Beautiful Legs by Post
Beautiful Legs by Post
“This is Vogue, we would like to write a story about your new company.” The
phone call was a dream come true for Elizabeth Preis and Dickon Addis, founders of
Beautiful Legs BY POST, which was a London-based mail-order business selling quality
tights to professional women throughout the U.K. Their company had started accepting
orders on October 10, 1995, only one day before the phone call from Vogue. They knew
that publicity from one of the premier fashion magazines in the U.K. would give a
tremendous boost to their fledgling venture.
Since graduating in July with MBA degrees from INSEAD (The European Institute of
Business Administration located in France), Elizabeth and Dickon had worked hard to
implement the business plan that they had written when they were classmates. Each had
invested £4,000 to launch Beautiful Legs BY POST. With the seed money in hand, they had
found a supplier of tights, purchased a mailing list, and printed and mailed 4,000
catalogs. They had not yet paid themselves any salary, and had not budgeted to do so
until December. Their plan called for a mailing of 80,000 catalogs in November, to be
followed by two mailings of 20,000 catalogs each in January and February. To finance
those mailings they needed to raise £110,000 within the next month.
The Concept
After graduating from Wellesley College in 1991, Elizabeth joined
Bloomingdale's department store in New York as an assistant department manager,
specializing in Career Collections.
This case was prepared by William D. Bygrave. Funding provided by the Ewing Marion
Kauffman Foundation and the Frederic C. Hamilton Chair for Free Enterprise.
Copyright Babson College, 1996. All rights reserved.
By the time she left the store in 1994 to study at INSEAD, she was a department manager
for the European Designer Collections, with average monthly departmental sales of
$800,000. She managed a team of two assistants, 12 sales
associates, and two stock associates. In addition to her management responsibilities, she
was buying/purchasing in Bloomingdales’ own private label division. As she thought
about her future, Elizabeth was enthusiastic about retailing: “There is just no other
industry that combines all the things that I love so much. It’s fast; it’s marketing; it’s a
little bit of style.”
In January 1994, Elizabeth had written a report on mail-order with an emphasis on the
repeat purchaser. She thought that in comparison with the U.S. industry, mail-order in
Europe, especially for high-quality products, was underdeveloped. She thought there
were plenty of opportunities for new firms to enter that industry in Europe. From her
experience at Bloomingdales, she knew that she ought to pick the type of product that
was usually found on the first floor of department stores because, in general, it was a high
margin item, it had virtually zero return rate, and it was an impulse buy. Among the
products that she considered were women’s tights.
On the first day of a skiing vacation in late February of that year, Elizabeth fell and
injured her knee so severely that she had to stay in her hotel for the next six days. While
her friends were skiing, she spent the time thinking about her future.
Tights don’t break - they go through the letter box; customers don’t try
them on before they buy them; and more importantly, with mail-order
we can establish a relationship with the customer so we can leverage
the database.
2
From March until they graduated in July, Elizabeth and Dickon worked diligently on a
business plan for their new venture, Beautiful Legs BY POST. Their research indicated that
the U.K. was the best country in which to locate their business. What’s more, Dickon
had a home in London, and although Elizabeth had never lived in the U.K., she was
willing to move there. So in August, Elizabeth rented an apartment in London that would
also serve as the first office for their new company. Over the next three months they
implemented their business concept and refined the initial business plan. On October 11,
the same day that Vogue telephoned, they printed the latest version of their plan (see
Exhibit 1). This was the document that they would show to potential investors.
As they waited for orders from their first mailing, they wondered what the response rate
would be, what the average size per order would be, and what percent of initial customers
would reorder. Would they be able to raise the financing that they needed in order to stay
on track? How could they get more free publicity? The next few months would be
critical, as they waited to find out whether Beautiful Legs BY POST could be a viable
business.
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Questions:
2. Would you invest in this venture? List the reasons for your decision.
7. What might happen if they fail to raise £110,000 in the next 30 days?
4
Exhibit 1
Beautiful Legs
Executive Summary
1.1 The Team
We have a perfectly matched management team. Marketing skills and retailing buying
experience are complemented by financial experience and logistics skills. Dickon Addis
is the Director of Finance and Operations. Elizabeth Preis is the Director of Marketing
and Purchasing.
