Business plan in Fashion business
Description of the Assignment
You will undertake a self-directed business plan as a major component
of the honours degree in Fashion Business. (all pathways)
Business Plan Outline
The structure and content of a business plan depends on the nature of the business
initiative and the target audience of the document.
According to the Harvard Business School, a business plan for a start-up venture will
include:
1. Cover Page / Title Page
● Clean and professional layout
● Include the name of the business or project
● Provide your name and contact information
● Name of the tutor authorised your project
● Display your company logo or other important elements of your identity (with
moderation).
● Date the report was issued.
2. Table of Content
● All sections must be clearly listed.
● The table of content will provide your reader an indication of the important topics
enclosed in your business plan.
3. Executive Summary
● Your executive summary should summarise all the important sections of your
plan:
Indicative content:
❖ The industry and market environment
❖ The unique business opportunity
❖ Mission statement
❖ Key objectives and strategies: how will you differentiate from
your competitors? What is/are your sustainable competitive
advantage/s?
❖ Financial potential: risks and rewards of the business
opportunity
❖ Management team: key people who will achieve the results
❖ Resources or capital being requested: what do you hope to
obtain from the readers of the plan? (Capital and/or resources)
● You will write your executive summary once you’ve completed your the report.
4. Business Description (content and objectives)
In this section you will introduce your business concept to the reader. It is also
important to explain clearly your business objectives.
● Your own understanding of the business concept.
● Your business objectives.
● Reasons and motivations of your choice.
● History of the concept or business (where are you now? First draft, start-up,
business to be expanded etc.).
● Customer who will use your product/service (in other words, what “problem” will
your product or service solve for the customer?).
● Structure of the business.
● Location of the business.
5. Business Environment Analysis
The analysis of the business environment will answer the following questions:
● What general forces are affecting or can affect the business?
● Who are your competitors within the industry?
● Who are your customers within that market?
A. Analysis of the Macro Environment (PESTEL) (Part 1)
● An intro into PESTEL and an analysis of PESTEL – this could include a PESTEL
mapping.
● Identify and list a set of macro variables relevant to your business environment.
● Using the PESTLE framework assess implications, certainty and impact.
● Important trends in the industry (Consumer, Retailing, Lifestyle, Marketing,
Promotional).
B. Analysis of the Micro Environment (Market Sector/ Segment –
Market Trends) (Part 1)
● Size of the Industry.
● Market Size.
● Current Market Analysis from secondary sources (performance, growth,
shrinkage).
● Analysis of the competitive forces (Porter’s five forces model).
C. Competitor Analysis (Part 1)
Competitor research & analysis has several important roles in strategic
planning:
❖ To help understand competitive advantages/disadvantages relative to
competitors.
❖ To generate understanding of competitors’ past, present future strategies.
❖ To provide an informed basis to develop new strategies to achieve
competitive advantage.
❖ To help forecast the success of new proposals and strategies.
● Compare 4 brands that will be your competitor.
● Identify potential competitors.
● Understand competitors’ objectives.
● Identify competitors’ strategies.
● Assess competitors’ strength and weaknesses.
● Estimate competitors’ reactions.
E. Market Analysis (Part 2)
This is your results from your Primary research both your qualitative and
quantitative research.
● Qualitative market demand analysis (consumer behaviour)
● Quantitative market demand analysis
● If you wish to conduct focus groups 1 focus group would be sufficient.
● If you wish to conduct In-Depth interviews 3-5 should provide you with the
information required.
