1. BUSINESS BACKGROUND
1.5 Company Summary
Achieve an annual expected demand growth of 3% in year-two and three
To have positive cash flow in the five years projected
To maintain a net Income of 30% or higher of total revenues.
Beyond year-three, be able to accumulate enough capital for further store expansion
1.5 Company Summary
The word ―Organic‖, in connection with food or clothes, has become quite popular in recent years. Many people buy these days’ organic products, such as food and baby clothes, to avoid allergic reactions from their children. The aimed business will be primarily merchandise baby clothes and blankets, made from 100% organic cotton. The certified product, whose country of origin is Paraguay, comes from a family owned company named Aravore (meaning ―a piece of heaven‖ in Guarani, the Paraguayan native language). Aravore USA would be the North American sales agent for parent company.
1.5.1 Company Ownership
Aravore team consists of two owners, twin sisters Rocio and Jazmin Perez; two private investors. Jazmin, has lived in US for the last 6 years and has a child age 5. She has a degree in business administration, and is actively involved in woman sport activities with infants;
she has a solid understanding of business fundamentals. She will be responsible for the daily business, bills and for filing taxes such as self-employment tax, estimated taxes, and business taxes. I will be responsible for financing the initial capital of the business.
1.5.2 Start-Up Plan
The company, which will be funded with private savings, is going to sell baby clothes and bedding, knitted and crocheted in 100% certified organic cotton and organic merino wool. It can be therefore considered a retail business. At the beginning all sales will be made exclusively online, using a website, which describes why organic cotton, the products,
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friendly shipping methods. This will enable the business to be opened to the complete North American market from the beginning. The anticipated customers are private persons, such as families with babies, and businesspersons, such as baby store or boutique owners. Besides the online activities, in a second phase growth, it is planned to make the product public to local baby storeowners in the Bay Area, by introducing the product to them and striking deals for carrying the products.
The business will be located in Fremont, California, U.S.A. Fremont is located in the east of the Bay Area, in the county of Alameda, just a couple of miles from cities like San Jose, Santa Clara, and the big metropolitan San Francisco. At the beginning, the business will take place at home. In this case, we need to obtain a "Home occupation Permit‖. This permit application is available at the Development Service Center, a governmental office in the City of Fremont.
Aravore USA will be registered in Alameda County. This step needs to be completed before obtaining a Business License from the City of Fremont.
No physical store is needed, since the business will be online, though a later opening of a store cannot be excluded, if the company performs successfully. In order to establish a successful working environment, the company will need one office room for the daily business activities, and one storage room for the products coming from abroad. The office room will be located in an apartment-home, and consists of a desk, chair, a computer with high-speed Internet access, telephone with fax line, and a printer. Office supplies, including pens, eraser, pencils, stapler, scotch tape, post-its, white board, printer paper, and agenda.
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The storage-room, which measures 10x30 feet, is located in a public storage place just one mile away from the office, will count with hangers, boxes, and a specific closet for the clothes.
As an online business, the shop will be available 24 hours, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The webpage is planned to be online by January 1, 2011, to be able to start with the sales right before the Saint Valentine’s Day. This date would be also the first day in business.
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particular charm and identity. The products, which are blankets, ponchos, cardigans, jackets, dresses, coats, pants, mittens, booties, hats, and scarves can be bought online store from the Aravore USA webpage.Aravore clothes and bedding are made from fairly traded organic cotton and organic merino wool as well as luxurious vintage and re-claimed fabrics and trimmings. Beautifully made and incredibly soft, each item has its own particular charm and identity.
Soft, dreamy colors, simple shapes and extraordinary detailing have become Aravore’s trademark, achieving a luxurious look with a classic feel that is yet modern and very wearable. The Basic collection includes gorgeous vintage knits, matching hand knit accessories for babies and toddlers from 0-6 years as well as exquisite shawls and blankets.
Each season unveils a new fashion collection as well as a small selection of numbered limited edition items. Only the highest quality organic yarns and fabrics are chosen and harmful dyes and bleach are avoided, so that Aravore’s products are kind to the baby's skin and kind to the earth.
Aravore Babies uses 100% organic cotton spun by Promover S.A - AratexOrganica (certified organic and fair trade by IMO - Switzerland). The merino wool is spun by hilanderiaCapen in Argentina and it is certified organic by OIA (Organizacion Internacional Agropecuaria) according to EU 2091/91 organic standards.
2.2 Services and Policies 2.2.1 Placing orders
Placing an order is simple and customers can choose any of the methods listed below: