Executive Summary

1. Introduction – History and background

2. Market Research

Target market and Market size

Following are some of the facts about the UK`s Floral industry

and its market

Per capita spending on flowers per annum is £36

Population of East London is around 8 million

East London is the richest area in UK and they are

expected to spend of flowers more than the average UK

flower spending. Even if they spend on average, sole East

London market has a size of 288,000,000 (8,000,000 x 36)

Ornamental sector in agriculture of UK is worth around

£674 million annually

Shrubs and roses are the major constituents of this

ornamental sector

UK fresh cut flower retail is around 1.5 billion £.

General trend in UK is that people have the liking for flowers

Competitor`s analysis

There are many florists in Cardiff that can pose a challenge

to "Blooming freshers". The range of their business varies

according to the nature of plants they grow and sell and also

according to the quantum of business they have. Following are

the leading competitors in florist industry in Cardiff.

Bettys (496 Cowbridge road East, Cardiff)

Alison Bentley (Upper House Pound Lane, Wenvoe, Cardiff)

Interflora florists with its subsidiary businesses

Pastures green (4 Pound Field, The Shopping Centre,

Llantwit Major, CF61 1DL)

Village flower studio (105 WENTLOOG ROAD, Rumney, CF3

3HD)

Wine and roses (115 Severn Grove, Pontcanna,

Cardiff, CF11 9EQ)

Eric Roberts flora artists (1 SHIRLEY ROAD, ROATH PARK,

Cardiff, CF23 5HL)

The forte that is common in all the above mentioned

competitors is their experience and business age resulting in

maturity of the business. Bettys for instance has a tag line

that states "blossoming since 1850".

http://www.bettysflorists.co.uk/

Intraflora mentions that it derives its skills and expertise

from the 90 years of experience in the field and prides itself

that it is world`s largest most experienced flower delivery

network in the world.

http://www.interflora.co.uk/content/about-us/

It has many businesses that are mentioned earlier and it

operates in many names depending upon the nature of services

and products diversity. Alison Bently is the youngest

competitor in this regard and was inaugurated in 2004.

Strength in the delivery network and the skills of the human

resource possessed by these florists is highlighted by these

organizations and they take real pride in it. This is

something that will not pose any significant challenge in the

initial phase of business of "Blooming freshers" but as it

moves ahead to expand its business to other parts of UK, it

will surely be a point of consideration. Alison Bently is the

youngets competitor but its presence in the market also

signifies a probable place that can be acquired in the market.

Its growth tells that despite the presence of these florists'

giants, market has the knack of accepting new florists. Market

size is also sufficiently huge and hence there is incremental

chance for achieving sustainability in the business in shorter

time.

Most of these competitors are very much alike and this is

where "Blooming freshers" can pounce on the opportunity to

define and get benefited from a niche it has will create for

itself. It will specialize in exotic plants and fruits and

this is something that makes the business different from the

rest. Target audience would be clear what they can get from

the label of "blooming freshers".

3. Product or service

Growing and selling exotic plants and fruits. These plants are

fruits rare and do not belong to the natural habitat of UK and

thus growing them will require skills. It will also focus on

selling accessories. We will be based in Wales( near

Newport/Cardiff) for our production of flowers and our first

target customers will be in eastern part of London as this

place has approximately over 100 annual events and 130 places

of attractions, local florists will play a major role in

initial stages. We are thinking of covering few cities in

Wales as well.

4. Legal obligations

Following are the legal obligations that Blooming Freshers has

to adhere for the purpose of launching the business and to

stay safe from any hurdles that could prevent its growth in

times to come.

Registration of limited company with companies` house

Adhere to the registration for employees` insurance

liability

Registration with HM revenue and customs for the purpose

of corporate and other associated tax payments

Request to Cardiff council to grant permission for

holding any public event.

Permission from water authority to construct water

reservoir via tube well

Permission from local council to construct poly house at

the premises

Domain registration for launch of website

5. Business Aims & Objectives

AIM

The aim of is to provide exotic plants and fruits to the

local target audience to provide and experience that is rare,

unique and exceptionally distinctive in terms of environment.

MISSION

Our mission is to become a market leader and stay a market

leader in introducing unique to the market that are exotic

and rare.

OBJECTIVES:

Objective Timescale

Year 1 Register company and adherence

to other regulatory

requirements

Poly house construction

Computer, CCTV and other

equipment

Open a Business Bank account

Produce business cards

Develop and launch website

Advertise in magazine and news

papers

Register website with

recognised search engine

Aug 2014

Aug 2014

Aug 2014

Aug 2014

Aug 2014

Oct 2014

Oct 2014

Oct 2014

6. Marketing strategy

In order to devise a comprehensive marketing strategy,

following aspects need to be discussed.