This section will inform the segmentation, targeting and positioning
strategy
F. Strategic analysis of the Internal Environment (Part 2)
Available frameworks:
● Resource based approach
● Value Chain Approach (Porter, 1985)
G. Evaluation of the Strategic Fit (Part 2)
Available frameworks:
● SWOT/TOWS Matrix
6. Marketing Plan (Part 3)
● Marketing Objectives SMART
● Segmentation
1. Segmentation in your market
2. A table of the segmentation variables in your market
3. Segment profiling – describing the identified segments
● Targeting
1. Core target – Key profile
2. Targeting strategies (differentiated, undifferentiated ect…)
● Positioning
1. Positioning map
2. Positioning strategy
● Brand Identity
1. Brand name
2. Logo
3. Colour palette
4. Brand layout with moodboard
5. Labelling and packaging
6. Show the Brand DNA pyramid
Marketing Mix
● Product
1. Core benefit
2. Actual product benefit
3. Augmented product benefit
4. Range Plan( product or service)
5. Merchandise plan
6. Sourcing strategy to include visually illustrated critical path
● Price
1. Price Objectives
2. Competitors price analysis
3. Pricing strategies
● Place
1. Distribution Channels
2. Visual merchandising ONLINE / OFFLINE
● Promotion
1. One year promotional calendar
2. Launch campaign
3. Ongoing campaign
a. Advertising
b. PR
c. In-Store
d. On-line
e. Other…. any aspect of the promotional mix that is
relevant to your project!
f. Promotional VIDEO ( all pathways) max 1min video
Plus the extra 4 P’s: People, Physical Evidence, Process and Persuasion if relevant
to your project.
7. Operations plan
Indicative content:
● Analysis of the flow of the daily activities and strategies to support them
o Explanation of the flow chart
8. Management summary
Indicative content:
● Structure of the team
● Description of team members’ qualifications
● Presenting team as unit:
● management philosophy, strengths and weaknesses of the team
9. Financial plan
● Capital requirements
● Financial projections
● Assumptions underpinning the financial projections
● Breakeven analysis for sales
Formative deadlines (formative assessment):
1st part of the business Plan end of Term 2 from Executive Summary till marketing
section
2nd part of the business Plan Finance and Management end of Term 3 Final
handing in for the whole business plan in JUNE 2022
Essential Reading:
1. Beaver, G., 2002. Small Business, Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development,
Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
2. Carter, S. & Jones-Evans, D., 2000. Enterprise &Small Business : Principles &
Practice, Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
3. Jankowicz, A.D., 2005. Business Research Projects 4th ed., London: Thomson.
4. Maylor, H.& Blackmon K., 2005. Researching Business and Management,
Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
5. West, D., Ford, J. & Essam, I., 2010. Strategic Marketing: Creating competitive
advantage. Second Ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press.
6. Harvard Business School, 2007. Creating a Business Plan, Boston: Pocket Mentor
Series Harvard Business Press Books.
7. Meadows, T. (2009). How to set up & run a Fashion Label, Laurence King
Publishing, London
Recommended Reading:
● Barnard, Malcolm. (2002) Fashion As Communication. Routledge
● Brassington, F. & Petitt, S. (2006), Principles of Marketing, 4th Ed., England, Prentice
Hall
● Easey, M. (2009), Fashion Marketing, 3rd Ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
● Fairburn, Gavin. (1996). Reading, Writing and Reasoning: A guide for students. Open
University Press
● Foster, Timothy. R.V. (1991) 101 Ways to Generate Great Ideas. Kogan Page.
● Jackson, T. & Shaw, D. (2009), Mastering Fashion Marketing: Palgrave
● Klein, Naomi. (2002) Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the front lines of the
globalization debate. Flamingo
● Klein, Naomi. (2010) No Logo: No space, no choice, no jobs. Forth Estate
● Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2010), Principles of Marketing, 13th Ed. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall
● Lambing, P. & Kuehl, C.R., (2000). Enterpreneurship, Halow: FT Prentice Hall
● Malhotra, N.K. & Birks, D. F., (2006). Marketing Research: an applied approach,
Harlow: FT Prentice Hall
● Patten, D., (2001). Successful Marketing for the Small Business 5th ed., London:
Kogan Page.
● Polonsky, M.J. & Waller, D. S. (2011). Designing and Managing a Research Project:
A business Student’s Guide, London: Sage Publications Ltd.
● Posner, H. (2011) Marketing Fashion, Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
● Raymond, Martin. (2010) The Trend Forecaster’s Handbook. Laurence King
Publishing
● Raymond, Martin. (2003) The Tomorrow People: Future consumers and how to read
them. Financial Times Prentice Hall
● Schon. Donald A. (1991) The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in
action. Ashgate