Marketing Management The Body Shop Essay Example

Marketing Management: The Body Shop Paper The fierce competition at any business has driven entrepreneurs to find out new ideas that will be salable in the market. The situation suggests that suitable marketing approach will be a killing application that would win customers’ hearts. Usually, a product that attracts customers’ attention is the one that unique and different from the rest in the same market. This condition put the product to have perceived value by customers, which further awards the product with better deal. At cosmetics and beauty care industry, the competition is much more intense as companies are racing towards the development of the so-called ‘natural’ products, highlighting the use of natural ingredients. This development of using natural ingredients often used as the marketing jargon to stress the suitability to any kind of skin and free or less side effect to human body. Another challenge that a beauty-care company face is regarding the pricing scheme where it influences the branding campaign that position the products to be perceived high or low in term of values. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Management: The Body Shop specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Management: The Body Shop specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Management: The Body Shop specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Regarding the product development, customization also becomes one feature that is stressed as important factor. In terms of skin types, for example, cosmetics vendors develop different kind of products for people in tropical region, sub-tropical etcetera. Moreover, the pricing scheme also comes in many forms in which branded products like Shiseido, Lancome, and Christian Dior are positioned as expensive products. Meanwhile, The Body Shop is considered as a company that produce high quality product at affordable price, as set up by the founder, Dame Anita Roddick Concerning the challenge of marketing cosmetics product, this paper will elaborate the marketing approach that The Body Shop design to position themselves as a leading beauty care company in the world. The Body Shop is a UK-based company that is well-known for their expertise in manufacturer and retailer of natural skin-care and cosmetics products. 2. Corporate Background: The Body Shop The Body Shop International plc is a well-known brand in beauty care or cosmetics industry since the company stick to their string commitment or philosophy of developing and producing the natural and ethical beauty care and cosmetics product. The Body Shop was established in 1976 in UK by Dame Anita Roddick although some analysts see that the copy of The Body Shop brands from local entrepreneur in California, USA (The Body Shop International plc, 2008a). Currently, after the 30-year journey as well-known cosmetic product, The Body Shop already expands their services and retail shops in more than 55 countries with over 2,100 stores. Currently, while keep developing products continuously, the Body Shop already has more than 1,200 kind of natural-ingredient products (The Body Shop International plc, 2008a; Pirkayastha and Fernando, 2008). One competitive advantage that the Body Shop has is the awards that the company receives for their commitment of developing cosmetic products without conducting test on animals. The company becomes the first company that awarded the Humane Cosmetics Standard for our Against Animal Testing policy. Furthermore, The Body Shop’s philosophy also underlying their action to conduct a Community Trade, their fair trade program, resulting in the company’s complete strategy to trade fairly. To date, The Body Shop already conducts community trade programs with 31 suppliers that spanned in 24 countries, which represent more than 15,000 people across the globe (The Body Shop International plc, 2008a; Pirkayastha and Fernando, 2008). One aspect in determining the competitive position is the capability of a company to deal with issues in respective industry in appropriate manner. In attracting the consumers, especially women, a cosmetic and beauty care-producing company usually develops many kinds of product since there are many skin types, each has to be treated in different manner and thus need particular mix of ingredients as well. Since the development may involve the testing, branding/campaign, and regulation compliance; therefore the three components become three issues in the cosmetic industry. †¢ Internet marketing The use of internet as media for product campaign is rising significantly within the last decade. According to a few reports, internet is considered to increase efficiency and product sales for cosmetic companies since the media offer the ability to develop new channel alternative, complementing the existence of retail shops that located in several locations. Amazon. com, for instances, firstly grows from selling book, but turns out today to sell various kinds of cosmetics in their online stores. Interestingly, it is found that the growing internet users have award several cosmetic with raising number of online purchase. In compliance with the internet marketing, The Body Shop also offers special price for customers who bought via their online stores (http://www. thebodyshop-usa. com/bodyshop/). Figure 2 shows the home page of the Body Shop official online store. Source: http://www. thebodyshop-usa. com/bodyshop/ †¢ Corporate Responsibility Issues (CSR) Another issue that influences the marketing of cosmetic products is about the propaganda in which many companies involve in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) that found to produce real influence on the cosmetic industry. In addition, such CSR initiative is also driven by government control over the distribution of cosmetic product to comply with specific country’s requirement. In the U. S. , FDA (Food and Drug Administration) become the regulator that monitor the safety standards of cosmetics products in the market (Health Reports Co. UK, 2005). †¢ Animal testing Animal testing also considered as vital issues in cosmetic industry since the rising concerns of public about the humanity has brought significant influence towards the use of animal testing in the development of cosmetic products. F or example, in European Union, where the Body Shop located, announces its decision to ban animal testing on cosmetics products, which immediately raise pros and contras. This regional policy follows the previous policy made in several European countries including the Austria, Netherlands, and Britain in which they have already banned animal testing which means that several cosmetic products are receiving tight supervision on their research and production facilities (The Humane Society, 2005) 3. 2 Branding The branding factor also highlights The Body Shop strategy in strengthen their awareness by incorporating their philosophy of natural ingredient products. The company’s brand of becoming the cosmetics manufacturer that only use natural ingredients products is strong since it provides customers with an image that The Body Shop develops and sells safe cosmetics, which in line with customers’ concerns of having safety. This is inline with the customers’ preferences, especially women that wants a secure feeling when using cosmetics. The demands are translated into The Body Shop program to use the highest quality natural ingredients. In addition, the company sticks to five values; they are Protect the Planet, Support Community Trade, Against Animal Testing, Defend Human Rights, and Activate Self Esteem (The Body Shop International plc, 2008). Reference: Health Reports Co. UK. (2005). Cosmetic Industry on Notice. (2005). Retrieved March 5, 2009 form http://www. health-reports. co. uk/content/view/52/2 Perner, Lars. n. d. â€Å"Consumer Behavior and Marketing†. Consumer Psychologist Newsletter. San Diego University. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from http://www. consumerpsychologist. com/#Strategy Pirkayastha, Debaprati and Fernando, Rajiv. (2008). Body Shop Brand: Repositioning to Target the ‘Masstige’ Segment and Impacts of its Acquisition by L’Oreal. Icfai Center for Management Research The Body Shop International plc. (2008a). About Us. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from http://www. thebodyshop. com/bodyshop/company/index. jsp;jsessionid=ERFaLulEQWzSEOutEFWERw**. bsbwilapp03-bsprd-app-102? cm_re=themeB-_-Footer-_-About_Us . (2008b). Support Community Trade. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from http://www. thebodyshop. com/bodyshop/values/support_community_trade. jsp The Humane Society. (2005). French Government Challenges EU Cosmetic Directive. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from http://www. hsus. org/animals_in_research/animals_in_research_news/french_government_challenges_eu_cosmetics_directive. html

Book report of Godfather Essay Example

Book report of Godfather Essay Example Book report of Godfather Essay Book report of Godfather Essay Essay Topic: The Godfather The most important role not only in the family, but also in the whole book is Vito Coralline, known as the Godfather, the chief of his family. Vito was born in Sicily, Italy. He led a normal and peaceful life with his parents until his father was murdered. As the result, Vito had to escape to the America alone at 12 years old, and lived in a slum, which was called New Works hells kitchen and worked in a grocery store. He should have had such a simple and normal life with his wife, but a man ruined it and changed his life totally. It was Finance who often bullied others and asked for money from the neighborhood. Vito Coralline had no choice but to kill Finance when he came down on Vito for money that Vito had risked his life to get. Therefore, Coralline earned respects and some money by protecting his friends there. Then, he went into the olive oil importing business and made his first fortune. When the ban on alcohol came to pass in 1920, he turned to smuggle wine in from Canada. Then, not the ordinary businessman any longer, Vito gradually became to a great Don in the world of criminal enterprise. However, his wealth was not the reason why he could receive so many respects and worship from others. Vito was kind and onerous to those who really needed help. On the other hand, he was also determined and manful to his enemy. He made good relationship with important men in business, entertaining business and politics. By the end of the Prohibition periods and the start of the Great Depression, Vito Coralline had been called as Don, Don Coralline, and respected as the Godfather. Don had three sons-Sonny, Fred and Michael. Michael was the only one who had no interest in family business. He entered a university and later Joined the army during World War II. He also had a lovely girl friend and planned to merry on Christmas. Although he hoped to keep a distance with his powerful family, it was his fate that guided him to find the most appropriate position for him years later. The Don also had an adopted sonTom Harden. Tom was an American man; he was a lawyer and later worked for the Don as a counselor. The story began in the Dons daughtersconces wedding in the August 1945. Many people, poor and rich, humble and dignified, all came up to show their loyalty and also with the requirements, because they knew that by tradition no Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughters wedding. Johnny Fortunate, Dons godson was one of them. Johnny was a pop singer but unfortunately he had got something wrong with his throat, so he wanted to turn to be an actor. However, Johnny was hated by his boss Wool and was refused to take the leading role in a suggestion Harden made directly. He knew Dons power, but he did not take it so serious. Soon, Don gave him a great threat which made Wool had to give up. As the result, Johnny got the role, which contributed him to win an Oscar Academy Award. So we could see in others eyes, Don Coralline was the almighty God: they showed their respects to the Don, and the Don would give them help in return. Several weeks later, a crude drug smuggler Virgil Zoology visited the Don for cooperation. Having seen the hefty risk in drug smuggling, the Don refused him. Then Solomon ganged up with Digital Family, another strong underground Italian family in New York. It was also the rival of Coralline Family. They planned to shoot the Don down. The Don got several bullets but miraculously survived. So they planned another murder. However, the second murder was defeated by Michaels wisdom. With these failures, Zoology had to call for a peaceful negotiation. On the Cortisones part, everybody hated Zoology and all wanted to kill him immediately. But smart Zlotys chose Michael to meet, the only one who was pure and harmless apparently. At that time, Michael had made up his mind to kill the tricky and crude man. With this chance, Michael fired Zoology dead. Also for this crime, Michael had to be sent to Sicily, where he hided for two years. Back to New York, the disaster continued. Sconces husband Carlo hated Sconces family because they left him out of the familys business. So one of those rival-families, mixed up with Carlo to kill Sonny. The Don had to take charge of the family again with his bad health. He extended his business on the west coast and prepared to revenge. Meanwhile, the Don arranged to get Michael back home. Over one year later, Michael came back to New York. In that period of time, Michael got the chance to know what of a person his father was. He understood the Don and realized his responsibility to his family. So Michael began to take over the family. Besides the investment in the West, they endeavored to set more new relationship in the political world; they secretly trained the qualified killers working for them. Seemed that everything was Just about ready, fate played a Joke to Michael again: the Don died from heart attack suddenly. The other five biggest underground families all thought it was a chance to do the clean work on Coralline Family. None of them realized Coralline Family had strengthened a lot more by the past a few years. It was time the Crossness bounced up and became the leading role in the underground world again. So Michael really did something, he and his guardsmen killed most of the other families leaders overnight. With this fight, Michael restored Coralline Familys power in New York, and for himself, he earned reputation. He replaced his father as the Don, Don Michael Coralline. He became the powerful umbrella, the almighty god as his father. Michael was honored as Godfather as well. That was the end part of the book. Michael was always with loyalty, intelligence and courage as his father Vito Coralline. Those men showed their good characters to the readers. God Father was a script of underground world in New York. Although the novel contained blood, crime and violence, the attractive and vivid plots fulfilled peoples curiosity to that strange world. And that maybe the reason why God Father could become one of the most popular book in the world.

Gay marraige Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gay marraige - Essay Example The first reason which will be presented with regards to the issue of gay marriage and the need of it to be legalized throughout the United States is with respect to the fact that key humanitarian and democratic ideals demand that such a course of action should be pursued with all available haste. The fact of the matter is that the Declaration of Independence states that â€Å"All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.† Within such an understanding, it is unconscionable that anyone within this society should be denied any or all reasonable means of achieving such a level of parity that so many other members of society have so long enjoyed. In such a manner, the fight for homosexual rights and the right for homosexual marriage falls right alongside the means by which the nation sought to provide civil rights to its previously disenfranchised population of Af rican American individuals. Constricting the rights and privileges of a certain group merely because they do not represent the majority is wholly and entirely un-American and cannot be understood to be beneficial to the state of democracy and civil liberties. However, the legal aspects alone of this particular issue only represent a very small fraction of the concerns and issues that can be raised with regards to homosexual marriage and the means by which it is represented within the United States currently. From an ethical standpoint, regardless of what the Constitution, Delcaration of Independence, or key laws concerning civil rights and civil liberties claim, it is wholly and entirely unethical to deny a given subset of individuals the same rights that so many others within society enjoy. Furthermore, a society that prides itself on being a liberal democracy must take strides to ensure that the rights of all members are upheld; regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, or cree d. Yet, regardless of such an understanding and reality, there remains a vocal group of opponents to homosexual marriage that continue to derail any hope that such a reality will soon come to be included in the marriage system within the United States. Yet, rather than realizing that there remains such a vocal group of opposition to homosexual rights and homosexual marriage, it is necessary for the stakeholders within society, and even the listeners of this speech, to seek to continually promote the individual rights and liberties of each and every member of society; whether or not such a view conforms to one’s own worldview. Such a stance and/or interpretation may be seen as abonding principles; however, the championing of personal and individual rights is far greater than any personal qualms or misgivings with regards to gay marriage due to the fact that as long as one seeks to promote the rights of humanity and the ciivl rights and liberties of fellow citizens, these are f undamental concepts of law and society that will positively impact upon each and every individual – regardless of race, age, gender, creed, or sexual orientation. Finally, returning the facts concerning homosexual marriage, it must be understood that legalizing homosexual marriage provides an overall positive benefit to society due to the fact t

FDI attraction in Chile Affected by the Country's Socio-Economical Essay

FDI attraction in Chile Affected by the Country's Socio-Economical Inequality - Essay Example In 2006, the nominal GDP per capita of Chile was recorded as the highest in Latin America. The country however is undergoing a lot of economic inequality (Trading Economics, 2013b). The socio economic inequality is the gap between the rich and the poor. The income difference of a group of individuals, society or the residents of a country is called the socio economic inequality. The economic inequality varies by the economic structures of the countries (Mankiw, 2009). According to several economists the inequality of the distribution of wealth is very essential. This improves competition and increases the efficiency of the individuals. The wealthier individuals tend to save more and spend more which helps the economy in growing. Inequality amongst the individual also increase the social and health related problems of the individuals. The economic growth of a society is also affected (Froyen, 2009) The social inequality has a direct impact on the social cohesion of the individuals, th e population’s productivity and crime rate of the society, cultural and civic participation and economic welfare as a whole (Wessels, 2000). The analysts such as Martinez (2011) are of the view that high growth rate is no excuse for the economic inequality. According to a recent report about three million Chileans are very poor. About 500,000 of the people of the Chilean population are those who are extremely poor. The economic model of Chile and the progressive growth which the economy has shown with time is sufficiently appraisable but still the growing inequality in Chile has caught attention of various economic analysts. Chile is categorised amongst a few countries which have a worst income distribution system. The percentage of the poor population is very high in the economy (OCED, 2002a). According to OECD (2002b), Chile is a nation of population of more than 17 million people. It comes under the category of developed countries and has the worst income distribution syst em amongst those countries. Several economists are of the view that the economic system of Chile would not improve by the economic growth. To improve the economy’s income distribution the government would have to take decisions to redistribute the wealth of the individuals by placing higher taxes. Another economist was of the view that Chile must focus on economic growth and nothing else. The increase in the level of the per capita income of the individuals will surely increase the well being of the individuals. The person who is a resident of Chile and lives on less than $64,134 pesos (US$135) per month is considered to be poor. But a person who lives on less than $32,067 pesos (US$67) monthly is considered to be destitute, according to the official data (Martinez, 2011). A few of the economists are of the view that creating opportunities is a part of the economic growth. Those who are utilising that opportunity are competent. For the incompetency of the rest of the individu als it is unfair to impose taxes and burden those individuals who prove themselves and are the contributing factors fro the economy. ETHICAL FAMILY INCOME TO IMPROVE SOCIETY Felipe Kast, minister of planning for Chile called the ranking by the OECD (2002b) report â€Å"shameful for its levels of inequality.† He added that Chile has plans set in line to take the people out from extreme poverty. The government plans a program of IEF – Ethical Family Income which will use a series of bonds and cash incentives for the children

European financial market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

European financial market - Essay Example In business parlance, pooling is the grouping credit transactions like bank loans( Brigham, 1985). An example is when loans and other long term liabilities with the same characteristics are pooled successfully into a new stock. Other examples of pooling applying for cash loans(Weston, 1993) with property, plant and equipment are used as collateral loan received is used to invest in several stocks and bonds. The company can also enter into a bond agreement where the bank intermediaries will give a $200,000 loan where the house and lot and another factory equipment will be pooled together to be used as collateral to put buy stocks in the stock exchange. Funds includes all available money, including cash and checks deposited in banks and cash on hand. Funds also include mutual funds(Gartner,1997) where money is invested in many stocks and bonds and not lumped on one stock or bond alone. Pension fund is one fund pooling where the employees contribute a small amount of money to a fund so that when such employee retires, he or she will be able to receive a pension benefit upon his or her retirement. Pension fund could be availed of upon retirement either by lump sum method or monthly method. The factors that affect the success(Thompson, 1999) or failure of a pension fund is based on the tables below. The Life expectancy table shows , in 2002, that in the United Kingdom women will generally live until the ripe old age of 80 years old as compared to only 73.7 years old in 1960. The men, meanwhile, will live up to the ripe age of 75.2 which is an increase from the 67.0 years old age in the year 1960. The elderly will increase to 47 percent in the year 2040 in the United Kingdom as compared to only 32 percent in the year 2020. The table below also shows that pension assets divided by Gross Domestic Product is 91 which lower than the amount accorded to Switzerland and Swed en. The pension assets of United Kingdom pension assets will reach US $1,403,000.000. The real returns divided by risk for United kingdom pension fund is 5.9 and its 50-50 bond equity is 4.4 while the pension plan's global portfolio 67.5 and lastly, The real average earnings of United Kingdom is 2.8. One popular pooling of fund transaction is to exchange cash on and cash in banks and to invest these funds in the stock market. The company then generates income both ways. The first way is to earn dividends that the invested company declares. The second way to gain income is to sell the stocks at a market price that at a much higher than the price when the company bought the stocks. THREE OTHER FUNCTIONS OF FINANCIAL SYSTEM Financial System (UK) . This is defined as the information system(Obrien,1992) shows us all MONEY transactions using applications such as word, excel, quickbooks, MYOB accounting software and many others for the gathering of business related data such as official receipts received from suppliers for purchases paid or officials receipts issued for items sold. Electricity, water and telephone bills are also documents evidencing data to be inputted in the

Business Plan For Sandton Fitness Centre Marketing Essay

Business Plan For Sandton Fitness Centre Marketing Essay Sandton fitness centre and beauty spa is a new gym that is for everyone (male and female) that creates a comfortable environment for everyone to pursue their fitness goals. It is situation in Sandton at Johannesburg. Sandton fitness centre and beauty spa have the most satisfactory/best equipment, best personal trainers, dietician, special classes and psychologists. Sandton fitness centre and beauty spa is located in the urban where people have a very active life and very little time to spend on fitness and healthy life. Heart disease and obesity are on record high causing increase in health club demand. Low income market segment is ignored by key competitors in the market Club memberships in South Africa have increased every year since 1994 and a strong market makes a strong business. We are a solid investment because start-up sports gyms on average take in 1,000 new members per year. This will allow our business to break even in less than five years. Our club, Sandton Fitness Center will offer its members quality services and benefits that no other club can offer. We want to take investments and use them wisely in order to create a sports facility that pleases customers. In sports clubs, the top five most profitable programs/services are personal training, massage therapy, food/beverages, an aquatics program, and a tennis program. Our gym will provide all of these services and thus increase our productivity. We will build a large complex that will include a pool, personal training facilities, basketball courts, a day spa, tennis courts, and many other features to attract clientele. In Sandton were our fitness center will be situated has 20 to 64 year old population. This means not only that our clientele pools is large but that these people are experienced and have attained the socioeconomic status that will be needed in order to attain and maintain our service. In conclusion, our profitable new gym will be a coordinated effort among four aspiring entrepreneurs to create the ultimate in sports and leisure fitness. Company Description Sandton Fitness Centre and Beauty Spa are focused on teenagers (13+), young adults and adults. Sandton Fitness Centre has its different programs for different age groups. Sandton Fitness Centre is 55,000 square feet. It is located in 1560 Grayston Street, in Sandton. Sandton Fitness Centre and Beauty spa also have a childcare centre, where they look after children while their parents are busy with their workouts. The childcare centre can currently care for 40 children but only 10 infants. Sandton Beauty Spa is a new destination offering customers the combination of full body massage, waxing, body treatments, facials, manicures, pedicures, anti- aging treatments and lasers. Company history Fitness Centre and Beauty spa was created on 14 February 2007, to provide busy and working people with a fitness centre and a beauty spa. Fit centre and a beauty spa all combined surprised and made people excited. Fitness centre is privately financed by businessman and investors. More than 80,000 was invested into the company. The money covered equipments, advertising campaigns, flyers, posters, advertising an internet and to create a domain name. the company struggled for long, most people preferred the gym not the beauty spa, because they were complaining and worried about the costs. So the centre had to lower them a little bit. Sales were also less. So Fitness centre decided to make specials every after two months and on special occasions like Valentines Day and birthdays, but only on the beauty spas side. The gym price remains the same. At the end things got better. Mission statements Create members workout environment that promoters confidence in our clients. Fitness centre and beauty spa provides our members with beauty treatment at a fair price and competitive price, while providing with the high level of customers service and satisfaction. Our business is focused on everyone most especially celebrities who care a lot about fitness and looking good. Product and Services Fitness Centre and Beauty Spa Services are the following: Fitness centre has a professional personal trainer who will assist everyone in the gym. Our personal trainers assist you with a exercise program. Fitness Centre also has a qualified dietician who will help each member on his/her best and healthy food to eat. Inside the gym there are paramedics who are there to help people if may be a member gets injured or collapses, or any other sickness, they are there full time. Fitness Centre has also hired a qualified psychologist, who will help with lots of stress and encouraging them for a way forward to live a healthy life. Beauty Spa Services Full body massage Waxing Manicure Pedicure Anti ageing treatments Facials Lasers Offer creams and beauty product on sale Industry analysis Size The health and fitness market is very large and still growing more and more because of the health revolution people have become more health conscious in an effort to preserve and prolong their lives due to the fast pace living style of today. The fitness and health industry is a 40 billion dollar that is fast paced and innovative and highly competitive. In South Africa the market is not matured yet it is still in its infancy at the moment. Growth The international health and fitness industry has grown approximately 12% for the past decade with the exception with 2009 it decreased 3 % due to the slow down of consumer spending because of the global credit crisis. Locally the health and fitness industry has also grown especially because of the performance of one the leaders of the local health and fitness industry Planet fitness was voted the best performing companies of 2010 despite the slow down of the economy. Sales projection The over all industry is expected to only grow 10% because of the high unemployment and poor consumer spending meaning that people are reluctant to spend their money spending only on absolute necessities. Industry structure The South African health and fitness industry is dominated by a handful of large firms being Virgin Active, Planet fitness and Smart Gym. However these large health and fitness service providers are not exploring the entire market and meeting the specific needs that we have been able to identify in the market. They are to large to satisfy the distinctive needs of the entire market in terms of innovation and creativity and personalised serviced as well as the simplification of services. They are also slow to react to changes in the business environment as well as the new trends and developments in the world of health and fitness .For example the trend now is the simplification and ease of anything and everything that would complicate our life making use of creative and innovative ideas to increase life quality and prolong lives as long as possible. Critical Success Factors 1. Commitment At the Top. 2. Qualified Professional Staff. 3. Plan Then Proceed. 4. Location, Location, Location. 5. Right Size Right Cost. 6. Program to Match Needs 7. Effective Integration. 8. Right Price Minimal Discounts. 9. Commitment to Marketing and Sales. 10. Commitment to Outstanding Customer Service. 11. Measure, Manage and Measure Again. 