6.1 Branding

Branding is the overall mechanism or framework for marketing

and various marketing aspects will be addressed on the basis

of the branding mechanism decided for a product. For our

exotic plant and fruit business, we have to make sure that our

products are recognizable and can be differentiated easily in

the market. Brand name, packaging style, colour scheme, logo,

tag line and other associated aspects have some uniformity and

can be associated together. Since the nature of the business

is about plants so the most appropriate colour scheme will be

green but to create some uniqueness, green and white colour

will also be merged in the logo, packaging and advertising.

Our tag line will be “enjoy nature`s diversity”. The tag line

itself highlights that the producer is dealing with something

that is unique and exotic plants and fruits are definitely

rare in this part of the work so those who wish to enjoy this

diversity of nature, are welcomed. Staff members will also be

wearing uniform that has entity`s logo and that has similar

colour scheme and even the accessories like pots will be

designed around the same theme. Our ads will be creative and

delicate in appearance. We will believe in “less is more”

concept in advertising. Our ads will not be based on any

cartoon theme like advertising done by Red Bull. Creativity

will prevail in our advertising and marketing.

6.2 Online advertising

Online advertising will be of real use and benefit to this

business. This is because of the fact that conventional

advertising, like on TV, newspapers, magazines billboards, is

expensive. All the detailed information that needs to be

provided regarding the product and services provided by the

business, cannot be explained through these media as these are

expensive mediums and length of an ad is kept short because

longer it is more costly it is. These media can be used for

creating brand perception and recognition in the market but

detailed understanding about what exotic plants and fruits

are, how they are grown, environment conducive for their

growth and other such related aspects can only be provided if

detailed communication is done and online mediums can be

really helpful in this regard. Forums like face book, twitter

and hangout will be used. Facebook page will be made and

continuous interaction between the experts at Blooming

Freshers and existing and potential customers will be made

here. Online advertising and marketing campaigns will be

coupled with that conducted on conventional media like radio,

TV and news paper.

6.3 Promotional strategy

Blooming Freshers will conduct different types of promotional

activities but it is not necessary that all these activities

are conducted simultaneously. What can be done is to arrange

these activities at different points in time down the line.

Initially, interactive sessions and exhibitions will be held

at the Blooming Freshers premises or at any garden around

Wales and people will be invited to be part of this unique

experience with their families where they can see plants and

fruits that are rare in UK`s environment. This will provide an

opportunity to the organization to be in direct contact with

the target audience and to explain the product and services

offered to create product awareness. Customer data will also

be maintained and raised through this activity and further

interaction will be facilitated. At a later stage, there is

also a possibility that participation in TV or radio

programmes is made.

6.3 Promotional ties

It will be an interesting act to ally or tie up with different

businesses that can complement each other. For instance, it

will be good to join hands with Golf Clubs as the target

audience for both Blooming Freshers and Golf Clubs is very

much similar in terms of financial standing. Secondly both

deal with greenery and nature to a great deal. So if some ties

are done, there is no doubt it can be beneficial. We can ask

for 2, 3 small places in golf course where these exotic plants

and fruits can be planted for a particular time in season.

Similarly relations with NGOs working on environmental issues

can be strengthened and joint public awareness campaigns can

be launched but this will not be done in the first year of

business. This can be done in the third year of business when

the cash flows are sufficient enough to support such ventures.

7. Sales activity plan

Following will be the sales activity plan for

Organize public events to ensure participation of locals

and develop their interest in the products, increase

customer attraction and develop brand awareness and

recognition. Events will be arranged at different times

in the year. For instance for moth 1 and 2 extra £500 are

allocated and these are for arranging these events.

Similarly after a gap of 4 to 5 months again these drills

will be conducted

Advertising will also be done in magazines and news

papers. News paper advertising will be done on weekends

and it will cost around £ 300. Cost of advertising in

magazines will be £ 120. Total print media advertising

will cost around £ 620. This advertising will run

continuously throughout the first three years of the

business.

Budget allocated for radio advertising will be £ 500.

Digital radio has created its own market that consists of

loyal and habitual listeners. Advertising through radio

will be helpful in capturing the attention of right

target audience and for that reason light music based

programmes will be selected that has listenership of

those who are sophisticated and middle aged people and

this also happens to be target audience for as well.

All the payments will be collected on cash basis and

there will be no credit allowed to any customers and

events for events 50% advance will be collected and then

remaining payment will be cleared before the event

completion.

Even the suppliers will be paid on delivery of products

and credit margins will not be requested for.