Dickon Addis, aged 33, qualified in 1987 as a Chartered Accountant while working at
Arthur Anderson & Co., London. Subsequently, he gained five years practical experience
as the Financial Controller in two companies, one of which was publicly traded. He has
experience in designing and implementing accounting, stock control and budgeting
systems. At YRM plc he played an active part in the formation of the company's business
plan.
Elizabeth Preis, aged 26, has built her retail experience through managing front-line
operations at Bloomingdale's, a premier New York department store. She then gained
retail buying knowledge as Assistant Buyer in the private label department through
buying stock for all fifteen stores. She was then promoted to the Department Manager,
where she managed a team of 16 people. She achieved department sales of $800,000 per
month and was recognized as managing the "Best Department of the Store".
• Professional women have higher disposable incomes, but they have less time to
shop. This makes them an ideal market for a mail order catalogue to target.
• Work tights are part of the professional woman's work "uniform". They are
regularly purchased. Professional women are estimated to buy around 35 pairs per
year.
• The mail-order business in Europe is following the American trend of targeting
higher income consumers through "specialogues" that offer a limited range of
products, which match their customer's needs.
Beautiful Legs
BY POST
1.4 Strategy
Our overall strategy is to start by targeting professional women living in the larger
cities of Britain, where there is a higher density of women working in the financial
and service sectors. In the first year, we will target customers by catalogue. We will
rent names of potential clients from list brokers. We will encourage all existing
customers to pass our catalogue to friends and colleagues. In the second year,
leveraging the experience gained in Britain, we will begin to target the rest of
Northern Europe.
The first mailing totaled 4,000 catalogues. This mailing allowed us to test our concept
and logistics, and provide us a clearer indication of response rates.
The next mailing will be in early November when we will send out 80,000
catalogues. Smaller postings of 20,000 will take place in January and February. The
mail slots in the first year will concentrate on the United Kingdom. We estimate our
active client base to be 6,800 active customers by the end of the third year.
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1.5 Competitors
There are currently no mail-order houses selling only tights. A number of general
catalogues do include tights, but this is not their focus.
Our main competitors are the traditional retail channels, department stores, groceries
and variety stores (for example Marks & Spencer). Department stores stock the whole
range of prices and brands. Their drawback is that, since tights are needed so
frequently, the customer often has to go to the store just to buy tights. Grocery stores
do not have this drawback. However, since they aim to sell high volume to the mass
market customer, their quality is lower. Variety stores have tried to address both the
convenience and the quality issues. However, even at the high end, their quality is
still lower than what is desired by many respondents to our survey.
We will have the advantage of being the first mover. We will be the first to locate the
buyers of high quality tights and will be able to keep them by offering an efficient
and reliable service through a Monthly Order Program. For a new entrant, since many
potential customers will be our customers, their "hit-rates" will be reduced. This
means that the cost of acquiring clients becomes prohibitive. New entrants cannot
gain market share through price reductions since quality is perceived to be reflected
in price.
If a very strong entrant enters the market, this gives us the opportunity of exiting the
market by selling the business to the entrant. Our mail list will be very valuable since
it contains proven buyers of a premium product through mail-order. An analysis of
our data will give the entrant the characteristics of these buyers.
• The average selling price (including VAT) per unit is 7.60 pounds. The
standard work tight (15 denier appearance) will be sold at 7 pounds. The other
two styles, a 10 denier appearance and microfiber 30 denier style, will be sold
at 6 and 11 pounds, respectively. The average cost per unit is 3.88 pounds and
the packaging and fufilment costs are approximately 2.50 per order (this
includes a new catalogue to be passed onto a colleague). We expect to sell in
units and charge an average of 2 pounds postage and handling. This gives a
gross margin per order of 9.86 pounds.
