Sakura, markeitng plan

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Mission statement ................................................................................................... 2 Market Analysis & Target consumers ................................................................. 3 Demographic data Psychographic data Geographic data Competitive Analysis ............................................................................................ 18 SWOT Analysis Marketing Strategy Plan ....................................................................................... 20 Promotional Plan .................................................................................................. 21 GANTT Chart and Tactical Plan ....................................................................... 23 Pricing Plan ............................................................................................................ 26 Production Plan and Distribution ...................................................................... 27 Online and Social Media Platform ..................................................................... 28 Future Business Objective & Goals .................................................................. 30 Appendices ............................................................................................................ 31 Sources...................................................................................................................... 32 Company Logo ..................................................................................................... 33

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Mission Statement SAKURA is Japanese-based clothing brands aimed to offer exclusive and unique clothing to various consumers. Our brand brings new experiences to consumers who want to wear high-quality, casual daily wear. Our goal is to grow as a global Japanese fashion brand through Asia, Europe and North and South America.

Business Overview SAKURA has been creating unique clothing by using recycled Kimono fabrics and organic cotton for both male and female customers. We are going to involve in worldwide fashion market to expand our brand and partner with foreign retailers. Also, we support Japanese fashion industry including manufacturers and producers to encourage their business.

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Market Analysis A target consumer of SAKURA is both male and female, and wide age range from 25-45 because we want various customers to wear and enjoy our clothing. Not only we do target to Japanese customers, but we also focus on foreigners who want to wear casual daily wear which is the combination of Japanese tradition and modern components of clothing.

Demographic Analysis Founded in Japan, our headquarter and first branch started in Japan’s capital, Tokyo. Based on that starting point, we will expand our branches in big cities in Japan. Briefly we will focus on Japan, as a nation to figure out demographic data.

Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government This graph shows the population data of Tokyo from 1920’s to 2013. As it shown, the population had grown from 1950’s until 1970’s. After 1970’s, the population had been stable, but it had slightly increased since 2013. As of October 1, 2012, the population of Tokyo is estimated to be 13.216 million, or about 10% of Japan’s total population, and it has the largest population among all the 47 prefectures. At 2,189 square kilometers, the area of Tokyo is 0.6% of the total area of Japan. With a population density of 6,038 persons per square kilometer, Tokyo is the most densely populated prefecture in Japan. Tokyo has 6.699 million households, with an average 1.97 persons per household. The number of foreign residents is 390,000 as of October 1, 2012.1

1 "TOKYO'S HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, AND POPULATION." Population of Tokyo. Web. 28 May 2015. http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/ABOUT/HISTORY/history03.htm

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Source: Demographics of Japan This map shows the population density of Japan that the locations with dark colors are more condensed population. Japan's population density is 336 persons per square kilometer according to the United Nations World Populations Prospects Report as of July 2005.2 Since about the year 2000, after a decade of declining land prices, residents have been moving back into central city areas (especially Tokyo's 23 wards), as evidenced by 2005 census figures. Despite the large amount of forested land in Japan, parks in cities are smaller and scarcer than in major West European or North American cities, which average 10 times the amount of parkland per inhabitant.

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2 "Demographics of Japan." Wsfcs.k12.nc.us. Web. 28 May 2015. http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01001395/Centricity/ModuleInstance/17064/Demographics_of_Japan.pdf 3 IBID

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Source: Forbes This graph shows the Japanese births and total fertility rate from 1970 to 2013. Both births and total fertility rate have been decreasing until 2005. Still the birth rate has decreased since 2005, which is considered the number of youth is becoming less. However, the fertility rate has been decreasing in previous decades. In 1993, the birth rate was estimated at 10.3 per 1,000 population, and the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime has been fewer than two since the late 1970s. Family planning was nearly universal, with condoms and legal abortions the main forms of birth control. A number of factors contributed to the trend toward small families: high education, devotion to raising healthy children, late marriage, increased participation of women in the labor force, small living spaces, education about the problems of overpopulation, and the high costs of child education.4

4 IBID 5


Source: metro.tokyo.jp In 2010, the population aged 15 years and older was 11.492 million people, of whom 6.013 million were employed and 375,000 fully unemployed within a total labor force population of 6.387 million persons. According to the National Census of 2010, when employed persons were viewed by the four employment groups, 23,000 persons (0.4%) were employed in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; 1.064 million (17.7%) in manufacturing and transportation-related occupations; 1.575 million (26.2%) in sales and services; and 2.542 million (42.3%) in clerical, technical, and management occupations.5

5 "TOKYO'S HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, AND POPULATION." Population of Tokyo. Web. 28 May 2015. http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/ABOUT/HISTORY/history03.htm

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Source: metro.tokyo.jp The graph shows people work in three industrial groups. According to the National Census of 2010, when employed people were viewed by the three industrial groups, 22,000 persons (0.4%) were employed in the primary industry of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; 0.912 million (15.2%) in the secondary industry of mining, construction, and manufacturing; and 4.256 million (70.8%) in the tertiary industry of commerce, transportation, communication, and services.

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Age Structure (2014 est.)

Ratio

0-14 years:

13.2% (male 8,681,728/female 8,132,809)

15-24 years:

9.7% (male 6,429,429/female 5,890,991)

25-54 years:

38.1% (male 23,953,643/female 24,449,655)

55-64 years:

13.2% (male 8,413,872/female 8,400,953)

65 years and over:

25.8% (male 14,218,655/female 18,531,653)

Source: Index Mundi This table shows the age structure and its ratio. The largest age range is between 25 – 54 years old which is 38.1% of whole population. Secondarily the largest population group is people who are over 65 years old, and the ratio is 25.8%. The ratio of youth is considered less.

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IBID

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Median Age (2014 est.) Total:

46.1 years

Male:

44.8 years

Female:

47.5 years

Source: Index Mundi The median age in Japan is 46.1 years old. Compared to the age structure table, the number of people, age between 25 – 54 years is the most which means the median age is getting older. The increasing proportion of elderly people also had a major impact on government spending. Millions of dollars are saved every year on education, health care, and welfare for children. As recently as the early-1970s, social expenditures amounted to only about 6% of Japan's national income. In 1992 that portion of the national budget was 18%, and it was expected that by 2025, 27% of national income would be spent on social welfare.7

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"Demographics of Japan." Wsfcs.k12.nc.us. Web. 4 June 2015. http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01001395/Centricity/ModuleInstance/17064/Demographics_of_Japan.pdf

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Psychographic Analysis Japanese people enjoy a high standard of living, and nearly 90% of the population consider themselves part of the middle class. Many studies on happiness and satisfaction with life tend to prove that Japanese people average relatively low levels of life satisfaction and happiness when compared to most of the highly developed world. The levels have remained consistent if not declined slightly over the last half century.8 Language

Japanese

Ethnic Group

Japanese

Source: Demographics of Japan The ethnic group is 98.5% Japanese, and 1.5% others.9 More than 2.5 million immigrants are part of this ethnic group.10 Market Segmentation in Japan “Dankai Generation” –“Dankai” generation has a big population and is very competitive. They are so smart-aleck since the former generation has small population because of World War II. On the other hand, they tend to stick on the word "Equality". The conflict of adults against Japan-U.S. Security Treaty when they were early adolescence, influenced the education of post war. The “Dankai” generation still are strongly against the war.11 “Dankai Junior” – The children generations of “Dankai” were very competitive in the education system from when they were children, due to the large population. In Japan, a lot of companies accept only freshmen or job seekers who have the same industry's background. Many “Dankai Junior” are worried about unemployment, land jobs that are less competitive. This generation is industrious and considering for others.

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Daily Life and Social Customs Contemporary Japanese society is decidedly urban. Not only do the vast majority of Japanese live in urban settings, but urban culture is transmitted throughout the country by a mass media largely concentrated in Tokyo. Young urban Japanese in particular have become known for their conspicuous consumption and their penchant for trends and fads that quickly go in and out of fashion.13 IBID IBID 10 IBID 11 "Market Segmentation in Japan." - Japan Business Resources. Web. 4 June 2015. http://www.allon.info/japan-market-segmentation.html 12 IBID 13 "Cultural Institutions." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 4 June 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/300531/Japan/23312/Cultural-institutions 8 9

