THE PETITE SHOPWelcome to the Petite Shop experience.

150 Broadway AvePrince George, BC

Table of ContentsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................2

OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................................3

MISSION..........................................................................................................................4

MARKET ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................4

Market Segmentation.............................................................................................................4Competitive Analysis (See Appendix 11).........................................................................6

MARKETING...................................................................................................................7

Product & Services.................................................................................................................7Pricing (See Appendix 3)......................................................................................................8Promotion.................................................................................................................................8Place (See Appendix 13)......................................................................................................8

ORGANIZATION.............................................................................................................8

OPERATIONS (See Appendix 10 for Timeline)..........................................................10

HUMAN RESOURCES PLAN.......................................................................................12

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS.................................................................................................14

Capital Budgeting:................................................................................................................15Financing................................................................................................................................16Sensitivity Analysis (Appendix 4 and 12):.....................................................................16

SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................17

References....................................................................................................................18

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYImagine it is 9:00pm on a Thursday night and you realize that you have nothing in your closet to wear out to a dinner party the next night. You make room in your schedule to stop by the local mall after work on Friday so that you can pick something up. You get to the mall and department store only to find they do not have what you are looking for.

The Petite Shop is a 1,000 sq. ft. boutique that will cater to petite women searching for clothes to meet their needs for the optimal petite fit and style. Located on a busy downtown street in Prince George, B.C., it will be easily accessible to customers. The Petite Shop will always strive to be the premiere choice of petite women’s clothing in Prince George. The store will feature a collection consisting of both classic and trendy pieces with price ranges from $30 to $90.

Marketing efforts will focus on promotions by initially advertising on the radio. By slowly growing the customer base each year, The Petite Shop will focus advertising towards the target market of women between the ages of 25-45 based on the customers’ information retained at the Point of Sale System.

By targeting the Prince George petite market that has little competition from other stores, there are expected positive cash flows and growing profits over the next 5 years The equity investment is $25,000, which will have to be supplemented by an additional $35,000 in debt from the bank in order to cover capital costs. Based on the financial projections, the equity holders can earn an expected rate of return of 30% while the debt holders can earn their required 10% interest rate.

The focused operations of The Petite Shop will require Alice Wood, as the owner/manager, to be the only full-time employee. In addition, there will be a part-time employee throughout the year and a seasonal employee during the months of October to December. The seasonal employee is required due to the expected increase in sales during the Christmas and holiday season.

With the combined efforts of the owner and the profitable specialty petite product lines, The Petite Shop will be the destination of choice by July 2009.

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OBJECTIVESThe objectives of The Petite Shop are:

1. To be the first choice for petite female shoppers of Prince George for trendy and classic petite clothing at affordable prices. 2. To focus on the customer and provide personalized high quality service.3. To be easily accessible to customers in the busy central shopping district.4. To achieve a net profit by the second year of operations.

MISSIONWelcome to The Petite Shop experience.

To be the premier destination for petite women to purchase their wardrobe. The Petite Shop is dedicated to providing our customers with high quality personalized service. We want to be responsive to our customers need for well-fitting, trendy and classic clothing at affordable services.

Keys To SuccessThe Petite’s keys to success are:

1. Providing petite customers with both trendy and classic clothing that provide both excellent fit and style.2. Offering high quality personalized service by getting to know customers on a one-on-one basis.3. Converting customers from ‘‘just browsing’’ to “I want to try this on” to a resulting purchase.4. Generating word–of–mouth marketing through customer satisfaction.5. Creating repeat business through customer satisfaction.

MARKET ANALYSISMarket Segmentation

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Population 70,985

Female (Age 25-45) 10,310

Median Household Income (All

families)

$72,055

Number of families 29,200

Per Family Expenditure on

Women’s Clothing

$1,000

Figure 1: General StatisticsSOURCE: Statistics Canada; and Financial Post Canadian Markets and Urban Family Expenditure Report

Target Market Segment Strategy

The aim of The Petite Shop is to serve petite women of Prince George that have difficulty finding clothes that fit their smaller frame. Currently, the petite women’s clothing sector is being underserved at both the department store and boutique shop levels.

