Mission Statement

“Provide superior quality of services to our customer and facilitate them according to their occasion”.

Introduction of the Business

Flowers are a big part of people’s lives. Their beauty and color allows us to convey our messages perfectly get-well soon for our sick friends and family, congratulatory messages to a newly promoted colleague, condolences to a grieving family, and to express our love to another person. Every occasion is celebrated with flowers.

Or even without an occasion. Recent trends indicate that majority of those who buy flowers buy it for themselves. The American Floral Endowment Consumer Tracking Study conducted in 2000 showed that about 67 percent buy flowers for themselves, and only 33 percent buy it as a gift.  

It is thus no wonder that flowers have become big business. If you love flowers and have innate artistic ability in creating wonderful floral arrangements, you may consider starting a florist shop.   

Environmentally sound production techniques, increased farm diversification, and increasedFarm income is basic parts of sustainable farming systems. Cut flower production andMarketing offers both small and large-scale growers a way to increase the level of sustainability on their farms. The tremendous variety of plants that can be grown as

cut flowers allows growers to choose those which are well-adapted to the farm site and grown without large offsite inputs. This variety also makes diversity in both production and marketing possible. And the high value of cut flowers can increase farm income.Cut flower harvesting is gaining popularity in Pakistan. This sector is attracting not just men but a lot of women into this business as well. Women are entering this field, thinking it is an easy and part time business. But once they are engaged in this work, they realize that it is a full time job.

Although a cut flower farm is a profitable and attractive venture, the grower is still not rewarded properly in financial terms for his/her work. Either the middleman or the retailers make the profit. Retailers enjoy the maximum margin.

City Flower Shop

The purpose of City Flower Shop is to fulfill the demand of Quality Flower. Keeping in view the importance of this business, we have decided to start this business. In initial state, we will open our four outlets in different major areas of Lahore.

Management Hierarchy

Goals & Objectives

We have divided our goals & Objectives in two parts.

Shot Term Goals

Short term goals consist of one year. As there is no any major competitor of us in Lahore, that’s why we have established out primary goal to capture the maximum attention of people in initial stage and try to capture maximum market share.

In initial stage we will focus on providing information to the target market segment and persuading them to get services from us and in later stage, we will expand our market share.

Long Term Goals

Our long term goals consist of next five years plan. In long term goal, we will expand our market level and will open new outlets in other areas of Lahore as well as we will out outlets in other major cities.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is done to find out the inner strength and weakness of the company and external opportunities and threats.

STRENGTHS:

Strength:

STRENGTHS:

Strength:

WEAKNESSES:

Lack of Capital

Lack of Trained Staff

Lack of Research & Development department

Lack of Related Business

WEAKNESSES:

Lack of Capital

Lack of Trained Staff

Lack of Research & Development department

Lack of Related Business

OPPORTUNITIES:

Government’s small business supportive policies are great

OPPORTUNITIES:

Government’s small business supportive policies are great

THREATS:

THREATS:

Competitive Advantage

Current market situation Our plans & structures

Marketing Mix

Marketing mix consist of four P’s which are

1) Product

2) Price

3) Place

4) Promotion

The detail of these four P’s has been given below.

Product

The product which we are going to introduce or going to start is a service of Flower Shop. We will provide different types of flower with variety of choice.

Price

We will follow price penetration strategy to enter into the market. Similarly, we will offer different price packages & will offer special discount on any special occasion. The price range of flowers provide by us will be between Rs50-1000

Place

In initial stage, we will open our four outlets in four major areas of Lahore. The locations which we have chosen have been mentioned below.

1) C Block Market of Model Town2) Y Block Defence3) M.M Alam Road4) Mall RoadPromotion

For any newly established business or well developed business, marketing & promotion activities are very important. We will promote our business via News Paper, Posters, Pamphlets, sign board etc.

Market Segmentation

Through marketing segmentation, we divide our market into different segments depending on the needs and wants of each segment. Currently, we have divided our market into two segments. The first segment is our direct or final consumer. There are the people which will directly use our flower. This segment further has been

divided into three sub segments which are 1) Middle Class 2) Middle Upper Class 3) Elite Class. Our second segment is consisting of business class people. This segment include retailers, restaurants, party caters etc.

Competitors

At present, the roadside flower shops & open flower shops are the only source for purchasing whatever kind of flowers one wants. There are two main reasons for the success of these shops. First of all they are strategically located for easy access.

Secondly, they are the only known source for flower sales. People have to buy whatever they have to offer.Our competitive advantage is that what ever we will supplied by us, it will be grown in our own farm and they will be fresh as ever. We will use latest technology for preservation of flower and our flowers quality & normal price will act as competitive advantage for us.

Target Market

Target market consists of group of people on which any business focuses. As it has been mentioned in marketing segmentation, that we have divided our market into two different segments, we have decided to target both segments. But our major focus will be on Middle Upper and Elite Class.