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Day in the life Weekdays – She walks up at 6:50 a.m., and she brushes her teeth and wash her face. She cooks breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, she likes eating salad, bread and soup, and drink coffee after eating breakfast at home. For the lunch, she usually cooks and brings boxed lunch. She really likes healthy food and have a balanced mead, so she prepares several vegetable and meat dishes with mixed brown and white rice for her lunch box. Around 7:45 a.m., she starts to get ready for work. She wears formal and casual mixed clothes to workplace, and she likes to wear LIMI Feu, Paul Smith and Barney’s New York. She takes 25 minutes for makeup. She uses Shu Uemura for skin-base makeup and MAC for makeup. At 8:30 a.m., she leaves her house, and heads to her workplace. It takes 20 minutes to her workplace, and she starts work at 9:00 a.m. At 12:00 p.m., she has lunch break, and eats lunch. She sometimes goes to Starbucks to get a coffee. From 1:00 p.m., she starts work until 6:00 p.m. She goes to the local supermarket to buy groceries. Before 7:00 p.m., she changes her clothes to UNIQLO’s room wear, and prepares for dinner. She cooks rice, soup and one vegetable and meat mixed side dish, like stir fried dish. After the dinner, she washes dishes and cleans sink quickly, and have relaxed time. Around 9:30 p.m., she takes a bath. She uses Ahalo Butter for shampoo and conditioner, and Dove for body soap. She also uses LUSH’s facial soap. She likes using LUSH’s bath bombs for relaxing bath time. She does skincare after taking a bath, and uses Marks & Web for her skin care which she likes about it is natural and organic cosmetic. Before she goes to bed, she uses aroma oil diffuser to relax, and she watches news on TV. She sleeps at 11:40p.m.

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Weekends – She usually wakes up at 8:00 a.m. on weekend. She has breakfast around 8:30 a.m. She cooks and eats same as daily breakfast. She drinks coffee after that. At 9:15 a.m., she starts to clean up, and she uses a vacuum cleaner, Toshiba TORNEO mini. After cleaning all rooms, she usually goes to the local supermarket for grssary shopping in the morning. She cooks and has lunch around noon. She usually does online shopping or goes out for shopping. When she goes out, she wears casual wears and does make up. She does make up as same as weekdays. She likes window-shopping, so she usually spends 5 hours. She goes to local boutiques, fast-fashion stores (like ZARA, and UNIQLO) and department stores for cosmetic, clothing and accessories. She also like spending time at local cafe, and she spends a lot of time for her hobby. She likes drinking coffee and eating small piece of cake, scone, or pie. Another thing that she likes is to go to the nail salon and beauty shop. Also, she spends time with her friends on weekend. Around 6:00, she comes back home, and cook for dinner, if she is not with her friends. She starts to eat around 7:00 p.m., and then watches TV or does online shopping. She usually checks Barney’s New York which offers high-end brand products. She drinks organic herb tea at the same time. Also, she always checks various fashion websites, so that she can find latest fashion trends. She sometimes meets up with her friends, and they have brunch at café restaurants in Tokyo. They spend about 2 hours, and they go to shopping in Tokyo. They usually go to local boutiques, shopping mall or department stores, and check the new trend and new items. She sometimes buys accessories or clothing there. Around 6:30 p.m., they go to the restaurant and eat dinner. Depending on the day, they go to Italian, French, Japanese, or Ethnic restaurants. Also, they always try new restaurants and new places. Around 10:00, they go back to home. After she arrives home, she takes a bath. She always has relaxing time the bath on weekends. She uses LUSH Ocean Salt and LUSH Massage Barfor massaging. At 11:40p.m., she goes to bed and sleeps.

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Daily life Activity Cuisine

Beverage

Car

White Rice

Tea (mainly green tea)

Honda

Miso (soup)

Pop/soda

Toyota

Fish including raw fish

Vegetable and fruit juice

Nissan

Japanese-styled food

Mazda

Sport

Reading

Baseball

Soccer

Sumo

Outdoor activity

TV 

Comedy show

fashion magazines)

Talk show

Novels

Music show

Comic

book 

Magazines

(especially

Japanese animation

(Japanese-anime) 

Newspaper

Shop

Pop Culture (Modern culture)

Department store

“Fashion building” (the

Free time activity

(Japanese 

Anime

Karaoke

animation)

Shopping

Lessons

building has only apparel

Costume player

stores)

Gaming

something

Specialty store

Fashion

interests)