Market Needs

Clothes that fit right for women 5’’4 and smaller Selection

Type Style Occasion

Affordable prices High level of quality customer service Accessibility to store outside regular working hours

Market Trends

Major US retail department stores have either minimized or completely eliminated their women petite clothing departments. However, their Canadian neighbours such as Sears Canada and The Bay have stated that they have no plans to downsize the category. (Olijnyk, 2006)

Retail spending continues on an increasing trend (Statistics Canada, 2008) Recently, several major retailers have expanded into the Prince George area-

a trend which is expected to continue. (City of Prince George, 2008)

Market Growth

Plus size category is currently growing at a faster pace than petite women’s clothing; however, both segments are underserved in Prince George.

Potential increase in target market demographics through expansion and movement of companies into Prince George.

Rio Tinto Alcan to invest $2 billion in Kitimat Works Modernization Project which will make its Kitimat smelter one of the three largest smelters in North America.

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PositioningFor the petite women who are looking for the optimal fit and style.

-The Petite ShopWear size does matter.

The Petite Shop aims to be a place that petite women of Prince George can rely on for affordable, well-fit clothing and excellent customer service. Being that Alice is a petite woman herself, she can relate to her consumers. The key factor to differentiate and to position the shop will be the personalized customer service that Alice will be able to provide to her customers.

Competitive Analysis (See Appendix 11)Current Competitors

5 department storeso Biggest threats are The Bay and Sears

Frequent sales promotions Loyalty programs such as HBC Rewards and Sears Cards One stop shopping experience Well-known and trusted national brands Greater advertising budgets (Radio, Flyers, Mail)

17 Clothing stores in Prince Georgeo Only five carry petite clothingo Biggest threat: Reitman’s

Has the ability to offer more competitive prices and more frequent sales promotions

Likely has greater inventory turnover and operates on economies of scales due to national operations

Potential New Entrants

Ricki’s –HIGH THREATo Target age group: 25 to 45 years oldo Price: Mid Rangeo Recognized store chain and brando Has expanded into several BC cities and towns of comparable sizeo Eg. Chilliwack, Kamloops, Maple Ridge, Nanaimo, New Westminster o Has the ability to offer more competitive prices and more frequent sales

promotionso Likely has greater inventory turnover and operates on economies of

scales due to national operations

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Laura Petites-MED THREATo Target age group: 30 to 55 years oldo Price: Mid to Higho Recognized store chain and brando Has locations in Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Victoria, Vancouvero Has the ability to offer more competitive prices and more frequent sales

promotionso Has greater inventory turnover and operates on economies of scales due

to national operationso Likely to pursue other Southern BC cities before entering the Prince

George market

Fairweather-LOW THREATo Target age group: 25 to 40 years oldo Price: Low to Mido Recognized store chain and brando Has locations in Burnaby, Kelowna, New Westminster, Port Coquitlam,

Surrey, Victoria, Vancouvero Has the ability to offer more competitive prices and more frequent sales

promotionso Has greater inventory turnover and operates on economies of scales due

to national operationso Likely to pursue other Southern BC cities before entering the Prince

George market

Banana Republic-LOW THREATo Target age group: 25 to 45 years oldo Price: Higho Only opened Petite outlets in the US and not Canadao Will likely target larger cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary

MARKETINGProduct & Services

Products (See Appendix 3)Sizes: 0-9

Lines: Classic (Target Age: 34 to 45) The anchor pieces of every woman’s closet

Trendy (Target Age: 25 to 33) For the fashion conscious woman.

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Service1) Always willing to help customers find the right fit and style.

Committed Owner/Manager that is a customer herself Getting to know customers on a one-on-one basis to determine their

needs.

