The Fashion Truck
Ashley Fitzgerald Victoria Henley Allie Koehler Carly Coffman
Tables of Contents 1. Company Concept Statement 2. Vision and Mission Statement 3. Shared Values 4. Culture 5. Target Customer 6. Customer Profile: Ann 7. Customer Profile: Kara 8. Competition: The Fashion Mobile 9. Competition: Le Fashion Truck 10.Location 11.5 Senses: Smell & Taste 12.5 Senses: Sound & Feel 13.5 Senses: Sight 14.Color Concept 15.Lighting & Shelving 16.Store Decor 17.Plan-O-Gram
Company The Fashion Truck is a mobile boutique that gives women the ability to shop at their convenience. We offer stylish clothing and accessories with the help of experienced stylists.
Mission Statement The Fashion Truck will provide women with a comfortable and fun environment where they can find quality clothing at an affordable price on the go.
Vision Statement Not only do we want to expand our company in the Chicago land area, but we plan on broadening our customer base throughout the U.S. including New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Dallas.
Our Shared Values In today’s society, everything around us is so fast paced. We want to provide for the woman that are consistently on-the-go. Our product selection is fewer, but is always of the best quality.
Our Culture Since we are a small company, we put the same focus on our employees as we do to our customer. We strive to provide a comfortable and positive environment. In our company, everyone has a cohesive thought process and love for fashion which is displayed in our work ethic.
Target Customer Geographic's:
Age: 24-35 Sex: Female Family life cycle: Single Income: $60,000 + Education: College graduate Occupation: Business Religion: All Ethnic Background: Broad range
Region: Midwest City Size: 100,000+ Urban/Rural: Urban Climate: Four seasons Psychographics: Social Class: Middle to Upper Personality: Career-Oriented, Outgoing, Genuine Life-Style: On-the-go Consumer behavior: Benefits desired: Trendy, quality, convenience Usage rate: Often
Customer Profile Ann Age: 26 Occupation: Accountant Location: Lincoln Park Status: Dating Education: DePaul-Accounting-Bachelor’s degree Life stage: Post-College Favorite movies: The Devil Wears Prada, Bridesmaids Favorite restaurants: Tavern on Rush, Rosebud Favorite Magazines: Vogue, Glamour Favorite Music: All genres Favorite artists: Andy Warhol Are they tech-savvy?: yes Favorite Designers: Kate Spade, Tory Burch Favorite Stores: Nordstrom, Francesca’s Shopping attitude: Fun but quality Favorite Vacation Spots: Bahamas and Aruba Political views: Liberal Hobbies: Reading, exercising, going out with friends, cooking
Customer Profile Kara Age: 30 Occupation: Marketing Location: North Suburbs of Chicago Status: Married Education: UIC- Marketing- Bachelor’s degree Life-stage: Newly married Favorite movies: The Heat, The Great Gatsby Favorite restaurants: RPM, Biaggi’s Favorite magazines: Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping Favorite music: Country Favorite artist: Monet Tech-savvy: Yes Favorite designers: Michael Kors, Tory Burch Favorite stores: Macy’s, boutiques in Lincoln Park Shopping attitude: Fun but quality focused Favorite vacation spots: Europe Political views: Liberal Hobbies: Cooking, going out with friends and husband, yoga, gardening
Competition: The Fashion Mobile Located in Minnesota and owned by a couple who originally owned a brick and mortar called Doozie Chic Boutique also located in Minnesota. They could not maintain the store but hoped open day to figure a way to reopen the store. They later on came across the idea of a fashion truck and went for it, they said it wasn’t easy and took sometimes to get together, but they are doing what they love. Opportunities and Threats: The fashion mobiles competition is the traditional brick and mortar store what people are commonly used to and feel more comfortable with. People are not used to a fashion truck so they will not know if they like it and many people like to stick to the norm. The opportunities of the shopping mobile is you can move your store to wherever the hot spot is at the time unlike a brick and mortar stores. Another opportunity is that having a fashion truck is very different and unique so people might be more open to it and wanting something different and new. Many people are not spending as much on clothes so depending on the fashion trucks price point people might steer away from it. Most competitors have Internet websites for their store so that can be a threat to your business if you don’t have something that stands out to people. On the Fashion Mobile website you currently cannot purchase their clothes yet. Strengths and Weaknesses: Weakness is that they only have a certain target market and not really for many ages, which makes it harder to sell with out doing research in finding the right locations to bring your truck. Strength is that the age they are targeting which is young adults want to have the new trendy items when they come out. Having such a small selection you will have more unique pieces people wont be able to find everywhere.