8. Pricing and production costs

Exotic plants and fruits are rare and precious. Growing them

in UK`s environment is not going to be a cheap task and even

this fact will known to our target audience. These are going

to cost higher and competition in the market with regards to

exotic plants` nurseries is not higher. Target audience for

these products will be people having financial viability and

interest n plants so they that are willing to pay higher for

these plants. Keeping in view the nature of products marketed

and the type of target audience, it will not be impractical to

adopt “skimming pricing strategy”. Skimming pricing strategy

is different from competitive pricing strategy which is

adopted for commodities that face severe competition in the

market and lack uniqueness. With skimming pricing strategy,

prices are charged higher and high end customers are targeted

who can and are willing to pay higher. Exotic plants and

fruits will therefore not be charged cheap and in fact they

will be expensive.

Exotic plants and fruits are not the only products marketed

and accessories like pots, vas, tools, gadgets, special soil,

minerals, and fertilizers (organic and inorganic) are all our

products and for all these products, pricing strategy will be

different. Competitive pricing strategy will be followed here.

These products might not give significant revenues but they

are constant source of cash inflows and they are valuable as a

result. Competitive pricing will also ensure that target

audience carries a belief that we are not charging high all

the time and in fact they can trust us for prices as we charge

higher only when it costs higher. A satisfaction in this

regard will be helpful.

Three main products for the are

1. Sale of exotic flowers, fruits and seeds (wholesale and

retail)

2. Renting plants

3. Wedding/ ceremonies designs (silk and bridal flowers,

sympathy flowers)

Price of exotic flowers and fruits vary and it can start at

£10 and rise higher in some cases.

9. SWOT/PEST analysis

SWOT

Strength

Availability of the exotic plants and fruits as per the

needs of the customers.

Regular revision of promotional strategies according to

the current trend in order to attract more and more

customers to the business.

Focusing precisely on customer satisfaction by giving

value to customers regardless of budget.

Availability of customized combination of plants for any

particular event.

Offering exotic plants and fruits on high end pricing but

other accessories and related items on competitive

pricing basis.

Being an innovative producer and seller of exotic plants

and fruits by providing high quality fruits and plants to

its target market.

Weaknesses

is a new name in the market and this can be considered

as the weakness of this business.

The customers are well known of the existing nurseries in

the market so it can become difficult to the to attract

new customers and increase their profit margins in the

field of producing and selling exotic plants and fruits.

Opportunities

Event management companies can be accessed and can be

part of joint ventures for events they need such plants

and decoration at.

Events like Christmas, Easter and New Year create an

opportunity for the business to gain incremental profits.

Specific market segment can be targeted and it will

comprise of flower lovers and those who are financially

strong. Better customer loyalty and lesser brand

switching can be expected which opens gate for further

innovations.

Market response can be expected welcoming and this is

because market is open and generally responds well to new

ideas and shows willingness to accept.

Threats

Irregularity in seasonal and occasional needs for flowers

can cause an effect on a newly initiated business.

Increase in import duty, tariffs and other expenses like

electricity and rent can cause an impact on the cost of

production. Sale prices are already set high so raising

them further will not be a valid option and hence profit

margins will decline.

Market inexperience of the partners can be a treat to the

business.

Poly house premises are rented and any relocation can

cause harm to the progress of the business.

PEST Analysis

Political Factors

Environmental laws regarding the waste management

Legal aspects regarding hiring the workers, choosing the

land for renting out, terms and conditions of the loan

can affect the business.

Political instability can greatly affect the affairs of

the business.

Alteration in the taxation policy by the government.

Economic Factors

The demand of exotic plants and fruits can fluctuate in

the market.

The general increase in prices and reduction in value of

money can also affect the business.

Recession can have great impact on the business.

Fluctuation in exchange rate can affect the economy and

the economical condition of a country has so much of

power to influence a business.

Social Factors

Changes in the social trends can have a great

influence on the business.

Changes in the customer preferences and liking are

one of the most important factors to understand.

Due to competitive business environment, it is quite

difficult for the businesses to make loyal customers

thus creation of loyal customers can be considered

as a challenging social factor for the business.

Technological Factors

Construction of Poly house is a technical thing and

picking the right option is important. There are

different options available and choosing the right option

will be imperative.

10. Contingency plans

Contingency planning is integral part of the business plan.

This is because of the fact that business progress can be

hampered if uncertainties creep in an proper planning is not

done to mitigate their possible effects. Following table

highlights the possible problems that may be encountered,

their possible effects on the business and the devised

strategies to counter these problems.

Problem Effect on business Means of countering

the effect (Strategy)

Failure of

poly house

equipment

Loss of exotic

plants and fruits

that are nurtured

in special

environment of a

ploy house

Inability to meet

the customers`

demands in the

time frame

Loss of customers

Bad market repute

Decline in

customer

satisfaction

In order to avoid

the negative

impacts of such a

situation will

make sure that it

stays in direct

contact with the

equipment

providers and

have on board

technicians that

can fix the

problem. This

will save time of

searching such

technicians.

Conduct seasonal

thorough checkups

of equipments and

replace any parts

that are dodgy or

that are running

out of their

useful life.