2) Return/Exchange Policy 7 days

Store Credit Only

Pricing (See Appendix 3)Mid Range: $30-100

The Petite Shop’s strategy, given that the average family spends $1,000 per year on women’s clothing is to target the low to mid price range under the assumption that the consumer will want to maximize their number of purchases from their budget. Given that the larger, more recognized store chains such as Reitman’s and The Bay could offer more competitive prices through more frequent sales promotions, The Petite Shop plans to differentiate itself through service rather than price.

PromotionGiven that Prince George is a relatively small city, one of the most effective and cost efficient methods for advertising will be word of mouth. An average of 2% of sales will be budgeted for advertising. One method that Petite Shop plans to use is a grand opening party to attract target customers at which point the store will start to build a customer mailing list.

Price Promotions: Seasonal markdowns-January and September Methods: Radio, newspapers, door-to-door flyer campaigns, word of mouth

Place (See Appendix 13)The Petite Shop will be easily accessible to customers by being located in the central shopping district in Prince George, BC with no direct competitors. This area has a high ‘boutique shop’ concentration and is located within a five minute drive from two malls in the midtown area. The location is ideal for women that are employed in the central business district to shop after working hours. Also, the farthest suburban areas of Prince George are about a 19 minute drive from the shop.

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ORGANIZATIONStrengths Alice Wood (Owner/Manager) has worked in a women’s clothing store for several

years and therefore, has experience in the retail industry which will help her in running the store.

As a petite woman, Alice is also a member of the target market and she has valuable insight and knowledge about client needs and importance of petite clothes fitting right.

Alice will be able to provide valuable personalized customer service. The store will be easily accessible by being located in the central shopping district.

It increases the convenience for women with more disposable income to shop during work lunch hours. Given that Prince George is a small city, the store is able to be located only 19 minutes away from Prince George’s suburbs, which increases accessibility for all residents. Moreover, the store is surrounded by other boutique shops and a mall and is likely to attract more potential consumers to the area and her store.

The store will carry both a classic and a more trend conscious line to cater to a larger target market.

Weaknesses Alice lacks prior experience in running a business and has limited business

management knowledge since she only completed one business management course at college. Therefore, she may have difficulty in managing all aspects of the business and creating a profitable company.

Although the store is located in a high customer traffic area, business women will have limited shopping time during lunch hours, and therefore, may be inclined to spend less on merchandise. If women are not willing to stay after work or come back downtown in the evenings or weekends to shop, the location of the store could result in a loss of sales.

Another complication arises if Alice is required to sign a multiple year rental lease as it would limit her opportunity to expand if she decides to do so in the near future. In addition, since these high rental costs will be fixed, it will reduce her flexibility with regards to cash-flow to run operations, which is critical in the start-up phase of a company.

Opportunities Based on the Prince George Directory and Alice’s research on competition, it

appears there may only be a few stores in Prince George and surrounding area that specialize in selling petite ladies’ clothing. Therefore, Alice’s shop has the opportunity to capitalize on this market and provide a better selection of clothing that focuses on the right “fit” coupled with more personalized service.

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Per a May 2006 article in the New York Times, department stores in the US have been cutting back space devoted to the petites. Instead, these stores are moving towards holding more 0-2 sizes in contemporary clothing lines that do not come in petite wear which may cater to some petite women if they alter the clothing. This trend may continue in Canadian markets. However, petite by definition means women who are under 5’4’’ regardless of their actual size; therefore, some of these petite women that are not in the 0-2 size range are often overlooked. In addition to length, petite clothing is cut smaller in several other key areas: sleeve length, waist length, under-the-arm holes, and pant stride which are different than sizes 0-2 and better-fitting for petite women. As department stores are not catering to the needs of these women, Alice can offer a variety clothing with a better “fit” which will attract more petite customers increasing her market share. (Barbaro, 2008)

Threats As per Appendix 6, the potential petite clothing sales within Prince George are

approximately $5.84 million (based on $1000 average expenditure on women’s clothing per family) in comparison to $29.2 million in total women clothing sales. With only 20% of the women’s clothing market representing petite wear, it is questionable whether there is enough demand and if the size of the market is large enough to support another petite shop.