Supermarket

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(learning new

or

Spending time to interests


Geographic Analysis

Source: travel.nationalgeographic.com The Japanese islands are the upper pats of vast mountains that belong to what is sometimes called the Circum-Pacific Ring of Fire, which stretches from Southeast Asia to the Aleutian Islands. Mountains cover over 75% of the land's surface. Landforms are steep and rugged, indicating that, Japan is still a young area geologically. Through the central part of Honshu, running in a north– south direction, are the two principal mountain ranges: the Hida (or Japan Alps) and the Akaishi mountains. The highest is the beautiful Mt. Fuji (Fuji-san), at 3,776 m (12,388 ft). Japan has 265 volcanoes (including the dormant Mt. Fuji). Earthquakes occur continually, with an average of 1,500 minor shocks per year.14 The plains of Japan are few and small, and cover only about 29% of the total land area. Most plains are located along the seacoast and are composed of alluvial lowlands, diluvia uplands, and low hills. The largest is the Kanto Plain (Tokyo Bay region), about 6,500 sq km (2,500 sq mi). Others include the Kinai Plain (Osaka-Kyoto), Nobi (Nagoya), Echigo (north-central Honshu), and Sendai (northeastern Honshu). There are four small plains in Hokkaido. The population is heavily concentrated in these limited flat areas.15 Rivers tend to be short and swift. The longest is the Shinano (367 km/228 mi) in north-central Honshu, flowing into the Sea of Japan / East Sea. The largest lake is Lake Biwa, near Kyoto, with an area of 672 sq km (259 sq mi). Lake Kussharo, in the Akan National Park of Hokkaido, is considered the clearest lake in the world, having a transparency of 41 m (135 ft). Good harbors are limited because in most areas the land rises steeply out of the sea. Yokohama, Nagoya, and Kobe are Japan's most prominent harbors. The Ryukyu Islands, among which Okinawa predominates, are 14 "Japan - Topography." Topography. Web. 4 June 2015. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Japan-TOPOGRAPHY.html 15 IBID

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the peaks of submerged mountain ranges. They are generally hilly or mountainous, with small alluvial plains.16 Weather in Japan Spring is from March to May.

Temperatures are warm but not too hot, plus there isn’t too much

rain. The famous cherry blossoms are out during this time and there are plenty of festivals to enjoy. Summer begins in June and the country experiences a three to four-week rainy season during which the farmers plant their rice. It is hot and humid during this time and temperatures are often in the high 90’s. Summer wraps up in August. Fall is from September to November and is characterized by light breezes and cooler temperatures of around 46-50ºF. It’s during autumn that many exhibitions, music concerts and sports tournaments are held in Japan. Winter, from December to February, is quite dry and sunny along the Pacific coast and the temperatures rarely drop below 32°F. The temperatures drop as you move north, with the Central and Northern regions experiencing snowfall.

Southern Japan is relatively temperate and experiences a mild winter.17

IBID "Japan's Climate." Japan Weather Conditions : Climate & Weather in Japan. Web. 4 June 2015. http://www.statravel.com/japan-climate.htm 16 17

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These graphs show transportation in Japan and other nations. In Japan, the red section shows the transportation of the train which shared almost half of this graph. This means people often use the train. As shown in the graph, more than half of people in Japan from this graph commute and use

public

transportation

subways and buses.

Source: Japan Guide in October, 2000

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including

trains,


Total

Dec 2014

Year

on Jan 2015

Year The

1,236,073 +43%

Year

on Feb 2015

Year 1,218,400 +29.1%

Year

on

Year 1,387,000 +57.6%

number of foreign tourists to Japan

Source: Japan Tourism Marketing Co. The table shows the number of foreign tourists to Japan from December 2014 to February 2015. From December 2014, the number of foreign tourist had increased by 1,387,000 in February 2015. According to the JNTO, the number of international visitors to Japan in February 2015 increased to 1,387,000(+57.6%) which was the highest number as February.18

18 "Tourism Statistics." Tourism Statistics. Web. 4 June 2015. http://www.tourism.jp/en/statistics/

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Source: Japan Tourism Agency The graph in 2011 shows number of tourists in different location in Japan. The most visited city, Tokyo is 1,143 that these visitors are considered as secondary target customers. Tokyo is the most popular tourism location in Japan by understanding this graph. Tokyo, Hokkaido, Osaka, Shizuoka, and Chiba rank first, second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in the total number of guests in a particular prefecture. Guests in the top five prefectures represent over 30% of all guests.19