Keep backup spare

parts that can

often malfunction

and are pron to

error.

Missing staff Production quality

and quantity can

decline

Customer care

services can

deteriorate

Resource manager will

be given

responsibility of

being aware of

agencies that can

provide vocational

staff to fill in these

staff members for the

time being on

temporary basis and

provide margin of

searching for the

right workers. Injuries Can risk the

health of workers

Result in loss of

human resource

Provide timely medical

support.

Provide first aid kits

at different points

Demoralization of

staff members

Questions raised

about business

sustainability and

responsibility.

in the poly house and

overall location.

Seasonal check up of

equipment can help in

reducing such risks

Employees will be

trained to carry

their work with

safety equipment and

will be taught about

handling such

situations at work

place.

It is not possible to mitigate the effects of uncertainties to

the full but proper planning ensures that their negative

impact is controlled to the max level in order to make sure

that business doesn’t get a halt and losses are not heavy in

qualitative and quantitative terms. A major qualitative impact

can be bad name in the market and resulting customer

satisfaction. Major qualitative impacts can be incremental

cost and declining revenues.

11. Staffing requirements – recruitment and training

Role Salary per

annum

Necessary

Experience

Skills/

Qualifications

Managing

Director

£ 20,000 / year 2 year experience

in the management

Master’s /

equivalent degree

of reputed entity in Management.

Good

communication and

leadership

abilities.

Operational

manager

£ 18,000 / year 1 year experience

in operations of

event management

Bachelors or an

equivalent degree

in business

operations.

Communication

skills and

knowledge about

current trends.

Planning

manager

£ 18,000 / year Min 1 year

experience in

planning events,

marketing and

organizing

promotional

activities with

particular

attention to

creativity and

innovation

Bachelors or

equivalent degree

in marketing

Bachelors or an

Resource

manager

£ 18,000 / year Min 1 year

experience in

resource

management with

special skills in

human resource

management

equivalent degree

in business

management

including

expertise in

project

management.

2

florists

2

designers

2

delivery

persons

2

temporary

staff

members

( min

wage x 40

hours per

week =

6.31x40 =

252.4 /

( min wage x

40 hours per

week =

6.31x40 =

252.4 / for

8 persons

2019)

Florists and

designers should

be 2 year

experienced but no

experience

required for

delivery persons

and temporary

staff

Willing to work

at flexible

working hours and

stay loyal with

the company.

for 8

persons

2019)

Initially, the three partners in the business will assume the

roles of planning manager, resource manager and operational

manager. This is to ensure that business doesn’t incur any

extra costs that could be saved if partners themselves

contribute to the managerial affairs.

12. Resource requirements

The table below depicts all the costs that must be incurred at

the commencement of the business in order to get the business

rolling and nature of expenses is such that they are going to

give economic benefit for number of following years and there

will also not be need of incurring any major capital

expenditure thereafter in at least nest 2 years.

Resource When How funded Total cost

Poly house

construction

Start of the

business

Capital

Investment

£ 5,000

1 PC to keep

accounts and

generate bills

Beginning of

the business

Capital

Investment

£ 1,000

1 Printers +

scanner

Start of the

business

Capital

Investment

£ 200

Cargo Van Start of the

business

Capital

Investment

£ 8,000

CCTV Security Beginning of Capital £ 300

System the business InvestmentTotal

£ 14,500

Total expenditure is therefore £ 14,500 and this will be made

out of finance arranged for the business.

13. Sources of funding and investment

Overall investment required for the business will be £ 60,000.

Out of this half will be brought in by the partners i.e. £

30,000 making each partner contribute £ 10,000. Remaining £

30,000 will be borrowed from the bank. The term of borrowing

will be 60 months at 5% p.a.

It is important to have some capital in hand in form of cash

at bank as will help in covering any initial losses and to add

sustainability to the business and reduce the risks of

failure. All the finance cannot be used is capital

expenditures and some portion of it has to be retained to

satisfy the going concern need for business.

14. Personal survival statement

Rent

with

bill

s

Food Clothes Entertainment Mobile

phone

Total

cost

Operational

manager

£

350

£ 120 £ 100 £ 40 £ 25 £ 635

Planning

manager

£

350

£ 120 £ 100 £ 40 £ 20 £ 635

Resource

manager

£

350

£ 120 £ 100 £ 40 £ 25 £ 635

Overall it can be stated that on average each partner will

need to draw around £650 approx each month. Total drawings per

month will therefore not exceed £1950. In the first three

months of the business partners will not draw anything from

the business and retained earnings and cash flow can absorb

such drawings thereafter.

15. Conclusion/summary

16. Cashflow forecast and other financial statements

17. Appendices - Proprietor/partner/director

CV’s

(Summary/ heading of - Supplier’s brochures

all documents included) - Sample price lists or menus