Athlete's Foot

ELITE FOOTWEAR STORE

The Athlete's Foot sells quality athletic footwear for the entire family, specializing in running shoes and accessories. We have selected a location in a renovated shopping center anchored by Fresh Market, Bed Bath and Beyond, Blockbuster Video, and four restaurants. The balance of tenants caters primarily to children. The quality of our customer service and the lack of competition in the city will allow us to quickly become the footwear headquarters for the local individual athlete and various teams, leagues and schools. This Athlete's Foot store, while part of a worldwide chain, will be family owned and operated.

1 Objectives

The primary objectives of the business plan for The Athlete's Foot are outlined below.

1. To make The Athlete's Foot the headquarters for athletic footwear by offering knowledgeable and professional customer service. Customer service will be measured through repeat business (our goal is that 50% of our customers will return within 6 months for an additional purchase) and multiple sales (our goal is that 30% of our non-running and 60% of our running shoe sales are accompanied by an additional purchase).

2. To be an active participant and supporter of the Coral Springs Athletic Community and to develop a youth and adult running club to promote a healthy lifestyle through exercise. Our goal is to have 150 running club members by the end of the 18th month of club operation.

3. To achieve a 33% increase in sales year two and maintain a minimum annual increase of 15% thereafter.

1.2 Mission

The Athlete's Foot is a retail store specializing in the sale of true athletic footwear for the entire family. The store will emphasis the sale of children's athletic shoes and a full assortment of men's, women's, and children's running shoes and accessories. We will provide consumers with technical knowledge on the proper fit and style of athletic footwear for their various needs. We will be the only full-service athletic footwear store with quality, knowledgeable sales help in this city of 100,000 people.

Our goal is to be the headquarters for the Coral Springs athlete. Coral Springs has one of the largest and most sophisticated community athletic programs in the United States. There are approximately 29,000 school-aged children within three miles of the planned store location.

We believe that to attain our headquarters position, we will need to become a visible member of the athletic community through sponsorship, seminars, team and league promotions and the development of a community running program.

Retail format and ownership

.Independent Retailer

In independentretaileris one who builds his/her business from the ground up. From the business planning stage to opening day, the independent retail owner does it all. He/she may hire consultants, staff and others to assist in the business endeavor. The opportunities are endless.

Diamond Bookstore will be a general partnership type of business. The shop will be jointly owned by Mohd Fahad, Mohd Umar and Mohd Shabi. Diamond Bookstore will be establishing its shop in city towers main university road Delhi. This area is well known for every sort of shopping. Our facility is a 5,500 square ft. shop which allows us to stock a large amount of inventory.

Type of retail format and ownership

Diamond Bookstore is a retail chain format having its stores at multi locations in the state of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh etc.

Form of ownership

Diamond Bookstore will be a general partnership type of business. The shop will be jointly owned by Mohd Fahad, Mohd Umar and Mohd Shabi. We expect to begin offering services in December.

Roles of owners

All the owners will have to attend any type of meeting and business deal. The members will have to be present during the working hours.

Products and Services

Products

The Athlete's Foot will sell the latest and most popular name brand athletic footwear for the family. Consumers will be educated as to the proper size, style, fit, and design needed for their particular use and foot characteristics. We will offer athletic footwear and accessories for almost every sport and active use. We do not intend to initially sell golf shoes or skates.

The shoes are purchased from the top manufacturers in the world, made possible through The Athlete's Foot Corporation's 700-store buying power. Names such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Converse, New Balance, Asics, Saucony and Brooks are just a few of the styles we will be stocking. Inventory is tracked through our online cash register and computerized tracking system. Each day we are aware of the style, size, and quantity of every item sold in the store. Re-orders are drop shipped by the manufacturers, or can be rush ordered directly form The Athlete's Foot warehouse, if needed.

The opening order will be placed through The Athlete's Foot Corporate Warehouse, with their assistance as to styles and size runs. We will also be working with several other franchisees who have family footwear and specialized running stores for their input into our merchandise assortment. Over the first year, we will eventually place orders directly with the manufacturers, always having The Athlete's Foot as backup for stock if required, due to a run on a popular shoe.

Multi channel decisions

Multichannel retail decisions are those decisions through which retailers sell merchandise or service by more than one channel. By using a combination of channels, retailers can leverage the unique benefits provided by each to attract and satisfy more customers. There is three kind of multichannel retailing and Diamond Bookstore uses all of them to interact with customers.

Store Channel: - Store offers a number of benefits to customers that cannot get when shopping through catalogues or on the internet. Diamond bookstore provides different facilities in their stores or the convenience of customers.

1. Browsing - Shoppers often have only a great sense of what they want but don't know the specific item they want. So they go to the stores to see what is available before they decide what to buy.

2. Touching and feeling products - the greatest benefits offered by Diamond bookstores is the opportunity for customers to use all five senses-touching, smelling, tasting, seeing and hearing- when examining the products.

3. Cash payment - Stores are the only channel that accept cash payments. Many customers prefer to pay with cash because it is easy, resolves the transaction immediately, and does not result in potential interest payments.

4. Entertainment and social experience - Shopping in a Diamond Bookstore can be a stimulating experience for some people, providing a break in their daily routine and enabling to interact with friends.

5. Risk Reduction - When customer purchase merchandise in stores, the physical presence of the store assures them that any problems with the merchandise will be corrected.

Catalogue channel: - the catalogue channel provides some benefits to the customers that are not available from the store or internet channels.

1. Convenience - Catalogues, like all non store formats, offer the convenience of looking at merchandise and placing an order on any day at any time from almost anywhere. With catalogue, customers have the added convenience of not being restricted to a place with internet access and a computer; they can look through catalogue on the beach or propped up in bed.

2. Safety - security in malls and shopping areas is becoming an important concern for many shoppers, particularly the elderly. Non store retail formats have an advantage over store-based retailers in that they enable customers to review merchandise and place orders from a safe environment- their homes.

Internet channel: - Shopping over the internet provides the convenience and safety benefits offered by catalogues and other non store formats. However the internet compared with store and catalogue channels, also has the potential to offer a greater selection of products and more personalized information about products and services.

Customer Buying Behaviour

The buying process, the customers go through when buying a product or service, begins when customers recognize an unsatisfied need. They seek information about how satisfy the need, such as what products might be useful and how they can be bought.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design used here is exploratory research design for the purpose of addressing the research problem. The primary objective of exploratory research design is to provide insights and better understanding of the situation faced.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In our research we have used both Qualitative and Quantitative research extensively. Qualitative research would be used for interviewing the sales management of Diamond Bookstore in order to gain an insight of their style. Quantitative research was done for interviewing corporate and for taking surveys. The questionnaire for surveys had a mix of quantitative and qualitative research.

DATA COLLECTION FROM PRIMARY SOURCES

Through Questionnaire

The data was collected through questionnaire it was prepared very carefully so that it proves to be effective. The questionnaire is based on primary and secondary objects of the study and there are totally 15 questions.

SCALING TECHNIQUE

In our survey to find out the corporate behaviour towards the price, quality of products sold, ambience, parking facilities, store working hours, variety of products, approach of the sales person and to rate the knowledge of the sales person the scaling technique we used was continuous rating scaling. This technique was used in order to find out the common preferences towards the behaviour of the group.

QUESTIONNAIRE DEVLOPMENT & PRE - TESTING

The questionnaire was developed based on the information needed i.e. to find out the corporate behaviour towards Diamond Bookstore. In order to get the desired information the survey method used was personal interviewing and the questions where framed with respect to the objectives of the questionnaire. Another important aspect of our questionnaire is that, while framing the questions we made sure that the type of questions and the words used where simple and understandable by the respondents this was done in order to create willingness and interest among the respondents.

Pilot studies have been done among few random people, to test the effectiveness of the questionnaire.

SAMPLING

It is the selection of small number of elements from a larger defined target of group of elements and expecting that the information gathered from the small group will allow adjustments to be made about the large group. A sample is a smaller representation of the larger whole. A sample contains primary sample units and a slice of population representing the universe. The purpose of sampling is to draw inferences concerning the universe.

Sample size

One can say that the sample size must be an optimum size that it should neither be large enough to give a confident interval of desired width and as such the size of the sample must be chosen by logical process before the sample is taken from the universe. In order to extract much feasible result through the study a sample size of 20 respondents has been taken for the study.