12. Effective Communications with Members. Management Team and Company Structure The management team is comprised of all the founders of The Santon Health and Fitness Center Keleabetswe Sepengused, Marcelino Maliti Moises, Gonste Bokaba and Kgabo Lucia Mathibe. Director of Marketing and sales The director of marketing and sales is responsible for all the marketing of the company needs for example promotion, advertising, market research and sales Mrs. Keleabetswe Sepeng used to be the marketing and sales manager for Virgin Active from 2005 -2011 she will take charge of the same post in the new company. Mrs Sepeng is highly recognized in the industry and has a masters degree in marketing Chief Financial Officer The chief financial officer is responsible for the over all financial control and management of the company. The duties and responsibility involve creating control, managerial and evaluating measures for proper, ethical and legal financial control Mr. Marcelino M Moises will take the position of CFO Chief Financial Officer since he has the most qualified and has the most experience in the field after having worked for Planet fitness for over 10 years Mr. Marcelino has a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences and BA degree in Business Administrations Chief Executive Officer The chief executive officer is the highest position in the company, the duties and responsibilities of the CEO is the overall running of the entire organization, make decisions for the entire organizations .planning ,leading, organize ,controlling Mr. Gontse Bokaba will take the position of CEO Chief Executive Officer of the organization. Mr. Gontse Bokaba has worked for SAA South African Air Lines for more than 5 as the chief operations manager. Mr. Gontse Bokaba has a Master degree in Business Management Chief Operations Officer The chief operations officer is responsible planning, coordinating and managing the operations of the company theses include office administrations, overseeing that both products and services are Mrs. Kgabo Lucia Mathibe will exercise the position of COO Chief Operations officer or Managing Director because she has been the manager at a day Spar for many years so she has both insight and knows the beauty industry in and out. Mrs. Kgabo Lucia has a degree in Business Administrations and a master in Human resource management. As well as head the human resources department seeing as he has experience in recruiting and staffing. CEO Gontse DOM Keleabetswe CFO Marcelino COO Lucia Industry structure The South African health and fitness industry is dominated by a handful of large firms being Virgin Active, Planet fitness and Smart Gym. However these large health and fitness service providers are not exploring the entire market and meeting the specific needs that we have been able to identify in the market. They are to large to satisfy the distinctive needs of the entire market in terms of innovation and creativity and personalised serviced as well as the simplification of life. They are also slow to react to changes in the business environment as well as the new trends and developments in the world of health and fitness. Industry Trends Individual usage of fitness and health care training equipment has increased. Body work out and exercise has become a daily life routine of many people around the world in the last decade. Fitness memberships are increasingly getting popular in office environment around the world Companies are including health memberships as part of employee remuneration package. Long- Term Prospectus To ensure a continual development of the health and fitness industry in the country. To raise awareness of the increase of obesity and heart deceases in the country and to promote healthy living Market analysis Johannesburg is a capital city of Gauteng. It is the major harbor of South African business. All the major companies of business are based in Joburg. The current population of Johannesburg is 11million. All types of professions are found in Johannesburg. So, it is a competitive advantage to make business in Johannesburg. Market segmentation It focuses on fitness, health and beauty. Our target market when it comes to the gym, is for everyone especially families and for the beauty spa, our target market are young adults, male and female from the ages of 13-55 years. They have to earn a minimum of R3000 and more. For children between 13 and 20, parents have to be responsible for their membership. The money is going to be deducted every month in the parents accounts, for their childrens membership. The centre and beauty Spa would work very hard to see consumers being satisfied about what the centre delivers. Customers perceive more value from a good or service that seems to deliver more benefits for money. Market research will cover the following: customer needs, cultural elements, social connections, where family members, friends or associates can influence how, what, and when consumers buy, personnel elements, marketers for the fitness centre and beauty Spa. See opportunity in reaching young girls who are concentrating on their career and looking good when going to work and going out with friends, older women and men who are taking care of their health because of many diseases like obesity, high blood etc. Target market selection Target customers: the primary customer is children, young adults and adults. These customers are ages 12-65 years There approximately 3000 customers: 15% children, 50% young adults and 35 adults. 70%percent of young adults and adults are celebrities who spent most of their time at Sandton. Some of them homes are there. Competitors Analysis Our main competitors are Virgin Active, Planet Fitness and Smart gym Sandton Fitness Centre and Beauty Spa is the environment that is created in the facility. Our customers feel more relaxed and comfortable in a program that is focused on them. We have designed the childcare center to be visible from the main workout floor. Young mothers can oversee the child play while working out. Our main concern is to provide our customer with a direction who will organize each of our members healthy eating program and providing our members with a personal trainer who will ensure that a member do right exercise all the time according to his/her workout plan Marketing plan Sandton Fitness Center will focus on creating a brand image in the Johannesburg and Sandton area. We will Participate in the major events of health care awareness and education programs. Sandton Fitness Center will start by targeting low income segment of market downtown Sandton and Johannesburg area. We will convince people about the benefits and needs of wellness programs. This will be accomplished by aggressively pursuing interaction and relationships with peoples in public health awareness programs and by sending newsletters and emails through Social interactive websites like Face book, Twitter and Msn and Google messenger. Pricing Our prices and promotions are always subject