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• Fixed costs are marginal. They will include costs such as a lease of computers,
office space, salaries and other marketing costs. We have budgeted
administration costs' totaling 66,000 pounds in the first year. This includes
directors' salaries totaling 37,500, which start being paid after the completion
of the test mailings.
We seek to have a saleable business by the end of the third year. The potential purchaser
is likely to be a trade buyer, either from the hosiery or mail-order business. Hosiery
companies are currently fighting for market share and this would give them another
distribution channel closer to the customer. A mail-order house would be interested in
our client base since it will contain names of active purchasers of a quality item. These
names could be used to launch new products.
The offering will comprise of Ordinary Salaries (1 pound par value) and short-term
debenture stock. Under the business plan's assumptions, there will be one round of
financing. We are asking outside investors to purchase 20% of the company for 80,000
pounds, and to loan 30,000 pounds in the form of debenture stock that will be repayable
in six months.
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We believe that the most important element supporting the feasibility of Beautiful Legs
by post is the diversity of proven skills offered by the management team. While both
have strong analytical and commercial backgrounds, each has expertise specific to their
role. Dickon Addis has financial experience and logistics skills. These are balanced by
Elizabeth Preis' marketing skills and retail experience.
Dickon Addis and Elizabeth Preis have demonstrated their ability to work as a team
during the formation of their business plan. This was achieved despite the pressures
imposed on both of them in completing INSTEAD's rigorous course work.
The separation of responsibilities was one of the easiest decisions given the team's skills.
Dickon Addis will be the Director of Finance and Operations. Elizabeth Preis will be
the Director of Marketing and Purchasing.
Dickon Addis, aged 33, qualified in 1987 as a chartered accountant while working for
Authur Andersen & Co., London. During his three years at Arthur Andersen & Co., his
clients included a building society, an insurance broker and a life assurance company.
In January 1988, he joined ADS Office Systems Limited, an office equipment supplier as
the Financial Controller. By redesigning and implementing a new accounting system, he
halved the finance team to 15 members. He also reduced the time taken to produce
monthly management accounts from 20 to 9 working days. He helped to implement a
new stock control system which reduced stock levels, while simultaneously reducing
delivery lead times.
After ADS, he spent three years as the Financial Controller for YRM plc, a building
design consultant. YRM plc is a firm of building design consultants, which has a full
listing on the London Stock Exchange. Here he worked with the board in formulating
and managing the company’s business strategy. He redesigned the budgeting and
forecasting process. He also identified the need for an assisted in the omplementation of
a cost cutting program that reduced the company's cost base by 25%.
Other experience includes a three month assignment in 1994 with a firm of strategy
consultants advising a venture capitalist in the evaluation of market opportunities in
potential acquisitions.
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Elizabeth Preis, aged 26, has bult her retail experience both through managing front-line
operations at Bloomingdale's, a premier New York department store.
In 1993 she was promoted to Department Manager for the high fashion "European
Designer Collections". She managed a team of two assistants, and fourteen sales and
stock associates. She achieved department sales of on average $800,000, always
surpassing the sales target. As a result she was recognized as managing the "Best
Department of the Store" having realized a 15% increase in sales during the Holiday
1993 season.
She graduated with an MBA from INSEAD in July 1995. In 1991, she received a BA in
Economics and French from Wellesley College, Massachusetts. As part of her degree
course she spent six months at the University of Copenhagen having been accepted into
their International Business Studies' program.
During the three moth test phase both directors are forgoing all compensation. On
completion of the first round of financing the directors will each be paid a basic salary of
£25,000 per annum with no benefits-in-kind. This is significantly lower than the market
level which INSEAD graduates command.
Until the first round of financing, each director will own 50% of Beautiful Legs by post,
having each made an equity investment of £5,000.
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We now see American companies expanding into Europe and targeting a market with
sophisticated methods of direct marketing. Successful American catalogue houses such
as L. L. Bean, Land's End, and J. Crew have entered the European market. Recently a
number of British catalogues have been launched aimed at the professional women.
Kingshill has recently received a lot of attention in the press with three catalogues selling
designer outerwear, clothes for professional women and accessories.