Sampling Technique

The type of sampling used is simple random sampling. This type of sampling is also known as chance sampling or probability sampling where each and every item of the population has an equal chance of inclusion in the sample and each of the possible samples in case of finite universe has the same probability being selected. This procedure gives each item an equal probability chance of being selected. To carry out the survey we had been to lots of corporate office all over the Delhi to interview around 20 respondents.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Please fill up the form for a market survey on “…………………”

Name…………………………..

Age………………………..…...

Qualification ……………….....

Gender…………………………

Retail Market Strategy

1 Market Segmentation

The Athlete's Foot feels there are two types of customers the store needs to attract: the Runners and the Non-runners. These groups are subdivided in the following sections.

4.1.1 Runners

1. "True Runner" - Runs between 20 - 40 miles per week. This person is generally between 30 - 45 years old, both maleand female. This segment may also include high school track and cross country runners. This person wants the latest in technology, regardless of price. The True Runner would be the running circuit's answer to the "computer freak." You may find him/her running at 5:00a.m. or 10:00 p.m., whenever it can be fit into his/her schedule. The True Runner frequently runs in races throughout Florida and may even travel further to combine races with social visits or vacations. Generally, the True Runner is in the upper income brackets. There are 6,000 families earning over $100,000 per year within three miles of the proposed location.

2. "Weekend Warrior" - May run up to 20 - 25 miles per week, but most of that is on Saturday and Sunday.A job or family restriction may not allow running to be scheduled during the week. This segment includes males and females between the ages of 25 - 35. This person is most frequently the parent of a young family and is looking for quality and an affordable price. The Weekend Warrior will run in local races. Typically, the Weekend Warrior is in the upper-middle income bracket: often two spouses working, with substantial disposable income. There are close to 12,000 families in this income bracket within three miles of the proposed location.

3. "Running for Attention" - People in this segment run 6 - 10 miles per week. He/she wants to look like a runner regardless of ability and will frequently go to parks, the beach, and other highly visible places to run. Most often is a single person looking to meet other singles. Interested in the latest styles, but,he/she must look good. A person who is Running for Attention purchases coordinated outfits and accessories, running bottles, and timing watches. This segment also spans both males and females between the ages of 30 - 55. A member of this segment can be seen frequentlyat races, but not always running. He/she also belongs to local health or tennis club. There are approximately 7,000 single households within three miles of the proposed location.

4. "Running for Need" - Two different groups within this classification.

o The first is the ex-high school or college runner. He feels the need to remain active/competitive, but does not have the discipline to train alone. Will become an active runner in spurts, but not consistently because he needs motivation. Typically, the Running for Need segment is comprised of males between the ages of 18 - 30.

o The second are the individuals who have been told by a doctor, spouse, or employer that they need to get into better shape ... or else! This is a very enthusiastic runner initially, but, quickly realizes that this is not always fun and can become very boring. Again, not a consistent runner, but, can become one if they remain motivated. Motivation relies heavily on the support of family and friends. While it is impossible to determine the number of people in this segment, these folks may be one of the easier to contact. Through medical journals, health food stores, and medical offices, this is a prime target for referral marketing.

5. "Running Fashion" - This is someone who purchases running shoes, but, is not a runner. He/she simply likes the style or the feel of a quality running shoe. Many working people on their feet for extended periods, factory workers, delivery people, airport employees, any type of outdoor work not requiring safety shoes, and students are a few examples.

4.1.2 Non-runners

1. Infants - While not a high volume, the first pair of shoes for most infants is an athletic style. The first pair of Nikes or Pumas can be a very proud moment in a young family's development. Being able to properly measure and fit an infant's foot is critical to developing a following in this market segment. Credibility in the sales to the parents or older sibling will determine if you receive to opportunity to serve the newest member of the family. There are approximately 6,000 children below the age of five within three miles of the proposed location.

2. Children - Possibly the most important segment other than adult running. With approximately 20,000 potential customers, this group must be a primary focus for any family business. Regardless of athletic level of participation or interest, virtually every child has at least one pair of athletic shoes. More often, children have several, depending on their preference of sports or style. The importance of capturing this business is intensified based upon the built-in obsolescence due to the growth of their feet. There are approximately 17,500 children between 5 - 12 within three miles of the proposed location.

