Public Relations
A strong public relations/publicity program uses as its primary "hook" these three main points:
1. World Cafe first true gourmet coffeehouse
2. Our unique quality products
3. Our distinctive latte "art"
The goal of the PR/publicity is to achieve local market awareness and establish the brand on a
wider scale to set the stage for future expansion. Local market awareness is vital because more
than 50% of sales will come from people living within a 5-mile radius of the Shop.
National awareness will help drive the expansion by generating opportunities created by the
media buzz and familiarizing people with our brand name. It will help set the stage for future
brand identification.
Design style
The interior design of World Cafe is unlike any other coffeehouse chain. While there are some
upscale designs, they are the entire modern Italian or Starbucks look. Our upscale stylized "Cote
d'Azur" Mediterranean Riviera design, featuring stained glass decorations, art glasswork,
differentiates us from all others.
Gift Items
We carry a wide variety of quality gift items, including gift baskets. Gift basket business could
eventually grow to be substantial. However, since it is difficult to project at this time we have not
included it in the financial computations. We also offer sales of stained glass and glass artwork
by the artisans who produced our decor furnishings.
Community Involvement
We will make ourselves an integral part of the local and world community. This will generate
goodwill, create opportunities to forge important contacts with key people and live up to our
company Mission Statement.
Some of these community involvement goals include:
Take an active role in the Chamber of Commerce
Supply complementary product to local charities for fund-raising activities
Sponsor local sports teams
Purchase fair trade coffee whenever possible
Support Fair Trade, organic, sustainable farming
Location
The location of the first World Cafe in Lahore is a prototype of future sites. Our second site on
busy Mall Road will feature our flagship store
We will build World Cafe coffeehouses in the best locations possible, as this is the key element
in a successful operation.
Site selection criteria include:
High traffic location
Small or mid-size affluent market
Year-round tourist activity
Nearby (within 5 miles) student population
Outside dining
Exceptions will be made for some sites if they are deemed to be potentially very profitable.
Outside Dining
The coffeehouse/cafe experience is indelibly linked to its European origins, where al fresco
dining is a way of life. Lahories have embraced sidewalk dining. It is one of the fastest growing
additions to the Lahories dining scene.
Sidewalk dining also provides an excellent way for prospective customers to see and "check out"
the coffeehouse for the first time.
Sampling
We will engage in several sampling activities to introduce potential customers (and current
customers) to World Cafe’s range of drink options.
Samples will be distributed at the coffeehouse
Samples will be given to passers-by on the street
Discount coupons will be distributed on the street, via direct mail and at special events
Complementary coffee will be served at charitable and civic events
Free coffee service will be provided to the Chamber of Commerce, a radio station, the
newspaper and at select government offices (e.g. the Planning and Zoning Department)
Portable Kiosk
Within 6 to 8 months we will create a portable World Cafe kiosk to sell and market our products
at special events and community activities. Pleasantville has more than 130 such events every
year. It will be an excellent way to publicize World Cafe coffee.
The kiosk will be highly visible and fun. It will also potentially be very profitable, although it's
hard to determine how profitable with any accuracy until the local response is measured
Pre-paid, re-loadable, frequency and discount cards
We will promote our program of gift cards and customer frequency cards to drive business and
stimulate cash flow. Industry records indicate that 25% - 40% of all gift card amounts go unused.
Also, gift cards have proven to be a popular holiday item accounting for more than 5% of total
sales during December.
Pre-paid and re-loadable cards have also proven to be very popular with the major chain
coffeehouses, again accounting for a significant percentage of sales. These cards promote
customer loyalty as well.
Frequency cards rewarding the repeat customer with a free drink after a specified number of
visits are popular and proven methods to forge customer loyalty.
Discount cards are used to build goodwill among specific groups such as the Chamber of
Commerce members and college students.
By tying in with our computerized sales and inventory system we will be able to track usage and
allocate the expense to marketing.
The Future
The number of World Cafe locations could easily reach 20 - 25 within five years. While the
financials in this Business Plan only address the Lahore location, we can extrapolate from the
store's performance to get a general idea of the chain's projected profitability.
World Cafe start-up, implementation and operation in Pleasantville will be the "blueprint" for
future efficient expansion. Our new Mall Road location will incorporate the knowledge we gain
with our first store as well as new creative ideas, and become our "flagship" operation.
Sales Strategy
Our sales strategy includes:
Staff salaries that are 10% above the industry average in order to attract the best people
Hiring for attitude so that we always have a friendly, enthusiastic staff to make customers
feel welcome and appreciated; constant staff training to assure the best quality possible
State-of-the-art sales/inventory system to (A) reduce customer waiting time, and (B)
create efficient product ordering
Create a mobile kiosk to take World Cafe into the community at special events, farmer's
markets, art shows, etc.
Sell coffee, gift baskets and glass artwork on our website
Establish coffee service at local businesses
Sell gift cards, frequency cards, pre-paid cards, and offer discounts to key groups
Create an ongoing sampling program
Conduct a consistent, aggressive marketing program
Be an active member of the community; be visible at charitable functions
Solicit customer feedback to constantly improve and streamline our operation
Key Strategy: an advanced and expandable point-of-sales system
After carefully tracking the performance of the Lahore store through an expandable and highly
detailed point-of-sale system, we will use this as a "blueprint" for expansion. For example, daily
sales are tracked and analyzed by item, time period and cost of goods. Labor requirements are
matched to projected in-store sales based upon past performance for maximum efficiency. Even
after paying higher than average wages we expect to allocate no more than 25% to labor costs.
Sales are linked to inventory to both streamline the efficiency of ordering and reduce "shrinkage"
by instantly alerting us to unusual shortages compared with revenues.
Cost of goods can be monitored for increased efficiency too. As we continually research methods
of delivering a high quality but cost-efficient product, and by making small incremental
improvements in the costs of items we expect to increase overall COG by a minimum of 5%
during the first year of operation.
As expansion occurs, the POS system can be adapted to each individual location and allow the
central office to monitor the stores remotely as well as the overall combined operation. Close
monitoring will allow us to achieve a high level of communication between stores as well as spot
problems immediately and take corrective action.
Sales Forecast
Conservatively, we are forecasting an average of 300 customers per day during the first year with
average guest check expenditure for all items of 410 Rs. This figure was arrived at by surveying
the customer traffic at the nearest competing coffeehouses which have a range of 150 - 500
customers per day and an average customer expenditure of 410 Rs. We have estimated our
customer expenditure to be slightly higher (2.5%) due to the premium price we will charge for
some of our items. Total cost of sales is approximately 25%.
We expect growth to occur across all categories at about 10% annually as the business becomes
more established and well-known, reaching 400+ customers per day within a year and more than
500+ within three years. These estimates are likely conservative. However, it is possible we
could attain a 1,000-per-day customer count within three years.
Milestones
The accompanying table lists important program milestones, with dates and managers in charge,
and budgets for each. The milestone schedule indicates our emphasis on planning for
implementation. A similar milestone development program will be developed for our Mount
Hill location to insure its timely execution. What the table doesn't show is the commitment
behind it. Our business plan includes complete provisions for plan-vs-actual analysis, and we
will hold follow-up meetings every month to discuss the variance and course corrections.