Advertisement & Marketing

Advertisement & marketing is use to inform people about the company latest and existing product and services. We will advertise our new business through many channels like print media, electronic media etc.

In print media, we will give adds in different local news papers of Lahore like Daily Express etc.

We will established our website and advertise our business on internet and E-Marketing will be done to capture more market share. We will also put brochures and different restaurants and five starts hotels.

Future perspectives

In initial stage, we will try to capture the initial stage of market and will build our good among them while in future perspective; we will open our more outlets in other major areas of same city as well as other cities of Pakistan. In initial stage, we will outsource the flower but if we get the orders for flowers on permanent base, we will purchase our own land. The purpose for outsourcing is to reduce the fixed cost in initial stage.

Prerequisites for Business

In order to start the business on proper scale, we need the following as prerequisites for business.

Land for farming purpose Four major location for outlets Transportation Agriculture requirements

Process Flow Chart

Land for Outlets

We will open our four outlets in four major area of Lahore. To open any outlet, we need 300 square feet shop for proper establishment of out shop. We will obtain shop on rent. The shop will be divided into two parts. The front part will serve as display area and the back part of the shop will serve as store & receive area where flowers will be receive and stored. After sorting, new flower baskets, bouquets and bunches would be made everyday and then displayed for sale. as products would b e sold, new ones would be made to fill the empty space on display. The interior

decoration of each cost will cost about Rs.250000. this amount would be spent to create an aesthetic look, to install a wash basin behind partition, to buy tools and to make the cash counter. The area behind partition would be about 100 square foot.

Farm Location

We will have two farms for production of flower. One farm is near Lahore (Mahmood Booti / Burki Area) and the other one in Haripur. The basic advantage of having a farm atLahore is that the temperature/weather conditions are feasible and frost is relatively less as compared to its other neighboring areas. The farm at Lahore would be supply source ofGladiolus, Roses, Statice for the shop during winter season & Tube Rose during summer season. This farm would be actively supplying these flowers from mid of March to February. The other farm in Haripur would also be used for supplying Glads &

Roses during summer months & it would be supplying flowers from April to November.Besides the flower growing area, a little space would be required for post harvest treatment at both of the farms. The farm near Lahore is bigger because it will supply flowers during the peak demand season, the winter & the summer seasons.

Flower Planted at Lahore Farm

Flower Planted at Haripur Farm

Life Period of Different Species of Roses

THREATS

Flowers are perishable products with a limited life span. Even if they are treated with life enhancing solution, their life is limited. If they are not sold in time they loose appeal and have to be dumped, resulting in economic loss.Another possible threat is the attack of certain diseases on the flower fields. Though pesticides are sprayed regularly, yet there is always a chance of their attack. This could cause considerable and/or detrimental damage.

A distant threat could be the lack of demand either due to excessive supply or change in fashion. But this is too distant and remote to stop anyone from going for this project.

Insect Pests and Disease Management

The best way to prevent insect and disease problems is to select plants that grow well, like Roses, Glad, Tube Rose & Statice. A healthy, actively growing plant is more resilient to insect attack. The ideal approach is a preventative program.

Control insects early, when they are first detected. Do not wait until a serious infestation occurs.In next step, we will recognize the problems caused by insects and diseases. Some can be tolerated; others will destroy the value of flowers. The more you know about their life cycles, the more likely you will be able to manage them effectively with non-toxic methods.

Disease Control

Foliar fungus diseases are the most serious disease problem on cut flowers. If mildew or other foliar diseases are a recurring problem, it might be wise to increase the spacing between plants slightly to improve air circulation around the foliage. Powdery mildew and black leaf spot are two of the most common foliar diseases. Botrytis attacks flowers during cool damp weather. Improper watering or frequent rains may cause some root rot problems. These can be minimized by planting on raised beds.The best approach to disease control is a preventative program. Manage the crop. Don’t neglect it. Practice good sanitation; keep the field free of weeds and plant

debris. Adjust planting density for each species to allow sufficient air circulation within the bed.

Watering to Farm

To maintain floral quality and peak production, the plants must be watered frequently, sometimes daily with some soil types.Natural rainfall is neither sufficient nor reliable. Without supplemental watering, production may not be economically realistic. That’s why, we will use both the farms watering would be done with the help of tube well (diesel) as for most of the

areas canal irrigation is not sufficient. Each floral crop needs year round water supply on a specific timing.It may physically damage the flowers, cause spotting on the petals, splash soil onto the foliage, and promote the spread of disease.

Miscellaneous Cost for Farm

Watering Cost

Labor Requirement

Fertilizer Requirement for Each Farm (Per Acre)

Transportation

Transportation of flowers from Lahore farm to the shop would be carried out by a Suzuki van. The distance between the farm and the shop would be almost between 30 to 40 minutes.The transportation of flowers from Haripur farm to the shop would require some planning. The wooden crates would have to be transported to Haripur city, from where buses take cargo directly to Lahore. The best option of transportation between the farm and Haripur City would be the local public transportation. We will use local transportation for carriage of flowers from Haripur to flower shop.