3. Teens - This used to be the most important segment in athletic footwear. The local teen boy and girl had to have the new Michael Jordan high-tops, at $100, every eight months. Today, that need has diminished, but teens still remain a critical element to a successful athletic shoe retailer. While it may not be the "required" footwear in middle or high school, it remains a primary asset of every teen's wardrobe. Due to their ever-present concern for being in style, most Coral Springs teens still require name brand, in-style athletic shoes in their stable of footwear. As well, every teen needs a pair for practical use. That may include participant sports, physical education class, or simply something to wear with jeans. Teens also wear a lot of sandals and athletic aqua/sandals, which are newer categories in athletic footwear stores. Coupled with their still-growing shoe size and concern for the latest style, teens remain an important focus. There are approximately 10,500 teenagers within three miles of the proposed location.

4. Adults/Non Participant - While some adults never participate in a sport, almost all own a pair of athletic shoes. The non-participant adult may be the most difficult segment to capture. The upper income adult will still want name brand newer styles. The middle and lower income adults will look to the discount department stores and "discount shoe warehouse" concepts for practical athletic footwear. This customer is also less concerned about customer service and the proper fit, since they are not as hard on their athletic shoes and buy less frequently.

5. Active Young Adult - Twenty to twenty-four years old. This is a small segment, approximately 5,500 people, but these individuals tend to be very active. Participating in sports is still a social activity for this primarily single group. Baseball, Basketball, Softball, Soccer, and Flag Football leagues are popular with this age.

6. Adults/Participant - Twenty-five years old and above. This segment can be divided best by income level.

o An active, upper income participant will look for quality, name-brand footwear based upon the sport that requires the purchase. These adults are willing to pay a higher price for a new style orfeatures they deem are important.

o The active middle income participant will again look for a quality shoe at a competitive price. This group may not require the newest style, butstill wants good quality with basic features for the sport they participate in.

Target Market Segment Strategy

We will focus on two primary market segments:

1. The "Active Family" - The Active Family will be the focus of our non-running marketing effort. They give us the largest target, most opportunity for multiple sales, and allow us to gain further access into the community's numerous leagues. A typical active family would be described as parents in their late 30'sand early 40's with two children. If the children each play two sports, that would require a minimum of two pair of shoes per year, for each. If the parents are also active, that could amount to an additional two pair per year. With the need to purchase six pair of shoes per year, weexpect this family to make shoe purchases anywhere from three to six times during the year. They may visit the store an additional three to four times for accessories or simply to browse while in the center. For example, there are 13,000 participants in the Coral Springs Youth Soccer Program. Every one of them needs a new pair of soccer cleats every year. Currently, they need to leave Coral Springs to get a good selection of styles. This is a volume customer, but our goal is that the entire family comes along for the ride, and through service and knowledgeable sales help, an additional sale is consummated. This average sale will be approximately $40.

2. The "True Runner/Weekend Warrior" - The next most important segments will be the participant runner. The average sale for this customer will be between $70 - $90. This customer should always make an additional purchase when visiting. Running socks, running apparel, running accessories, or supplements should be added to this ticket. By capturing the True Runner, the less serious runner will be attracted to the store to be able to associate with their more serious counterpart.

We anticipate that 70% of our annual volume will come from these two classifications. The balance will be sport-specific buyers and non-family participants.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

The Athlete's Foot uses a strategy of providing a service to the entire market. While we will focus on our two primary customer segments (active families and runners), we offer a product that virtually every consumer requires.

We will create an atmosphere that is appealing to the "true athletic footwear customer." The balance of customers will come because they will see this as the "place" where athletes buy their shoes.

The store will be merchandised in an exciting, athletic atmosphere. Televisions will continually play tapes of sporting events and live sports broadcasts. There will be posters highlighting the top athletes and their athletic shoe choices. There will also be a section to pick up information about upcoming races, events, and seminars. Eventually, race sign-ups will occur in the store as well as presentations from shoe manufacturers, product representatives, nutritionists, trainers, coaches, runners and hopefully, professional athletes.