"General Information of Tourism Statistics in Japan." Web. 4 June 2015. http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/000991725.pdf

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Competitive Analysis We seek that our competitors would have similar concepts including products, promotion, price and place. We chose few clothing brands for our competitors who are IKIJI and Momotaro Jeans (Japan Blue). These brands are Japanese-based, and expand their branches through nation and worldwide. For the SWOT Analysis, we put first initial for competitors in SWOT Analysis (IKIJI is I, and Momotaro Jeanes is M). Competitors’ websites: IKIJI – http://ikiji.jp/shop/ Momotaro Jeans (Japan Blue) – http://www.japanbluejeans.com/shop/

SWOT Analysis Strengths

Weaknesses

SAKURA

SAKURA

Made in Japan.

Utilizing recycled kimono fabric and

Manufacturing cost and cost of goods are expensive.

organic cotton.

Expensive products.

Good quality of products.

The number of Japanese manufacturers

Strong e-commerce.

become less.

Competitors

Made in Japan. (I&M)

Competitors

Already had expanded internationally.

Expensive products. (I&M)

(I&M)

Competing with other luxury fashion

Good quality of products. (I&M)

Developing e-commerce. (I&M)

The distribution takes more time.

brands. (I&M) 

The cost of supply is expensive. (I&M)

Taking time for manufacturing because of handcrafted products. (I&M)

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Opportunities

Threats

SAKURA

SAKURA

Involving international trade shows.

Foreign

tourists

are

considered

Japan.21

as

secondary consumers for our target

Fast fashion companies are shared 40% in

market.

The sales in Japanese fashion industry is decreasing.22

Being partnered with retailers globally.

Collaborate with Japanese designers.

Competitors

Competitors 

Involving in trade show. (I)

Brand expansion to other line. (M)

Japanese textiles are spotlighted in Asia.20

23

Trade impact of currency exchange. 24 (I&M)

Being partnered with retailers globally. (M)

The value of fashion becomes less.

The value of Japanese currency is becoming less.25 (I&M)

Fast

fashion

companies

have

been

growing and expanding internationally.26

20 "The Largest Ever Intertextile Shanghai Spotlights Japanese Textiles | Latest Fashion News from Tokyo, Japan | FASHION HEADLINE JAPAN." Latest Fashion News from Tokyo, Japan. Web. 6 June 2015. http://en.fashion-headline.com/article/2015/04/17/2435.html 21 "Future Fashion Business and Strategy in Japan | VOGUE." VOGUE JAPAN. Web. 6 June 2015. http://www.vogue.co.jp/career/2012-12-20 22 IBID 23 IBID 24 "Japan's Trade Negotiations May Be Troubled by Currency." Japan's Trade Negotiations May Be Troubled by Currency. Web. 6 June 2015. http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/japans-trade-negotiations-may-be-troubled-currency 25 Weisman, Jonathan. "Shinzo Abe of Japan Avoids Specifics in Speech on Trade Accord." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Apr. 2015. Web. 6 June 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/us/politics/shinzo-abe-japan-trade-accord-speech-to-congress.html?_r=0 26 Sherman, Lauren. "Why Retailers Go Expansion Crazy." FASHIONISTA. Web. 6 June 2015. http://fashionista.com/2014/05/retailer-expansion

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Marketing Strategy Plan Promotion As we are Japanese-based clothing brand, we want to focus on Japanese customers as well as foreigners because it is a great opportunity to let foreigners know our brands through Japanese traditional clothing. Our target customers are both men and women between 25 – 45. We want our customers to wear our clothing for a long time so that we focus on quality. Product Our products are clothing for men and women including tops and bottoms. We seek to expand accessory line near future. Price We set up products’ prices expensive because the manufacturing costs high-cost. The price range of our products are: Tops (including jackets) $70 – $350 Bottoms: $200 – 300 Place Our location will be in Shinjuku, Tokyo for our first branch. Then, we will expand our branches the area and focus on large cities. Also, we will expand our branches to Asia, Europe and South and North America.

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Promotional Plan Image Statement The store image for our branch is simple, and we don’t want to have a lot of store decorations or fixtures in the store. We just want it as keeping simple and natural atmosphere. As customers enter our store, they will see simple wooden store fixtures including store racks, table for cash wrap and a set of small table and chair. The ligting is using Japanese paper called “washi” that has unique texture and create warm lighting. The basic colors that we utilize in the store is nautral, warm and cool colors to create the contrast and give different feelings.

These colors are part of color images for our store to create “modern Japanese” mood. It gives Japanese traditional atmosphere; but not a lot of it. Because we also want to have modern feeling as well, so customers from youth to eldery feel free to visit our store.

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Promotion Mix Advertising We are going to advertise through local magazines at first because it is going to be waste of money to spend radio and newspaper since young people not tend to check these media tools. Japanese local free papers are also a great opportunity to advertise our brand to attract to young consumers. Direct Marketing We create the customers’ list of contact information to send email and direct mail. We send the notification of new products and sales. Also, we creates seasonal catalog for customers. However, we do not spend more expenses to direct marketing because we are focusing more on advertising. Public Relations We associate with local free magazines in Tokyo. These local free magazines are very common and popular among various customers, especially young customers. Also, we will participate in Tokyo fashion trade show which is one of the biggest trade show in Japan. This trade show gives us a great opportunity to partner with retailers and expand our business. Personal Selling and Sales Promotion We focus on customer services because our products are high-ends products, so we consider customers’ requests, and we want customers come our store again. Our customer service is high-quality that offer great experience and customer service to our customers. Internet Strategy We are going to set up the website and social media page, such as Facebook and Twitter. Customer are able to check new products anytime, and purchase these products through online shopping. We will also utilize the local direct business services, so customers are able to check our store, images, customer service and products. Also, we want to have blogs by employees to offer extra information of our store and interact with our customers.

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GANTT Chart, Prior to Opening KPI

Apr. May

Jun.

Jul Aug.

Sep.

Ocgt.

Nov. Dec.

Jan. Feb.

Mar.

Location Constraction And

Interior

Design Vendor Display Set-up Hiring

and

Training Inventory Soft Opening Advertiseing Grand Opening

Tactical Plan Ø Location o

Checking the location and stores around this area.

o

Meeting a attorney and check the business licensing.

o

Having contract with a landowner.

Ø Constraction and Interior Design o

Hiring constraction worker and change the inside of store.

o

Hiring interior designer.

o

Working with interior desiner and design store plan.

Ø Vendors o

Contacting with vendors and manufacturers

o

Checking and producing products and stock.

o

Checking shipping management.

Ø Display set up o

Planing set up display.

o

Using technology to set up display at first.

o

Even products have not arrived yet, we plan to decide where products are set up.

Ø Hiring and Training o

Hiring both men and women employees.

o

Training employees focusing on customer services. 23


o

Deciding store manager from employees.

Ø Inventory o

Forecasting inventory and asset management.

o

Checking stock and tracking inventory cycle.

o

Controlling stock management.

Ø Soft Opening o

Introducing our store into local area.

o

Launching website and online shopping site.

o

Testing and setting up grand opening.

Ø Advertising o

Creating advertisements.

o

Associating with local magazines and advertising companies

Ø Grand Opening We will have a raffle event to promote our brand on the Grand Opening Day. Since we have cooperated with local magazines, we expect to bring customers to the store. We don’t spend extra expenses for the event, and we just advertise our brand through small ads handouts

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Pricing Plan Pricing Objectives & Strategies We set up the premium pricing for pricing objectives because our products are pricy and good quality. We want customers enjoy our products, so we offer a great goods and services. As we launch the first branch in Tokyo, the area will be competitive, but we seek this area is great location that the price level in Tokyo is expensive. Also, we are looking for expanding our brand, so we are not focusing on location seriously; but we always focus on highly customer services and products because we want to have a great relationship between customers and our brands. Again, we try to utilize the premium pricing, we focus on customer satisfaction, great qualities of products and services and customer loyalty, so that we are able to build a good relationship with our customers.

Mark-up Plan Product

MU%

MD% #1

MD% #2

Category

Sales

MD%

Promotion

Tops

300 – 500 %

15%

20%

25%

Bottoms

300 – 500 %

15%

20%

25%

Accessories

500%

10%

15%

15%

Markdowns and Sales Events Plan We don’t plan to have a lot of sales events because we don’t want to lose customer loyalty, and make more profit for my companies and business partners. We do have a big sales event in summer and winter. We only have 2 big sales events in a year, but if we need to have more sales event, we will plan it later. These 2 main big sales are New Year Sales are during January 3rd to 8th, and Summer Sales are from end of July to beginning of August.

