150 | HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN
Antoinette’s Dress Shop: Marketing Plan
Antoinette’s Dress Shop will concentrate on
developing a clientele consisting primarily
of working women. We are particularly
interested in professional women who
expect to advance in their chosen career.
Th ese women require fashionable clothing at
reasonable prices. According to the Chamber
of Commerce, the greater trading areas of
New City include some 20,000 women who
fi t this description.^1 Forecasters expect this
market to continue to grow at the same 10%
growth rate it has enjoyed for the past fi ve
years. We believe the trend toward a higher
concentration of professional women in this
county may even accelerate because of the
increased concentration of professional and
management industries locating here.^2
Personal experience and market research^3
demonstrate that upwardly mobile working
women prefer fashion able, but slightly
conservative, clothing at moderate or sale
prices. Th ese women prefer to shop where
they receive personal attention, especially
prompt, free alterations that traditionally
have not been provided to women. Women
in this group normally prefer to shop between
5 p.m. and 8 p.m. or on their lunch hour.
Most of our target customers shop at two
types of stores for their clothing:- Department stores such as S. Bagnin,
Jerry’s, and Glendale’s.
2. Latest fashion stores such as Wild Th ing,
Marian’s, and Golden Frog.
Some of our target consumers presently
shop at the department stores for the type
of business clothes we will sell, and others
shop at fashion stores for casual clothing.
However, we believe we can capture a lot of
this business for a number of reasons.
Antoinette’s will appeal to customers who
are either shopping at one of the local stores
or going out of the area to meet their needs.
For instance, many professional women travel
as much as 35 miles to South City to shop at
Freida’s because their needs are simply not
being met locally.
Generally speaking, the department
stores off er a wide mix of merchandise.
However, it isn’t easy to fi nd a large
selection of appropriate business clothing at
reasonable prices in any of them. In addition,
S. Bagnin and Glendale’s are only open one
evening a week after 6 p.m., the time most
working people prefer to shop. Further, the
department stores off er fairly impersonal
services, with a constant turnover of
personnel. Alterations are an additional charge
and usually take a week or more to complete.
Our policy of off ering free alterations within
24 hours is sure to appeal to women who
put in at least a 40-hour week in addition to
maintaining their homes.
(^1) Annual Survey of Business Conditions, New City Chamber of Commerce, January 19, 20xx
(^2) Bank of New City economic forecast for 20xx
(^3) See attached article from September 27, 20xx issue of Woman’s Monthly.