporation is a
manufacturer and sells solely to retail channels. A company
like Tommy Hilfiger does both, selling its products to both
retailers and consumers (through retail outlets).
Our Advantages
In a market where consumers are barraged by advertising
and marketing campaigns delivering an onslaught of lifestyle
and fashion messages, a brand name is a powerful weapon. 
Brands have become an increasingly significant factor in
apparel and footwear. Many consumers have less time to
shop an are spending their disposable income more
carefully. Established brand names, with their quality
image, make the shopping experience easier and faster for
many consumers. For manufacturers, brands build
consumer loyalty, which translates into repeat business. 
The company’s name, New Look, is a competitive advantage
in itself. The name is not attached to any particular group of
customers and it allows entry into different segments of the
industry. Another competitive advantage is the company’s
marketing strategy. Through the use of celebrities,
advertising, promotion, and giveaways, the company is able
to develop its presence in the market. Although the company
uses retailers to sell its line, most of the marketing and
advertising is done in-house.
Keys to Success
Keys to succeses
“
It’s about fashion, and style. We live or die with the look. 
Distribution will be critical. Although we start online, to
grow we need to get the resonance of appearing in retail. 
 Department stores 
 Apparel specialty stores 
 Internet store