Electricity

The major consumption of electricity would be at the shop where light and air conditioner would run constantly for at least 8 hours a day. Average electricity bill of the shop would be around 10,000 rupees/month.The consumption of electricity at the farm in Lahore & Haripur would be nominal. We can assess the electricity charges at the Lahore farms at around Rs 1500/month.

Production Capacity

Production of rose flowers has different seasonal variations. In Lahore, during November and December, production is on the higher side. January and February are slow growth period because of winter frost. March and early half of April is the maximum yield season.After 20th April till early June there is no yield due to hot blowing winds. From July tillSeptember, rose is available but the quality is low. Quality starts to improve from October.

In Haripur farm, the reverse is true for roses. High yield months are during summer season. Other factors remain the same most of the time.On an average, one plant of rose flower has an average yield of 50 flowers per year. Out of these 50, about 10 flowers are rendered useless for commercial usage, either by man handling or by some disease. Therefore, only 40 flowers per plant per year are available for commercial sales. Therefore, about 1.1 million rose flowers would be available for commercial sales from the two farms round the year.As far as the gladiola flower is concerned, in Lahore region it is sowed in September.

Harvesting is after 70-120 days based on various species of glades. Therefore, the flower is available for commercial sale during the first week of December. At the time of sowing, a gap of about 15 days is given. Therefore, the sowing continues till February so that flower is available till March and at times till April.In Haripur it is sowed in early February so that yield is available from May till September or even October. Average yield of gladiola flower planted from imported bulb is90%. Based on these statistics, about 99,000 gladiola flower stems would be available for commercial sale from the two farms.

Tube rose planted in Lahore region will be sowed from 15th April till 1st May. Harvesting is after 60 days. Therefore, the flower is available for commercial sale during the last week ofJune. At the time of sowing, all the bulbs are sowed at once. About 62,000 of both tube rose& statice flower stems would be available for commercial sale.Statice seeds will be planted in Lahore region in September and in October/November they will be transplanted in the field. Flowers blossom between March and April

First of all, the available flowers would be used for creating beautiful flower baskets, bouquets, and bunches and then selling them from the shop. Besides selling about 25 such arrangements a day from the shop for three hundred & sixty days a year, 30% of the remaining flowers would be used for direct event decoration. Remaining 70% of the total production would be sold directly in ‘mandi’. During summer months, the sale is usually slow, whereas, during winter months, the high season, the sale is at peak on all accounts, including event decoration.

Projected General Facts & Figure

Saleable Flowers per Year (Per Acre Production)

Whole sale & Party Decoration (Per Acre Production)

Open Market Sale

Financial Analysis

Budget (Projected Requirements)

In order to start the business of Flower shop, we need capital of Rs 16000000 to Rs 17000000 for four outlets in different major areas of Lahore. This amount would be spent on obtaining four shops on rent, advance payment of rent, purchase of transportation, decoration of shops, to full fill the requirement of Agriculture sector etc.

The break up investment regarding each outlet has been given below.

Projected Cash Flow

In order to start any business or make any investment, the projected cash flow is very important. Following is the projected cash flow of one outlet of City Flower Shop for first two years.

Cash Flow Statement:

Cash Flow (Continue)

Projected Income Statement:

Projected Balance Sheet:

Required investment

To start this business of Flower with four outlets in the above mentioned major areas with shops on rent base, we need total investment of Rs 16000000 to 17000000. With this amount, we will purchase our equipment to be in agriculture sector as well as to be use in outlet decoration. We will install water pump, purchase seeds, and will conduct other miscellaneous expense through this amount.

Initial Investment & Loan

Currently to start this project, we have investment of Rs 13000000. This is the amount which will be provided by the owner to start this project on small scale having four outlets of flower shops. As the required investment in this project is 16000000 to 17000000, the remaining amount will be taken as loan from bank. We will take amount of Rs 4000000 as loan from the bank which will charge as low as much possible interest.

Repayment Method of Loan

In order to repay the amount which would be taken as loan, we will utilize the revenue. The income which we will drive from sale of flower will be our major source for the repayment of the debt.

CONCLUSION

As it has been mentioned in the initial stage, the Flowers are a big part of people’s lives. Every occasion is celebrated with flowers. Our project of City Flower Shop will facilitate people in their ceremonies. Our quality service level will encourage people to get engage with us. As flower is twelve months business, that’s why our

services will be available around the month. We have mentioned our projected cash flow, income statement as well as balance sheet. Similarly, we have mentioned our initial investment in the project and amount of loan to taken for this business. You recommendations and suggestion for the improvement of business will always be welcomed.