Strategic Assumptions:

1. Every resident in Coral Springs is a potential customer.

2. This location and co-tenancy gives us an opportunity to draw customers from outside Coral Springs.

3. By marketing to our two target segments, we will expose ourselves to additional new customers.

4. We will aggressively pursue the community sports programs through sponsorships.

5. We will build a running club/program, that caters to the "average" runner,versus the other clubs which cater to a more serious competitive runner.

Sales Strategy

All potential sales will be attended to in a timely fashion. While there will be a sales incentive bonus program, long-term salesperson relationships will take precedence over sales closures. Our goal is that 50% of our customers return within six months. We will market directly to the customer through mailings, phone calls, league presentations, and Internet/email contact.

Sales associates will be trained to "turn-over" a customer who has a more specialized need, if they cannot fully service the requirement.

Special orders will be encouraged as a method to satisfy a specialized need. We will enforce as liberal a return policy as possible. Because of our affiliation with the 700-store Athlete's Foot chain, we can demand a higher level of service from vendors in regards to returns and special orders.

Financial Strategy

OBJECTIVES & GOALS

These are the goals for the next three years for Diamond Bookstore:

Ø Achieve profitability by the mid of Year 2.

Ø Earn approximately Rs.2000000 in sales by Year 3.

Ø Pay owners a reasonable salary while running at a profit.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

In order to survive and expand, Diamond Bookstore must keep the following issues in mind:

Ø We must attain a high level of visibility through the media, billboards, and other advertising.

Ø We must establish rigid procedures for cost control and incentives for maintaining tight control in order to become THE low-cost leader in books.

Ø In order to continually attract customers, we must be able to keep the maximum amount of inventory available and achieve a high level of customer service.

Financial Objectives

Ø All the partners will contribute initially Rs.15million. It means each of the partners will invest 5million. The remaining 10million will be obtained from a bank by taking a loan.

Ø We expect Rs.3million to be the expenses of store decoration, reading room arrangements, computer systems and initial promotions.

Ø Of the remaining 2.2million, we will have our inventory.

Social Objectives

Societal Objective are related to broader issues about providing benefits to society- making the world better place to live. Diamond Bookstore will provide the employment opportunities for people in a particular area or more specifically for the handicapped.

Human Resource Management

Management Summary

The Athlete's Foot Franchise will be owned by Jane and Howard Lefkowitz. Jane has been a public school teacher for the past 14 years in Dade County, Florida. Howard is the President of Sizeler Real Estate of Florida. Inc., which manages, leases, and develops 1 million sq. ft. of retail property in Florida for a NYSE REIT. Jane will run the daily operations of the business, including community relations. Howard will continue in his current position at Sizeler, but will assist in the buying, financial planning, and weekend coverage.

6.1 Personnel Plan

The personnel plan is included in the following table. It shows the anticipated salary of the owner, assistant manager, full-time associate, and three part-time associates.

Jane Lefkowitz will manage the store on a daily basis. There will be a salaried assistant manager. We anticipate one additional full-time employee. One of these three people will open and close the store each day. The three part-time associates will work nights and weekend hours. In addition, Jessica Lefkowitz will work an average of one night and one weekend day per week. Howard Lefkowitz will also assist on the weekends. Salary and hourly wage estimates are detailed in the table below.

Below we have created a brief job profile and anticipated employee characteristics for each position. As we have stressed throughout the plan, customer service and knowledgeable employees are a primary focus for The Athlete's Foot.

Assistant Manager:

* Responsibility for opening and closing the store, receiving and stocking inventory, upkeep of the customer data base, visual merchandising and customer service. Also, share in the supervision and training of staff.

* This person would not necessarily need to be athletic or a runner. We are looking for dedication, honesty, strong work ethic and either some retail management experience or a strong business sense. Although a college graduate would be preferred, our salary projection may preclude that. This position has the most flexibility, due to the importance of experience and reliability. This associate would do less selling and more stock work and supervision than the others. A middle-aged woman whose children are in high school and is looking to get back into the work force may be an ideal candidate. In addition, a recent high school or military service graduate with a strong work ethic may also fit this position. This position will be eligible for a monthly overall sales incentive and annual goals bonus.

Full-time Associate:

* This position will be primarily customer service oriented. This person will also assist with store opening and closing, as well as receiving merchandise. We would anticipate that this individual would have several specific areas of responsibility outside of sales. Those might be vendor returns and sales floor pricing.

* This associate would preferably have a background in retail shoe sales. They need the flexibility to work nights and weekends as required. We would like this associate to be a local resident, active in the community, possibly in the sports programs. A runner would be ideal for this position, but, certainly we cannot count on finding a person with each of those credentials. This position will be eligible for a sales-based incentive program.

Part-time Associates:

* These associates would focus primarily on customer service. They will be working during the peak sales periods, in the evenings, and on weekends. They will need to be outgoing, friendly, professional, and presentable. They will need to be able to work well with children. While this type of position in our competition is generally filled with teenagers, we will be looking for local athletic teachers, coaches, and athletes who are looking to supplement their income. There will be a bonus program for generating leads on community contacts and sponsor programs, as well as for exceeding their sales goals.

Merchandise assortment, Planning and buying decisions

Competition and Buying Patterns

When purchasing athletic footwear, customers need a knowledgeable sales person to guide them to the proper shoe. By offering our exclusive Athlete's Foot Computerized Scanner, as well as extensively trained associates, called Fit Technicians, we will provide the most sophisticated service in the market.

The competition within Coral Springs consists primarily of the regional mall athletic footwear stores. There are three stores in Coral Square Mall, all company owned. These stores cater to the "fashion athletic" customer. Coral Square Mall is a "B" mall, and has a reputation within the community of being a "hangout" for teenagers and gangs. The true participants generally have to leave Coral Springs for Boca Raton or East Ft. Lauderdale to shop in specialty running or sporting goods stores. Our advantage over these mall stores will be superior customer service and technical knowledge, and a more convenient atmosphere, which the mall stores cannot reproduce.

There are three children's specialty stores that carry infant and children's athletic footwear in Coral Springs. One is well entrenched in the community and will be a difficult competitor. Our advantage over these stores will be our larger assortment, specialty sport shoes (which these stores do not carry, ex; soccer and baseball cleats), and the ability to serve the entire family's athletic footwear needs. Our challenge will be their ability to provide non-athletic shoes for the youth customer.

The other competition will come from discount department stores (Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target), and discount "rack" shoe stores (Payless, Rack Room, Famous Footwear). These stores will serve the non-participant athletic shoe customer, which is not a primary customer of ours. We will carry an assortment of discontinued and clearance shoes, which should help us to be competitive with these stores.

Pricing, promotion and communication-mix decisions

Pricing: - the process of setting a price for a product, including discounts. The price need not be monetary; it can simply be what is exchanged for the product or services, e.g. time, energy, or attention. A number of modes of pricing techniques exist, which span:

1. Elasticities (whether Price Elasticity of Demand, Cross Elasticity of Demand, or Income Elasticity of Demand)

2. Market skimming pricing

3. Market penetration pricing

I have used market penetration pricing in which a company could release a product into a market years after it is initially introduced, but at an artificially low price in order to stimulate demand. The result of such a pricing strategy would be to draw consumers from competitors and into purchasing its own product. Low barriers to entry facilitate a company's ability to sell goods at a price lower than its market clearing point.

Diamond Bookstore mission is to provide quality literature of all types at the lowest possible prices in Peshawar. The firm additionally seeks to provide a comfortable atmosphere for its clients that promote browsing, relaxation, and an enjoyable environment to spend extend time in. Diamond Bookstore attraction to its customers will be our large selection of books, magazines, music CD's and DVD's and our purchasing/buyback option, which lower our book acquisition costs and allows our customers to discard unwanted books/CD's in exchange for cash.

Promotion: - This includes advertising, sales promotion, including promotional education, publicity, and personal selling. Branding refers to the various methods of promoting the product, brand, or company.

Advertising is the form of paid communication to customers using impersonal mass media such as newspapers, T.V, radio, direct mail, and the internet. Diamond Bookstore used all the form of communication mix for the promotion of their sales and products in order to build Brand image.

Diamond Bookstore will organized contest such as promotional games of chance. They will provide gifts to their customers who buy the books in large quantity.