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Production Plan Our production is all in Japan including manufacturers and distributors. We distinguish manufacturers depending on textiles and materials. Materials, Textiles and Manufacturers

Location

Recycled kimono fabric

Kurume (Fukuoka), Kyoto

Organic cotton and fabric

Sensyu (Osaka)

Denim fabric

Okayama

Hemp fabric

Koto (Shiga)

Rayon

Yonezawa (Yamagata)

Cotton and polyester – mixed

Ensyu (Shizuoka)

Apparel manufacturer

Sumida (Tokyo)

Source: Seni-search.jp

Distribution Plan Forms of Payment We accept Japanese currency and credit card currently. For the credit card, we accept VISA, MasterCard, and American Express. We don’t accept other currencies and debit cards because our company uses Japanese bank that they don’t offer debit card systems.

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Social Media Platform and Website We strongly focus on e-commerce to encourage our brand as well as social media websites. Our online shopping website attracts our customers to purchase our products. Our website links to social media pages which includes “Facebook”, “Twitter”, and “Instagram”. In these social medias, we consistently upload pictures of our products to promote seasonally and specially. We also set up blog for our products and brand for our customers, so that customers are able to check new products constantly. Facebook – The goal is to gain number of customers and advertise our products through Facebook. The number of Facebook users has been increasing in Japan, so it is going to be great advertising campaign through this social media. We will upload at least twice or three times in a week, so we are able to get customers’ attentions. We also upload catalog pictures. The cost of creating Facebook page is free, so it does not cost extra fee. However, if we are not going to advertise in Facebook because it costs advertising fees. Twitter – Twitter is also popular and common social media in Japan. We tweet daily bases basically what products are arrived in store and which products are restocked, so we make customers notify product information. Creating Twitter page is free. Instagram – we connect Instagram page with Facebook page. We upload more product pictures and catalog pictures, and other pictures. We want to create albums for our manufacturers and vendors, and the process of manufacturing our products, so we are able to build relationship with customers and notify customers how we offer great quality products.

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The Cost for Webpage As we create the webpage, we are going to hire a web designer to create our website professionally. The costing list is approximate cost for creating website. Top page design

$500.00

Top page coding

$300.00

Product (20 types)

$600.00

Bottom page design (5 pages)

$1,500.00

Bottom page coding (5 pages)

$750.00

EC-­‐CUBE

$1,500.00

Planning

$500.00

Total

$5,650.00

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Future Business Plans and Goals 

Since our brand is new, we want customers to know our brand quickly and broad, so we will advertise our brand by showing the uniqueness and “Japanese authenticity” quality of our products.

We are going to cooperate with apparel manufacturers more in Japan to support their businesses.

We are setting up e-commerce that our customers are able to check our brands and products, and purchase our products.

We plan to launch more lines to expand our target customers.

We seek for collaboration with Japanese designers for our special lines.

We will be involved in national fashion trade shows to connect with national retailers and negotiate with apparel manufacturers.

To expand our branches internationally, we are going to attend worldwide tradeshows, and we will be partnered with international retailers.

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Appendices

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Sherman, Lauren. "Why Retailers Go Expansion Crazy." FASHIONISTA. Web. 6 June 2015. http://fashionista.com/2014/05/retailer-expansion

"The Largest Ever Intertextile Shanghai Spotlights Japanese Textiles | Latest Fashion News from Tokyo, Japan | FASHION HEADLINE JAPAN." Latest Fashion News from Tokyo, Japan. Web. 6 June 2015. http://en.fashion-headline.com/article/2015/04/17/2435.html

"TOKYO'S HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, AND POPULATION." Population of Tokyo. Web. 28 May 2015. http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/ABOUT/HISTORY/history03.htm

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Weisman, Jonathan. "Shinzo Abe of Japan Avoids Specifics in Speech on Trade Accord." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Apr. 2015. Web. 6 June 2015. 31


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/us/politics/shinzo-abe-japan-trade-accord-speech-tocongress.html?_r=0

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