In 1991 average per capita sales through mail-order was 100 ECU in Europe. This is less
than half of the 211 ECU spent in the United States.
Direct mail offers relatively low start-up and fixed costs when compared to more
traditional forms of retailing. Free-standing, high rent stores are replaced with flexibly
leased low rent warehouse space. Commissioned sales associates and hourly stock
people are replaced with telephones and fax machines accepting orders, and data entry
clerks and packers to prepare the packages. The only "front-office" of a mail-order house
is the catalogue.
More European women are working in paid employment than ever before. Total North
European women's employment increased from 39 million in 1981 to 45 million in 1991.
This is an increase of 16%. In Germany and France the number of women in the service
and business sectors grew by 29% in the 10 years to the early 1990s. (Comparative data
is not available for the United Kingdom, due to change in the basis of calculation.) This
trend has several positive effects for a mail-order business. There are higher disposable
incomes, either individually or within household unit. Women have less free time in
which to spend their money. Finally, more women in the workforce are now required to
dress professionally.
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Our target customers are professional women who wear tights on a regular basis to work.
Thus they are likely to work in either the service of financial sectors. Our April 1995
survey indicated that our customer will buy on average 25 to 45 tights a year in an
average lot size of four pairs. According to Marketing Intelligence March 1995 industry
studies, 22.4% of Britain's full-time working women were "heavy users", purchasing 5 or
more pairs of tights each month. 29.3% were considered to be "medium users",
purchasing 5 or more pairs of tights each month. In contrast, The Economic Intelligence
Unit found that total British consumption per head is 17.9 units per year. In Germany it
is 16.8 units and similarly in France it is 16.4 units. Based on this information, our
average of 33 units per annum is a reasonable figure.
Marketing Intelligence industry report, March 1995, reports that professional women
must buy durable tights that will not snag or ladder. Our target customer more than any
other customer profile was more likely to prefer Lycra-based tights, a standard
requirement for quality. Working women, married women, women with children and AB
socio-demographic types were the strongest supporter of such Lycra-based products.
Outerwear fashions are a major influence of the type of hosiery purchased. The
outerwear ranges for 1995 show a move away from the casual look to a more glamorous
look of soft tailoring and high heeled shoes. The recent trend towards shorter skirts has
led to tights gaining a higher market share since stockings are more impractical for work.
While knee-highs may be worn with long skirts, leggings and tailored trousers, the
predominant work basic remains the full leg tight. In 1994, 82% of all hosiery sold were
tights and 8% ere knee-highs.
Our April 1995 survey shows that in our target market 70% or respondents stated
"Quality" as their most important purchase criteria when buying tights. "Price" is
considerably lower in importance, with 49% stating it as their second most important
influence and 21% stating it is their third and least important.
Our target customer currently buys tights from the department store, carrying a better
than average quality product, or from variety and grocery stores, presumably from the
higher quality selections. Although only 7% of all hosiery sold in the United Kingdom is
through the relatively high end department stores, this still represents 25 million pairs
annually.
85% of our surveyed target market said that they would consider buying through mail-
order, provided there was the opportunity to try the product, and that there were no
problems with delivery or returns.
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Women's work tights are a regularly purchased necessity. Even the best hosiery lasts no
more than 10 washings before the nylon breaks down. Tights are similar to basic men's
work shirts, in that they are part of the professional's uniform and they need to be bought
regularly. Both James Meade and Thomas Pink recognized this basic demand and built
successful mail-order operations serving this market. However, unlike men's shirts,
tights require more frequent purchases. This is due to two reasons. Firstly, men's shirts
can still be worn despite slight wear and tear while any slight imperfection, a "ladder", in
any part of women's hosiery makes a pair of tights totally un-wearable. Secondly, cotton
shirts last longer than a pair of nylon tights.
Our goal is to access the European women professional market and to be the exclusive
supplier of our client's work hosiery. Given this specific and highly selective niche, we
have found that our customers have similar tastes for tights despite national borders (see
Survey Results, page 14). They have to conform to a certain dress style that emphasizes
skirt suits as opposed to trouser suits. While the fashions of the suits themselves may be
country specific, the styling of hosiery is consistent across Europe.