Store Management:

Layout design- Diamond bookstore design layout offers some unique challenges. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges is to create a layout that has distinctive qualities and therefore sets the store apart. Our facility is a 5,500 square ft. shop which allows us to stock a large amount of inventory.

Free-Flow Layout

• Fixtures and merchandise grouped into free-flowing patterns on the sales floor - no defined traffic pattern

• Works best in small stores (under 5,000 square feet) in which customers wish to browse

• Works best when merchandise is of the same type, such as fashion apparel

• If there is a great variety of merchandise, fails to provide cues as to where one department stops and another starts

Customer relationship management and services

Diamond Bookstore provides quality literature of all types at the lowest possible prices in Delhi. The firm additionally seeks to provide a comfortable atmosphere for its clients that promote browsing, relaxation, and an enjoyable environment to spend extend time in.

Diamond Bookstore attraction to its customers will be our large selection of books, magazines, music CD's and DVD's and our purchasing/buyback option, which lower our book acquisition costs and allows our customers to discard unwanted books/CD's in exchange for cash.

Diamond Bookstore Service:

Everything at Diamond Bookstore is focused at customer satisfaction maximization. Vast range, trained polite and courteous staff and never saying no to customers is the aim of every Diamond Bookstore. The best customer order process, home delivery of books/music, and an efficient querying system are meant to satisfy every customer.

Quiz Programs:

Diamond Bookstore organizes an Open Quiz program every year where over 1000 teams participate from all corners of the country. It is the largest open quiz programme in the country and has been successfully conducted in Delhi.

Loyalty Program:

Diamond Bookstore introduced a loyalty program named 'The Fellowship' in December 2003 for its customers. The main objective of the program is to provide benefits to the member not just as individuals but as a family.

Program Sponsorship:

Diamond Bookstore sponsors a number of programs related to products and services within the periphery of Diamond Bookstore business. A number of book launch events and music performance events are organized and hosted by Diamond Bookstore.

Conclusion

The Athlete's Foot will focus on the above two market segments. By capturing those primary customers, the balance of residents with sports shoe needs will be drawn to us, the obvious headquarters for athletic footwear.

The store will be located at the intersection of University Drive and Wiles Road. The key co-tenants are: Fresh Market, Bed Bath & Beyond, Blockbuster Video, Play It Again Sports (they do not sell athletic shoes), a 10,000 sq. ft. daycare center, a children's and young men's specialty clothing store, a learning center, four restaurants, and several other youth-oriented businesses. At the same intersection are: Kmart, Steinmart, Winn Dixie, McDonald's, Wendy's, three banks, six additional restaurants, and three gas stations. In total, there is approximately 400,000 sq ft of retail space at this intersection. University Drive is being extended north through Boca Raton. Wiles Road is being extended east, through Coconut Creek. There are approximately 55,000 cars per day traveling through the intersection

The shoe retail business is a competitive field. In this three part article, know the dynamics of this industry and the factors affecting demand for shoes before starting your own store

Competition in the industry is strong. There are a number of established players in the shoe industry with established market positions, brands and reputations. A mall often houses several shoe stores, mostly the major players. Major players in this industry have numerous retail outlets throughout the US, while smaller players are generally independently owned and operated in one or two locations.

Recommendation

Diamond Bookstore should try to encourage the corporate customer to make cash purchases by offering those good offers and discounts and by extending the credit period. The discount should be volume based and on delay of payment the discounts should be reduced and also could be made void.

Adequate parking facility should be provided to all the branches which would be flexible to the consumers to shop from any three branches.

we benefit from a comprehensive support program that includes:

* Access to special vendor discounts including; Nike, Reebok, Fila, New Balance, Adidas, Converse, Brooks, etc.

* Advice and assistance in real estate selection and negotiation

* Proven store design, fixturing, and layout

* Planned merchandising system, assortment direction, and coordinated inventory control

* Comprehensive training in all facets of the athletic footwear business through required seminars and workshops

* Ongoing support through video, monthly publications, regional meetings, and co-franchise networking

* National Advertising Program and assistance with the local advertising campaign

* The most sophisticated "Fit Technician" and Research and Development programs in the industry.

You may also find these documents helpful