Competition: Le Fashion Mobile Le Fashion Truck is a mobile boutique located throughout Los Angeles since January 2011. They feature clothing and accessories by emerging designers for women on the go. The two women met at a market and clicked instantly and decided to team up because they loved each other’s work. Opportunities and Threats Opportunities are they can host parties which will help there truck out there more people hear about it the more people who will want to shop there. Also they go to street fairs and festivals, which helps them with more publicity. Threats they cant always go places they want they must purchase a permit. So unlike many brick and mortar shops they can not always sell unless they get permission, which sometimes might not be very easy.  Strengths and Weaknesses Weakness even thought they have a variety of different items they do not shop very much on the website the selection is very small which could be a good and bad thing depending on if people like there selection to choose from. They do not have the truck out every day they usually have it driving around Thursday-Sunday. Strength they have a variety of different things and have a website to check out before even going to the truck to see what things they may offer. They also are using many social networks to keep their business well known. They also feature many upcoming designers in the boutique. They have an option of hosting a party with them and also find the truck calendar.
Location Fashion Truck
Location: Chicago and Suburbs within a 50 mile radius Total Square Footage: 1,116 Shape of store: Triangle Monthly lease: $24.36/sf/yr ($2.03/sf/mo, $2,265.48/mo.) Terms of lease: 24 months Common area fees: Maintenance, Marketing, etc. $2,000 Security Deposit: First Months Rent Insurance: Rental Insurance included, Partial Insurance on truck & clothes $2,000.00
Storage Space Location: 900 N. Ashland Cross Streets: Ashland & Chestnut Total Square Footage: 600 Shape of store: Square Location of entrances: 2nd Floor Location Monthly rent: $9,000 ($1.25/sf/mo, $750/mo) Terms of lease: 24 months Common area fees: Maintenance, Marketing, etc. Included Security deposit: First Month’s Rent Realtor Fees: Included Expenses Incurred by leasee: Internet, Heat and Electric $200 per month Allowable Renovations: None Landlord Obligations/Commitment for Renovations: None
5 Senses Smell We want our boutique to have an inviting and encouraging smell. We researched that the scent of citrus increases shopping habits. Therefore, we will have citrus spritz that we spray in our truck.
Taste We will have a local bakery create a Fashion Truck pink logo cookie that we will give to our customers while they shop. The cookie will be lemon flavored going along with our citrus theme.
5 Senses Sound In our boutique, we will play artists such as Colbie Caillat, Adele, Michael Buble, Florence and The Machine, The Fray, and music similar. Depending on location, music could change to fit the situation.
Touch When a customer enters the Fashion Truck, they are entering an environment of quality clothing. They will feel fabrics like cashmere, wool, cotton, and silk.
5 Senses Sight In the Fashion Truck, we will have recessed lighting throughout the ceiling and a chandelier in the center. There will be sleek and structured shelving that lines the walls of the truck. In the back corner, there will be a dressing room with a ruffle curtain and a full-size mirror. We will also have bust forms hanging from the back doors to display stylist-selected outfits.
Color Concept
Shelving
Lighting
Boutique Decor
Plan-O-Gram
Fashion Truck App We will have a Fashion Truck App that customers can download from their app store for free. The App will give customers the exact location of the bus everyday. The App will also give customers the bus’ future schedule, promotions, shipping tracking information, and can be used as a scanning device for QR codes.
Marketing We will use social media as the key source of our marketing. We will have a Twitter and Facebook were will we post where The Fashion Truck will be located each day, information about promotions, and share pictures of new merchandise. We will also have an Instagram with pictures of merchandise, and photos of the truck, customers, and different events.
Promotions • January 15: Post-Holiday Event - In this event will take place in our showroom where we will be having a sale on Fall/Winter items in preparation for our Spring collections. All merchandise will be 50% off. • February 1-14: Leave the shopping to us, and we’ll leave the romance to you- We will park in the Business District in Chicago & this event will be focused more towards men or women who are purchasing a Valentine’s gift for their significant other. We will offer them with styling advice and help them choose a gift. Each customer who is purchasing a gift will receive 10% off their entire and a free box of Chocolates compliments of Godiva Chocolate. • March 15: St. Patricks Event -We will park along Michigan Ave. during the St. Patricks Parade. We will be giving 15% off to customers wearing green and will be handing out complimentary Green River and shamrock cookies. • April 1-30: April Showers Bring May Flowers -We will have a promotion throughout the month of April where when a customer spends $50 they will receive a free “Fashion Truck” Umbrella. The umbrella will be pink and have our Logo on it. • May 1-14: School’s Out for the Summer -Students will receive 20% off their entire purchase with a student I.D. to celebrate being finished with school. We will park near Chicago college campuses. • June 20-22: Summer Kick-Off- We will be giving away a beach towel with our logo for each customer who makes a $100 purchase. We will park near Oak Street and North Avenue beach to appeal to beach goers. • July 10-14: Taste of Chicago - We will park in front of Grant Park during Taste of Chicago. We will give all customers 15% off their purchase. We will also be giving mini bottles of water with our personalized wrapping. • August 1-3: Lollapalooza - We will park in front of Grant Park during the Weekend of Lollapalooza. Every customer who comes in wearing a Lollapalooza wristband will receive 15% off their purchase. We will also be giving away mini bottles of water with our personalized wrapping. • September 1-7: Back to School Events -Each day we will park near a University Campus including DePaul, Columbia, UIC, Roosevelt, Loyola, University of Chicago, and SAIC. We will have posters and flyers throughout campus with information about our APP and a QR code, the student will scan the code and receive a surprise discount ranging from 10% off to 50% off. • October 15-20: Fashion Focus Week Event -We’ll park in front of Millennium Park near the entrance to the tent for the Fashion Focus Fashion Shows. We will have champagne for the fashion show attendees, as well as a coupon for 20% off everything on the bus for after the show. • November 28 : Black Friday Event -We will park on Michigan Ave. all day Black Friday and be giving away coffee and cookies to shoppers. We will also have buy one, get one half off all the merchandise. • December 1-24: Pop-Up Shop- We will have a pop-up shop located in Macy’s on State St. where we will sell merchandise and promote our store. We will also have a window display facing State St. that will focus on our merchandise.