Retail mark-up and total mark-downs taken are the two most important components of
the final gross margin figures. The Economic Intelligence Unit has found that retail
mark-ups average at least 40% for all ranges of women's hosiery. Mark-downs of aged
goods are virtually non-existent, since the styles remain constant over time. Tights are a
standard quality product for which the manufacturers have had to concentrate on quality
control; thus we expect returns, due to faulty product, to be minimal. Additional Doré
Doré guarantees their product and will take back faulty product.
Our range includes only four sizes. Styles and colours are limited in the professional
context. Work tights are plain, and the styles are defined by the density (denier). The
colours are limited to black, blue and tan. This will allow us to stock three styles, in four
sizes, with five colours.
Tights are the ideal mail-order product. They are lightweight (35 grams per pair
including packaging). They are small enough to be packaged compactly and therefore
deliverable to individual homes via letter boxes. Although fragile in fabrication, they are
non-breakable. Tights cannot be tried on prior to purchase, even in traditional retailing.
Therefore mail-order is not at a disadvantage to a traditional retailer.
From our market survey, we can conclude our target market is not purchasing basic work
tights at reduced prices, nor are they purchasing "multi-packs". Had these women been
purchasing during the sales, we would have seen greater evidence of bulk buying (i.e., six
or more pairs purchased at one time). This is further supported by our market survey
where only 30% stated that price was their first criteria in choosing which tights to
purchase.
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There is a relative constant need to buy tights. Thus each mailing list can be evaluated
immediately after its first mail shot, and not after additional second or third mailings. By
contrast, the purchasing cycle in clothing is far more irregular. For example, March is
typically a strong month for spring sportswear sales, but forecasting revenue in March is
difficult. Factors, such as weather, holiday schedules and individual shopping attitudes,
determine someone's purchase. Locating a potential client may take a year's worth of
mailings before catching the customer with all variables acting in the cataloguer's favour.
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We aim to cover the full range of working needs. This will be the lower end of premium
quality-tights, on par with Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Christin Dior.
We will not supply hosiery that tends to be bought for special occasions nor the styles
that are bought infrequently. These are usually bought along with other purchase (for
example, an expensive pair of tights will be bought along with a new evening dress).
• Navy blue
We have chosen a well-known French hosiery company founded in 2829 called Doré
Doré to be our supplier. They have a number of advantages compared to the others that
we considered.
• They are willing to supply marketing material, such as samples and discounted
product.
• They are able to supply goods in small lot sizes. Production runs with special
packaging require a minimum order of 2,000 units as opposed to the industry
average of 24,000 units.
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• Lead times are short. They can deliver within 5 working days of receiving an
order, and the transportation time is less than 24 hours.
• They wish to enter the British fine gauge hosiery market. They are established as
high quality suppliers of men's and children's socks.
• They supply socks to other mail-order companies and thus have experience of our
industry.
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5. Competitive Advantages
Our competitive advantage is being able to offer quality tights at a fair competitive price
through a convenient distribution channel.
The sources of our competitive advantage are: first movers advantage and targeted
mailing lists.
We will have the advantage of being the first mover. We will be the first to locate the
buyers of high quality tights and will be able to keep them by offering an efficient and
reliable service through the Monthly Order Program. For a new entrant, since many
potential customers will be our customers, their "hit rates" will be reduced. This means
that the cost of acquiring clients becomes prohibitive. New entrants cannot gain market
share through price reductions since quality is perceived to be reflected in price. General
interest from being the first mail-order company specializing in tights will give us free
publicity opportunities. This cannot be repeated by new entrants.
These advantages can be sustained in the short to medium term through generating
customer loyalty by offering excellent service at an excellent value. As the client base
increases, we will increase our buying power and will be able to reduce the cost prices
and thus increase our margins.