There are several major retailers that are expanding into Prince George, which is a trend that is expected to persist. (Wikipedia, 2008) Therefore, the anticipated increase in competition can potentially further decrease Alice’s petite shop’s market share.

There is an assortment of high fashion and specialized boutiques that are located in downtown; therefore, competition exists in the surrounding area which can potentially decrease sales. Even if they do not target petite women directly, some petite women may choose to alter their clothing.

In the event Alice is unable to secure sufficient financing in the start-up phase of the company, she will experience difficulty in running operations and responding quickly to the market. Therefore, a risk exists that the company will not be viable in the long-run.

Retail is categorized as an area having high employee turnover. Given that Alice will need to hire at least one part time employee and seasonal help, this is not a large risk.

Potential new entrants into the Prince George retail market such as Ricki’s and Fairweather (See Competitive Analysis).

Unemployment rate has increased in Prince George. This will mean that consumers will have less disposable income, and will threaten the potential sales of the store. (Initiatives Prince George, 2008)

Fashion TrendsOne of the biggest risks associated with the clothing sector is the constant change of fashion trends from season to season. The risk is greater for stores that target a younger age group from 16 to 25 years old that are more trend conscious than Petite

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Shop’s target age group of 25 to 45 years old. The Petite Shop plans to mitigate the threat of changing fashion trends by carrying a classic line that will remain consistent throughout the year and by carrying a selection of more trendy clothes to cater to the younger target age group of 25 to 33. By monitoring fashion trends and keeping in constant communication with suppliers, Petite Shop can anticipate what clothing styles will be in demand for upcoming seasons. In addition, Alice will be able to apply her previous fashion experience towards effective selection of inventory, which will help to decrease the fashion trend risk.

OPERATIONS (See Appendix 10 for Timeline)

Organizational Structure

The organizational structure of The Petite Shop is fairly simple, as it is being operated as an incorporated company with one main equity investor (Alice Wood) and debt holders. Alice will be the main full-time employee of the store and will oversee operations on a daily basis. She will open and close the store, along with another part-time employee. She will be able to make bank deposits twice a week before she opens the store.

Hours of Operation

Monday – Closed Tuesday to Wednesday – 10am to 6pm Thursday to Friday – 10am to 8pm Saturday – 10am to 6pm Sunday – 12pm to 6pm

Inventory Management

Inventory counts will take place on a monthly basis to ensure correct inventory levels at all times.

Tracking Information (Accounting System)

The Store will purchase the Sysfak accounting system that specializes in invoicing and inventory management. This system can also be used in conjunction with the POS system at the cash registers.

This system will also offer the following features: Inventory Management system that can be exported to Excel Collects Customers’ details that can aid in future marketing efforts and targeted

advertising User-friendly interface

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Ability to generate cost and sales reports on a monthly basis

Cost Projections

Per Appendix 2, Schedule 3 the total expenses forecasted for 2009 is $103K. With start up costs included in this forecast the average recurring operating expenses will be approximately $96K.

With a positive net cash flow of $4,061 by Year 2 the cash generated from operations in addition to the start up financing will be able to cover the inventory purchases for the next 5 years. Inventory will be purchased from Petite Clothing Manufacturers which has a distribution centre located in Vancouver. Based on preliminary discussions with the supplier the inventory will be purchased 3 times a year with payment terms of net 15.

Given the conservative growth in the Prince George population of 1% no major business changes have been planned beyond the 5 year mark.

Store Layout (See Appendix 9)The store will be 1000 square feet and will consist of: two change rooms, clothing racks, washrooms, storage, desk, and till area.