September 1-7: Back to School Event We will park in front of college campuses for the first week of school. September 1: DePaul September 2: Columbia September 3: UIC September 4: Roosevelt September 5: Loyola September 6: University of Chicago September 7: SAIC. We will have posters and flyers throughout campus with information about our APP and a QR code, the student will scan the code and receive a surprise discount ranging from 10% off to 50% off. We will also serve complimentary fashion truck cookies with mini fashion truck water bottles. Cost of the event including gas, cookies, mini water bottles, and flyers: $3,000 Estimated Sales: $15,000
Download the Free “Fashion Truck” App, scan the QR code on this flyer, and find out how much you’ll save on your entire purchase at the Fashion Truck!
only at
February 1-14: Leave the shopping to us, and we’ll leave the romance to you We will park in the Business District in Chicago & this event will be focused more towards men or women who are purchasing a Valentine’s gift for their significant other. We will offer them with styling advice and help them choose a gift. Each customer who is purchasing a gift will receive 10% off their entire and a free box of Chocolates compliments of Godiva Chocolate. Godiva Chocolates will sponsor our business and give us the boxes of chocolates for free because we will also be promoting their business. Cost of event including gas: $200 Estimated Sales: $30,000
Leave the shopping to us and we will leave the romance to you! ___________________________ We will help you find a gift for your significant other & you will also receive 10% off your purchase and complimentary Godiva chocolate.
only at
November 28: Black Friday Event On Black Friday, we will park The Fashion Truck on Michigan Avenue near Water Tower. We will have a promotion of buy one, get one half off all merchandise. We will also be handing out coffee from Starbucks and our Fashion Truck cookies. This will be a great way to promote our store because of how busy it will be with shoppers. We will have free shipping so that customers do not have to walk around with merchandise and so we can keep our inventory on the truck for other customers to see. Cost (Gas, Cookies, and Coffee): $1,500 Estimated Sales: $10,000
BLACK FRIDAY! Buy one, get one half off! Signature cookies and coffee will be served as well.
only at
Mic higan Ave nue
9pm-10am
(312)765- 9238
December 1-24: Macy’s Pop-Up Shop For the Christmas season, we will have a pop-up shop in the Macy’s on State Street. We will have a small section where we can sell and promote our merchandise. The section will be decorated and merchandised with the same theme as our truck. We will also be giving away mini Fashion Truck cookies and mini flyers about our App and Truck. We will also have a window display in one of the Macy’s window to promote our truck and the pop-up shop. We worked out a deal with Macy’s so that in exchange for the space, we give them 2% of our profit. Cost of event (Mini cookies, flyers, decorations, specialized fixtures): $10,000 Estimated Sales: $ 180,000
The Fashion Truck -Presents-
HOLIDAY POP-UP SHOP Located on the 1st floor Macy’s 111 State St. Chicago IL, 60602 (312)781-1000 Mon-Thurs 10am-8pm Fri-Sat 10am-9pm Sun 11am-7pm
Management Structure
Manager
Assistant Manager
Stylist
Seasonal Help
Stockroom Manager
Stylist
Stylist
Seasonal Help
Seasonal Help
Employee
Seasonal Help
Management Style: Democratic Features Encourages participation from employees Shares information with team members Provides opportunities for the team to influence decision making Impacts Gains team commitment, when changes need to be made Makes team decision slower, but employees are likely to support those decisions The Three Ds of management: Directing, Discussing, and Delegating The directing style promotes learning through listening and following directions. With this style, the manager tells the employees what to do, how to do it, and when it needs to be done. The discussing style promotes learning through interaction. In this style, the manager encourages critical thinking and lively discussion by asking employees questions about the problem, opportunity, or issue that must be resolved. The manager is a facilitator guiding the discussion to a logical conclusion. The delegating style promotes learning through empowerment. With this style, the manager assigns tasks that employees work on independently, either individually or in groups.
Employee Motivation Each of our employees with receive a set salary with 5% commission for their sales. Employees will also get an employee discount of 30% off everything in our store. The employee who makes the most money each month gets a benefit of choosing their schedule. For example, whoever has the most sales in October can get Thanksgiving and Black Friday off and whoever has the most sales in December off can have Christmas Eve off.