Summary+report


 * Two Page Executive Summary To be Submitted to Lectuer by Email by 2 Apr 11**

pls contribute your ideas here for the exec summary

Verena - Notes from our meeting @ the library (21 Mar 2011)
 * For action** - please post your thoughts under the respective points:

1. What is the cost of expanding into Malaysia, Indonesia? What will expansion entail? Will we be just doing marketing? Any tie-ups with local events? Will we need to get a distribution centre in each country, or ship from Singapore? 2. After Y04, do we go into either furniture for plus size or mainstream apparel? LM: as most of our purchasing and manufacturing activities will be performed in China, so for expansion the marketing spending will account most of our budget. We can refer the marketing strategy used in Singapore. In the 2nd, 3th, 4th we can consider ship the clothes and other stuff from China to our other markets directly, maybe there's no need to establish a distribution center, it may cost a lot. A: I thought the distribution center will be in Singapore? I heard from my friend in Indonesia that doing clothing manufacturing that even people from Indonesia going to China to produce and then send to Indonesia. So the expansion will be only marketing & local events. The shipping will be from Singapore

-Payment modes (Interbank transfer, Paypal, Credit card), multiple currencies - what it cost from Y00 to Y04 Paypal https://www.paypal.com/sg/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_fees-rate-about-outside V: Can't seem to get ready information on having direct credit card payments. Let's just use Paypal rates for costing purpose. But for presentation-wise, we'll add in visa, mastercard credit card payment facilities. A: If not mistaken, credit card processing fees = 3%. Multiple currency no cost, just to keep in mind there will be gain / loss based on exchange rate

-‘importer tax’ - what it cost from Y00 to Y04 V: Only GST needs to be paid. It's 7% x (Price paid for goods + freight + insurance charges)

1. Source of goods - From overseas suppliers – We'll have an agreement with them to change their brand to Plus Life - From local designers and their own manufacture apparel = give them a sub-line of Plus Life, ie include their branding as well. A: Agree. We create one sub brand for designer cloth (e.g. Plus Life Autograph) - Manufacture on our own, and use designs from design schools, fee will be under marketing expenses (design competition among students, whoever wins gets money prize and then get a part-time designing contract ), 2nd year onwards award designer fee? A: Again, may need to consider sub brand (e.g. Plus Life Inspiration) - From blogs and physical retailers (very small percentage of income) - //we decided to take this out right? Because it does not go with our branding push.// LM: Just a concern, the premise of an agreement is that we need to make these suppliers foresee their interests. So we may consider how we allocate the revenue between them, either one-time deal, say, they can get ? $ per year, or it depends how much we can sell.

2. Goods will include both apparel and accessories.

3. Expansion plans will solely be on marketing efforts: - Malaysia (2nd year) - Indonesia (3rd year) - Men's line (4th year)

LW: How much will we be spending for marketing each year? V, 31 Mar: Let's say the marketing strategies will follow 1st year. Here's what I propose: LW: ﻿As the markets expands quickly, accordingly, the spending may soar by several times. So shall we suppose for the each following year the fee will increased by 200% to 300% y-o-y.

Yr 00 - Newspaper and magazine feature: No cost - Design competition target at 2 schools. Give prizes for top 3 winners: Publicity in schools ($500), top 3 prizes ($1k, 2k, 3k = $6k) - Social media: No cost - BAB collaboration in community events: $10,000 (for sponsorship of clothes, publicity collaterals, freebies)

Yr 01 We continue with design competition. Same cost - $6500 Collaboration with BAB will cease Malaysia marketing cost $50,000 (for event-type publicity, similar to BAB)

Yr 02 Design competition $7000 (prize money increase, publicity decrease) Indonesia, focus on Jakarta, marketing cost $50,000

Yr 03 Design competition $7000 (prize money increase, publicity decrease) Men's line in Singapore, marketing cost $10,000 (primarily sponsorship of clothes)

4. Marketing strategy, mostly in 1st year - Newspaper and magazine feature - Design competition target at 2 schools. Give prizes for top 3 winners - Social media - BAB collaboration in community events

5. Merchan ﻿ diser in China - Liming's relative - will need to give a monthly fee of S$500 LW - $500 plus % of gross profit also right? V, 31/3 - is 1% too little? I'm ok with 1-5% but I'm concerned with how much profits we're left. We need to bear in mind that our cost to designers will go up as our business gets better. LM: sharing our profit maybe not beneficial for us, considering if we can draw up a beautiful revenue. So as a representative for us, we can just consider give him or her bonus each year which equals several months' salary, that won't cost us much. A: Then we can just put it in the salary itself ($500 x 14 month = $7000 per year)

6. What is Plus Life? - social responsibility (support local designers, empower plus-size) - online magazine LM: Have a concern to help a group of people cope with their "pain"

LW: Tried to find information on the yellowribbon for clothes designing. It seems nothing on it. Not sure if i was looking at the correct site. V, 31/3 - don't think you can find anything there. yellow ribbon is just a campaign to encourage companies to give ex-convicts a 2nd chance. We can write to the prisons and invite convicts to design clothes for plus size for a fee.

7. VC funding is sought to fund marketing efforts in business expansion.

Financial Model - Hi all, please find revised FM. This model is partial complete. Need some help in the figures. Unable to balance the Balance sheet. V, 31/3 - i'll take a look on sat itself, can?



- May i ask if the cost for the winner of the competition under operating cost? or salary? V, 31/3 - can put under salary - Each winner part time contract is only for 1 year? or longer? V, 31/3 - 1year contract, subject to review from company - Are we having our own designer(s)? If yes, when will we employee? and what will be the salary? V, 31/3 - shall we keep to using free-lance designers, tap on students and prisonsers / ex-convicts? Then we'll charge %. As sales increase, their % will increase. Eg. we sell 50 pieces of designer A's work, we'll give him 20% of gross profit; we sell 100 pieces, we give him 25% and so on?

The figures are required so that we could include some ratio or figures in the Exec summary.

*** LW: Dear all, my apologies for the late upload. Please find attached first draft of exexcutive summary for your review. Feel free to make any changes. The figures are left blank as i am still amending the spreadsheet. Thank you. -- V: Thank you Lee Wen for putting in so much effort in the financial model! I've done some minor editing to the text and changed our expansion plans to from US and Europe to Asian market. US and Europe market is a saturated market for plus-sizers.

LW: Hi all, please find revised copy of the executive summary with the figures and charts with V amendment (Thanks V). Please review and feel free to amend. Thanks.