HUMAN RESOURCES PLANThe Petite Shop will have Alice Wood as the full-time owner/manager, one part-time assistant, and one seasonal employee hired from October to December to help with flexibility and the large influx of customers expected for Christmas holiday shopping.

Job Descriptions/Recruitment

Owner/Manager: Alice Wood is responsible for managing the store and offering personalized sales service to customers. Other duties include setting the strategic direction, tracking trends, managing the finances, ordering clothing from suppliers, hiring and managing staff, and handling day-to-day operations. Alice will work approximately 60-70 hrs per week (refer to Appendix 8).

Salesperson (part-time/seasonal): Duties involve assisting with initial store set-up, greeting and assisting customers, ringing up sales, ensuring the sales floor is organized and appropriately stocked with clothing, opening and closing the store when the manager is away, keeping clothing neat and tidy, vacuuming the floor, and report directly to Alice.

Requirements: Must have previous sales experience and be available 20-25 hrs per week to work nights and weekends. The employee must be friendly, appropriately dressed and groomed, punctual and reliable.

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Recruitment: To fill required positions, Alice can contact fellow colleagues that she used to

work with at her previous employer (women’s clothing store) that may consider working part-time at the Petite Shop.

Since she has worked in the retail industry for several years, she may also know of other potential candidates that have sufficient retail experience.

Another option is to post an advertisement in the local newspaper for the required part-time positions which would cost approximately $500 (included in miscellaneous expenses).

Job application forms will be used to collect information about recruits (write-ins, walk-in applicants)

Alice will review job applications, resumes, and hold interviews in order to select the best candidate

Training Programs

The training program will be led by the owner/manager and includes the following: Providing employee with information about the business and goals/targets Provide training about merchandise (including material/washing instructions),

using the cash register Teaching specific selling skills to provide personalized customer service

The initial training session will be held before the store opening. For any new hires, the session will be conducted after work hours when the store is closed. Therefore, the cost of the training program will primarily include the printing of policies/manuals (approx $20/yr –see Appendix 7)

There will be on-going training, feedback, and coaching on the job which will not incur any costs.

Labour & Management Costs

As per the Human Resources 5 Year Plan (Appendix 7), total salary expense in the first year is $51,000. Total benefits include EI, CPP, Holiday Pay, and Workers Compensation, which amounts to 15% of gross salaries and are approximately $7,700 in the first year. The Petite Shop will not be offering health benefits. Training policy and manual costs will cost about $20 in the first year. Salary expense, total benefits, and training program costs will increase each year by 3% (2% inflation & 1% real growth rate). We have not factored in salary raises, as they will be based on actual performance. In addition, there may be employee turnover and raises may not be applicable every year (assume Alice does not require a raise).

Human Resources Strategy

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To attract and motivate the part-time and seasonal employees, Alice will offer an hourly wage of $12.50, which is currently above the minimum wage rate of $8. By offering a higher hourly wage rate, Alice is compensating employees by not having commission. In addition, if the salespersons are Petites, she could offer them a 25% discount on clothing purchases within the store.

Management Team

Alice has several years experience in working at a women’s clothing store and is familiar with the retail industry, which will help her in running the shop. However, since she lacks experience in running an entire business and has limited business management knowledge, we recommend that she take additional small business entrepreneurship, accounting, and finance courses by correspondence to aid her in managing the business.

Alice will have an external bookkeeper that will prepare the taxes and monthly financial statements. In addition, she can outsource her IT system for the initial set-up and hire the same service provider to come in and resolve any computer system problems or crashes.

Regular monthly meetings can be held between her and key stakeholders, including the angel investors, lawyer, and banker to discuss financial progress and allow for consultation on major decisions in running the business to ensure it is being appropriately managed.

FINANCIAL ANALYSISSales Forecast

The market for women’s petite clothing in Prince George is approximately 5,395 (Appendix 6). The Petite Store will operate 300 days annual and the average number of customers expected per day is 15. Items sold per day will range from 15 to 27 depending on the time of year, as the business has seasonality.