to change especially when we take into account the fluctuating membership enrollments; however, for the most part our initial fees for our services will be R300 and R80 monthly for a general membership. We will also offer to customers the option of paying daily fees. This fee will be R50 charge for a days use of any service that our business provides. In addition we can offer to individuals the option of using exclusively our day spa for just one day. To use this option we will charge a standard fee of R25. For another pricing option we will give customers the option of paying an annual fee up front for R1, 100, this would be a saving of over R150. This move would benefit us as well considering we will see an immediate return on our investments allowing us to re-pay our debt quickly. This type of pricing will set us over many of our competitors rates; however the most important opponent will be outbid. Planet fitness, which comes closest t o what we provide, will be outbid by over R600 and other competitors do not offer the level of resources that we will sell to our customers. In this way we feel that the service we sell and the price we offer can overcome or compete heavily with every competitor in the market. PromotionPlan   We will attempt to use a variety of strategies in order to make contact with potential members. A fairly cheap and easily accessible form of advertisement will be the Internet. By running our own website, www.SandtonFitnessCenter.com we can reach a wide variety of customers. This is also a fairly cheap way in which to get our name out since it will only cost our company $9.95 to launch and run the site annually. Another cost effective way to market our name will be to have various sales promotions and use flyers to get the word out. By making use of the following mediums of communication newspapers, magazines, television and radio as the medium of advertisement. In addition they will print 5,000 brochures for creating awareness in the market about their health care services; they will be distributed in major health care seminars and events where officials from Fitness Plus will participate. Operational plan Service Execution Timeline: Sandton Fitness Center will follow this service execution model to enter in the health club market. General trainer payroll and even provide our members with online scheduling, registration, bill payment and more. Establishing and maintaining membership opportunities is essential to owning successful business and our business may have monthly specials or different membership level in order to maximize sales. Our online registration system allows families to complete registration 34/7 from any internet connected computer. We created custom club sign-up forms and website., process most types of payment, manage room to block and reservations, create name badges, auto sent reminder e-mails and mange our members over complete reports. Business Location Sandton Fitness Centre and Beauty Spar is located in Nelson Mandela Square at Sandton city, is only 25km from Johannesburg international airport Task February March April May June July August Choosing location Website development Hiring, training and admin staff Advertising Opening of health club Location: Sandton Fitness Center will start its business in main street area of Coral Gables; there is presence of already established health clubs such as Golds Gym and Coral Gables Adventure Boot camp. Legal Environment: There are no current legal obligations for Fitness Plus health club. Personnel: Fitness Plus will start with a total of 10 initial staff members that includes owners as well. Facilities and Equipment Fitness Centre offers a large selection of equipment: Treadmills (20) Bicycles (10) Steppers Stairmaster Body trek Cross aerobic trainer Weights Services: Sandton Fitness Center will provide following health related services: Aerobics Cycling Boxing Yoga Pilates Muscle Training Diabetes Obesity Control Beauty treatments eg. massages, pedicures, manicures, facials Benefits and Features: State of the art facility with latest equipment from quality manufacturers Low cost with monthly, quarterly and annual subscription plans. Personal qualified trainers to help our members achieving results without wasting much time Why people need this service? Health care and fitness club market in around South Africa have been serving to a high income segment of late. Average income of health club member is R 50000 as of 2006 survey. This leaves a large segment of low-income customers with unmet needs. Fitness Plus will primarily exist to provide health care facility to the lower income class without compromising on quality of service. Challenges: Fitness Plus will face a challenging situation in creating its brand image and attracting customers towards their services due to presence of already established players in the local market such as: Virgin Active Planet Fitness SmartGym Financial Plan Sources of Capital Investment requirement R5, 000,000 Total Investment R5, 000,000 Startup Expenses Health club development R1, 000, 000 Personnel R290, 000 Capital Expenditures R500, 000 Consulting Services R100, 000 Promotion R60, 000 Total Start-up Expenses R1, 950, 000 Our company, Sandton Fitness Center will meet capital needs by talking to various money sources. These sources will include family members, banks, venture capitalist, and personal savings. We hope to receive R5 million before we even begin our venture. By the first year we will be losing R2.4 million with an expected 1,000 members. By the second year we will have double our member to 2,000 and have a combined loss of R25 around 2.4 million including the first years losses. By the third year with 3,000 members, we will show a profit of R1 million. We hope by explaining this outlook to investors they will be convinced of our legitimate venture. Also by showing our belief in the company we each will invest R250,000. We project getting R3 million from venture capitalist and the rest of the money from a bank loan that would be paid off by the fifth year of operation. Pro forma Income Stament Projected