A Study On A Business
I am going to set up a business selling chocolate. My shop is going to be a small chocolate shop which sells there of hand crafted specialist chocolate. The chocolate will be made in the back of the shop. It will be situated in York.
My two main objectives will be survival and profit maximisation. These two aims are linked because in the long term survival is not possible without your total revenue being bigger that your total cost.Layout of CourseworkThe aim of my coursework is to:Firstly undertake market research: such as, primary and secondary research* Primary research: visit companies and send out questionnaires.* Secondary research: research from Mintel/Keynotes.In the second part of my coursework I will be creating a promotional plan.In the third part of my coursework I will look at the social costs and social benefits of my business, and also how the law/legislation will impact on my business.
Finally, I will draw together everything, with a conclusion.Action PlanMarket ResearchThorntonsThorntons main aims and objectives are profit maximisation. Thorntons manufacture and also retail chocolates, toffee, ice cream and other confectioneries of a high quality. Also, as well as selling there own products they sell own-label products made by companies such as Marks and Spencers.Thorntons in York is situated in Coppergate.
I think the choice of this location is good because it is near a large car park where shoppers will park and it is also in the centre of a large variety of popular shops.I think that the target market of Thorntons is the working class (aged 18+), and is also aimed at special occasions, such as Christmas, birthdays and Easter. I think that the target market also influences the location and the products they sell because the shops in the vicinity of Thorntons are also aimed at the older market, such as Marks & Spencers and Fenwicks.QuestionnaireHow Old Are You?10-15___ 16-25___ 26-35___ 36-45___ 46-55___ 56-65___66-75___ 76-Older___Gender?Male ___ Female___Where do you buy chocolate from the most?..
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..What is your favourite chocolate?….
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………………………………………………………………………………How much do you usually spend a week on chocolate?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………How much are you willing to pay?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………If you are going to buy specialist chocolate for example for a birthday or such where would you buy it from?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Primary Research ReviewIn this part of my coursework I will be reviewing my results I received from my questionnaires.How Much People Would Be Willing To Pay For A Regular Sized Bar Of ChocolateThe Promotional PlanThere are many ways of advertising my company, but some of them will not be suitable in this piece of my report. I will look at the different ways of promotion and their advantages and disadvantages:Direct Mail* You are able to choose your audience.* Effective and easy to measure.But,* People think its junk mail and throw it away.* Poorly Targeted.Television* High impact.* Large audience.* Life like.But,* Ads can’t be kept.* Expensive.* Unable to target your audience.Radio* Mostly easy targeting.* Low Costs.But,* Small Audience.Internet* Global coverage.But,* Often downloading delays.Posters* Big impact* Seen by many peopleBut,* Limited information* Difficult targetingPress* Easy targeting of market segments* Adds can be kept* Colour AvailableBut,* Not as dramatic as television* Ads often unseenSocial, Economic and Environmental Effects of Opening my potential retail businessEconomic EffectsIn my shop I will be employing a variety of workers. My shop is going to be a small chocolate shop, which sells its own handcrafted chocolates, which are made at the back of the shop so I will need some specialist chocolate makers, there will be about four people working as this job but only two of these will be working at a time so the shifts are rotated round between them. I will then need three till workers they will also rotate their shifts around as well. Then I will take care of buying and picking up the goods needed to produce the chocolate and also I will take care of the accountant work. So in total there will be eight people working in my shop including myself.Social and Environmental EffectsAll of the packaging that the chocolate comes in from my shop will be recyclable and all the rubbish made by the shop will be disposed of so my shop will not make the amount of litter increase.So I think that over all my shop will help the community by providing jobs for people and it does not hinder the community by litter because all of the litter produced is recyclable.Legal Constraints and Other ConstraintsI will have to think about the Legal Constraints I might come up against and how I could avoid them I would also have to think about other factors that could determine if I archived my main objectives or not such as other competitors could already have a larger market share than me also I would have to think about the fact that they benefit from economies of scale and I would definitely have to think about the location.ConclusionSo to conclude I am going to set up a business selling specialist chocolate. It is going to be situated in Leeds city centre. It is going to be located near to the corn exchange this is because there are very popular shops located near here so there should be a lot of interest. I have decided to use posters and the Internet to advertise my business this is because most people have a computer and the Internet and use it regularly and posters are seen by many people and have a very big impact so these two combined should have the biggest impact on the community. I have also noticed that most of the money made from chocolate is made from special events such as Christmas Easter Birthdays and such so I am also going to specialise in that area of chocolate.