The markups per product range from 75% to 100% (Appendix 3). Based on market analysis, The Petite Store will charge retail prices at a premium due to the expertise of the owner and specialty nature of the clothes offered.

Costs and Expenses

As listed in Appendix 3, the average gross margin per unit of clothing is 49% with a Cost of Goods Sold percentage of 51%. The gross margin is expected to be higher than the industry standard of 41% due to the sales premium charged for the petite items and the store experience due to the knowledge/expertise of the owner. In addition, the

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purchasing costs are expected to be higher for The Petite Shop, as the store is not able to obtain the bulk purchase discounts attainable by the larger department stores.

Start-up Costs

The start-up costs include the business license fee, incorporation and legal fees, grand opening marketing expenditures, and leasehold improvements.

For a detailed listing of the expenses, refer to Schedule C in Appendix 1.

Recurring Business Operation Costs:

On-going advertising expense is projected to be 2% of the total revenue annually.

Employee wages for one full-time and one part-time individual at $3000/month and $1000/month, respectively. Additional seasonal help will be hired during the winter season from October to December at the same rate of the part-time employee.

Employee benefits include the employer portions of the EI, CPP, Holiday Pay and Worker’s Compensation.

Inventory:

The store will order inventory three times a year, which is consistent with the three fashion seasons of winter, fall, and summer. However, if the store is running low on specific items, Alice can order additional items with the supplier. Alice has a long standing relationship with her suppliers from her extensive experience in the fashion industry. The average inventory turnover is 100 days.

Seasonal Stock Order Time Spring/ Summer Stock (March to August) January Fall Stock (Sept to Oct) July Winter Stock (Nov to Feb) September

Growth Rate:

Petite’s sales is expected to increase by 3% annually based on a conservative estimate of 2% inflation rate and a 1% real growth rate. The real growth rate takes into consideration growth in the population of Prince George, marketing efforts and an increase in public awareness.

With a nominal growth rate of 3%, the expected sales revenues, net income, and cash flow from operations are expected to grow for the next 5 years (see Figure 3 below). Under the Most Likely scenario, it assumes that 65% of inventory will sell at full price in 2009 and increase by 20% in 2010. Subsequent growth will be at the nominal rate of

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3%. For a detailed description of the expected sales revenue refer to Appendix 2 Schedule 2.

Figure 1: Summary of Financial Projections – Most Likely Scenario

Summary Projections 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013Expected Sales Revenue $ 195,868 $ 235,042 $ 242,093 $ 249,356 $ 256,836 Expected Net Income $ (6,750) $ 11,742 $ 13,991 $ 16,176 $ 18,333 Expected Cash Flow from Operations $ 214 $ 4,036 $ 11,159 $ 13,409 $ 15,703

Capital Budgeting:

The total capital budget for the first year of business is $58,518, which includes the following purchases:

Furniture and Fixtures - $8,000 Equipment (such as cash register) – $5,000 Leasehold improvements – $12,000 Start up inventory purchase – $33,518 Incorporation costs - $1,500

Financing

With the total capital budget requirement of $58,518 and Alice’s start up capital of $25,000, the store will need additional funds of $35,000 in the form bank debt. The debt is to be borrowed at an interest rate of 10% and the term of the loan is 5 years. See Appendix 2, Schedule 7 for a detailed Debt Amortization Schedule for the debt.

Since the store will not have any accounts receivable or major capital assets, the only form of collateral for the bank loan will be debt. However, Alice personally owns a condo in B.C which is worth $500,000 and she does not have any outstanding personal liabilities, except for the mortgage payments. As such, it will be possible for the bank to issue a second mortgage on the condo and use it as the additional collateral for the bank loan.