Income Sandton Fitness Center Income Statement YEAR1 YEAR2 YEAR3 YEAR4 Sales R1,260,000.00 R 2,520.000 R3,780,000 R3,970,000 Net sales R1,260,000.00 R2,520,000 R3,780,000 R3,970,000 Gross Profit 0 R 1,077,520 R 1,267,521 Operating Expenses Payroll expense R551, 000.00 R551, 000 R 551,000 R 551,000 Payroll tax expense R38, 570.00 R38,570 R 38,570, R 38,570 Bad debts expense R194, 500.00 R194, 500.00 R194, 500.00 R194, 500.00 Promotional Expense R62, 009.95 R62, 009.95 R62, 009.95 R62, 009.95 Office supplies expense R220, 000.00 R220, 000.00 R220, 000.00 R220, 000.00 Utilities expense R120, 000.00 R120, 000.00 R120, 000.00 R120, 000.00 Insurance expense R200, 000.00 R200, 000.00 R200, 000.00 R200, 000.00 In-club entertainment R1, 000.00 R1, 000.00 R1, 000.00 R1, 000.00 Lease costs for building R1, 200,000.00 R1, 200,000.00 R1, 200,000.00 R1, 200,000.00 Depreciation expense, office equipment R15, 400.00 R15, 400.00 R15, 400.00 R15, 400.00 Maintenance and repairs expense R50, 000.00 R50, 000.00 R50, 000.00 R50, 000.00 Miscellaneous selling expense R50, 000.00 R50, 000.00 R50, 000.00 R50, 000.00 R2,702,479.95 R2,702,479.95 R2,702,479.95 R2,702,479.95 Other Expenses Building of pool R110, 000.00 Building of basketball courts R350, 000.00 Building of tennis courts R75, 000.00 Building of track and indoor soccer field R370, 000.00 Spa features R120, 000.00 R1,025,000.00 Net Income R 2,467,479.95 Projected Balance sheet Year 2009 Year 2010 Rm Rm Non-current assets Intangible assets Tangible assets Investments Taxation recoverable 237.6 121.9 2.0 4.9 366.4 260.3 137.5 2.8 5.9 406.5 Current Assets Inventories Amount receivable (debtors) Six-month deposits Cash and cash equivalents 24.3 134.7 90.5 249.5 26.6 146.9 2.0 105.3 280.8 Current liabilities Amount payable(creditors) Bank overdraft Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities (157.5) (62.6) (220.1) 29.4 395.8 (159.8) (40.1) (199.9) 80.9 487.4 Non-current liabilities Amount payable (creditors) Bank and other borrowings Provisions Net assets (2.6) 0.6 (22.2) 370.4 (2.7) (0.7) (20.2) 464.3 Capital and reserves Shareholders funds 370.4 464.3 Pro forma Cash Flows (3-Year) Sandton Fitness Center Plus Year 1 Year 2 Year3 Cash Received Cash from Operations Cash Sales R1, 230,000 R4, 940,000 R14,751,000 Cash from Receivables R0 R0 R0 Subtotal Cash from Operations R1,230,000 R4,940,000 R14,751,000 Additional Cash Received New Borrowing R1,000,000 R0 R0 New Other Liabilities (interest-free) $ 0 R0 R0 New Long-term Liabilities R0 R0 R0 Sales of Other Current Assets R0 R0 R0 Sales of Long-term Assets $ 0 R0 R0 New Investment Received R0 R0 R0 Subtotal Cash Received R2,230,000 R4,940,000 R14,751,000 Expenditures Expenditures from Operations Personnel R290, 000 R840,000 R940,000 Consulting Services R90, 000 R480,000 R480,000 Promotion R5,000 R6,000 R6,000 Subtotal Spent on Operations R385,000 R1,326,000 R1,426,000 Additional Cash Spent Taxes R32,290 R338,580 R1,302,500 Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing R0 R0 R0 Other Liabilities Principal Repayment R0 R0 R0 Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment R0 R0 R0 Purchase Other Current Assets R0 R0 R0 Purchase Long-term Assets R810,000 R810,000 R1,345,000 Dividends R0 R0 R0 Subtotal Cash Spent R1,227,290 R2,474,580 R4,073,500 Net Cash Flow R1,002,710 R2,465,420 R10,677,500 Cash Balance R1,012,710 R3,478,130 R14,155,630 CONCLUSION Through the plan that we have outlined we feel confident that although a very intricate and complex process to start and run such a company, we can accomplish such an ambitious endeavor. We have analyzed the market, covered expenses, visualized a goal, and planned accordingly. Our company would be a sound investment because assets and collateral would insure re-payment and realistic projections allow for error if they are needed. To be realistic, we cannot guarantee a success, but as the proverb goes, A hero is one who knows how to hang on one minute longer and this is the entrepreneurial spirit that we will carry throughout the life of our fitness center.

My Dream in Field :: miscellaneous

My Dream in Field When I was young, I of ten told to myself that when I grew up I could be anything I wanted to be and I always took for granted that this was true. I knew exactly what I was going to be, and I would spend hours dreaming about how wonderful my life would be when I grew up. One day, though, when did I grew up I realized that things had not turned out the way I had always expected they would. When I was little, I always played with boys. I rarely played with girls, and I often hung out a bang of boys; I was very interested with them. We would play soccer and go swimming. Al most every summer afternoon, all the boys in my neighborhood and I would meet on the field to get a soccer game going. Surprisingly, I was always to be favored by all my friends, boys. I was very fast and I could kick the ball far and exactly. I loved soccer more than anything, and I would not miss a game whenever it was showed in television. My brother played soccer too, and I would go the field with my friends to watch him play. It was just like the big leagues, with lots of people, the lights that shone so high and the bright you could see other fans sitting far away. I loved to go to my brother’s game. I would sit and cheer on my brother and his team. My attention was focused on the field, and my heart would jump with every shoot straight toward the both of goals. And more much exciting when the world cup seasons came. I would spend lot of time to sit in front of television to watch with whole of my family. The favorite team that we favored was the England. When the England won, I would be so excited I could not sleep; when they lost, I would go to bed angry just like all my brothers and parents. I have never forgotten the first time my dad and I went to watch the major league soccer game where I decided to be a major league soccer player. The excitement began from my house to the stadium and during the time of game. Now, I was six years old, and almost people in my country would use bicycles to move or travel around.