Sensitivity Analysis (Appendix 4 and 12):

Assumptions under the Most Likely Scenario are as follows:

65% of inventory sold at full retail price in Year 1 and 85% in subsequent years. The remaining inventory will be sold at discount.

Required Return on Debt of 10% Required Return on Equity of 25% Break even (in units) is 3322 Break even average sales price is $56.82

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The investment in the store generates a positive NPV of $4,094 with an IRR for the Equity holders of 30%.

Assumptions under the Worst Case Scenario are as follows:

50% of inventory sold at full retail price in Year 1 and 70% in subsequent years. The remaining inventory will be sold at discount.

Required Return on Debt of 10% Required Return on Equity of 25% Break even (in units) is 5052 Break even average sales price is $71.37

The investment in the store generates a NPV of ($42,736) with an IRR for the Equity holders below the required 25%.

Assumptions under the Best Case Scenario are as follows:

75% of inventory sold at full retail price in Year 1 and 95% in subsequent years. The remaining inventory will be sold at discount.

Required Return on Debt of 10% Required Return on Equity of 25% Break even (in units) of 2065 Break even average sales price is $45.18

The investment in the store generates a positive NPV of $35, 315 with an IRR for the Equity holders of 64%.

As indicated from the above sensitivity analysis, it is critical that the sales volume and targets are met, especially within the first year of operations, in order to maintain positive cash flows, NPV, and an IRR above 25%. It is also critical for future viability that debt payments are maintained in order to ensure that the debt is not called, which would have negative impacts on cash position.

A risk analysis was also performed to assess the impacts on Net Income, Cash Flow from Operations, NPV, and IRR if the interest rate was increased to 15% in Appendix 5. The results of the increase in interest are a NPV of $1,600 and an IRR of 27%. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the maximum required return on debt is 18% before NPV becomes negative and the IRR drops below 25%. This indicates that an interest rate of greater than 18% would not make The Petite Shop a good investment, as the required return is not being met. The Petite Shop would likely be able to negotiate an interest rate of 10% given Alice’s experience in the industry, personal equity invested, as well as the collateral against her house in Whistler.

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SUMMARY

All of the components of the business plan are essential to ensuring the long term viability of The Petite Shop. Alice is the main driving force of the operations and her expertise in the retail industry will assist her in meeting customer’s needs and capturing market potential. Given the financial analysis, there are sufficient cash flows to meet debt payments and meet the required rate of return to all investors assuming she achieves the Most Likely sales volume.

Underserved market with need for a petite clothing store Specialty product in a desirable area with limited competition Given small population, Alice can capitalize on word of mouth

advertising Alice has valuable knowledge and experience of the industry and

can relate to her customer’s needs Alice can hire someone to work at her store by using her contacts in

the retail industry

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References

Barbaro, M. (2006). Where's the Petite Department? Going the Way of the Petticoat. New York Times. Retrieved from the world wide web: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/28/business/28petite.html

City of Prince George (2008). Today’s Prince George. Retrieved from the worldwide web:http://www.city.pg.bc.ca/pages/ourcity/

Initiatives Prince George (2008). Economic Activity. Retrieved from the worldwide web:http://www.initiativespg.com/ipg/media/downloads/Economic%20Activity_%20June08.pdf

Ministry of Labour and Citizens’ Services (2008). Minimum Wage Fact Sheet. . Retrieved from the worldwide web: http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/facshts/min-wage.htm

Prince George Direct Info Directory (2008). Women’s Store Listing. Retrieved July 14, 2008, from the world wide web: http://directory.princegeorgedirect.info/Shopping_Retail/Fashion_Retailers/Clothing_Stores_Womens/

Olijnyk, Z (2006). The Petite Rebellion. Canadian Business Online. Retrieved from the worldwide web: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/columnists/zena_olijnyk/article.jsp?content=20060627_140954_5384

Statistics Canada (2008). The Daily Report. Retrieved from the worldwide web:http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080325/d080325a.htm

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