The tights' business is faced by two potential entrants. The most likely entrant is a major
manufacturer, such as Sara Lee of Chicago, or one of the large independent European
manufacturers. In our discussions with suppliers, Golden Lady said that they had
considered mail-order. They had not pursued this, since as a manufacturer they believed
that they should concentrate on designing and manufacturing new high quality products,
rather than diverting resources to retailing.
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6. Market Research
Our market research consisted of careful analysis of the three critical points of this
business:
In conducting our research, we used a variety of both primary and secondary data.
In an effort to better understand the hosiery needs of this target segment, we distributed a
survey to all 710 women INSEAD alumnae currently residing in Europe. The alumnae
were asked to return the pre-addressed questionnaire card. It is important to note that no
incentive was offered; not even return postage was included. We did this to tract the ture
response rate, rather than an offer induced one. It can be argued that an "INSEAD to
INSEAD" survey may be inflated due to like associations. However, we aim to instill a
similar association in pitching our services as "woman to woman".
Of the 710 survey cards, we received 231 responses representing a 33% "hit rate". 85% f
those respondents stated that they would consider purchasing hosiery by post, given a
high level of guaranteed quality, ease in ordering and speed in delivery.
We received 74 responses from the United Kingdom and 67 responses from France. This
represented a response rate of 33% and 29% respectively. We sent out fewer surveys to
Germany, Switzerland, and the other Northern European countries, but the response rate
was on average 45%. In addition, these countries were proportionally more positive in
their responses, with Germany 100% receptive to the concept. Southern Europe,
primarily Italy, Spain, and Portugal, demonstrated a lower response rate, and was less
receptive to our concept. The average response rate was 25% and only 33% were
interested in buying through mail-order. This information has directed us to concentrate
our initial entry strategy on Northern Europe. Other factors involved in this decision
included reliable domestic postal services, and relatively higher priced hosiery.
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Perhaps the strongest information we gained from this survey was the purchase pattern
similarities among alumnae across countries. Responses to hosiery colour preferences
demonstrate this point quite clearly. Asked what percentage of their wardrobe was black,
navy [blue], or other in autumn and winter as opposed to spring and summer, each
nationality within our target market responded almost identically
Similarly, although perhaps not as simply obvious as the previous example, is the relative
importance for each factor (quality, price and brand) are in the customer's purchasing
decision. In each case, "quality" was the strongest influence with approximately 70% of
respondents, regardless of country stating it to be their first priority. "Price" was the
second most important criteria for 49% of respondents. "Brand" was third and least
important criteria for 60% of respondents.
These trends are confirmed with the March 1995 Marketing Intelligence report that states
that for age groups' 25-54, there appears to be little brand loyalty. 15% of the 1,181
British women who responded stated "Brand" as the first purchase criteria. In their
survey, Lycra (a recognized assurance of quality) is a significant factor in their
purchasing decision. On average 47% responded that Lycra was their first purchase
criteria. This supports the hypothesis that our particular niche can be targeted across
borders, and not confined to one national market. Such information is crucial to our
ultimate goal of establishing a catalogue house serving the entire Northern European up-
scale professional woman market.
6.2 Interviews
Thierry Weber, Director of Marketing for France's third largest catalogue house CAMIF,
was interviewed on 12 April 1995 by Elizabeth Preis. According to him, the European
mail-order is currently going through an "Americanizing trend." Specialty product
specific catalogues are becoming increasingly popular, and are aimed at more financially
sound target segments. Supporting this are the many acquisitions by the large catalogue
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houses of smaller speciality catalogues. Otto Versand, or Germany, owns ten separate
catalogue houses, including speciality catalogues. La Redoute, of France, controls not
only a 1200+ page general catalogue, but also more than a dozen "specialogues" such as
"Jardin de Florimon" and "Enfant". These trends toward Americanized cataloguing are
expected to continue. We aim to enter the market immediately, before the market
becomes saturated with specialogues. Using the United States as an example, "first
mover" catalogues still continue to dominate the catalogue market, despite the many new
entrants.
Shopping in the major French and UK department stores, variety outlets, discount stores,
and grocery channels enabled us to better understand the range of products and prices
offered.
The retail market for tights can be broken into three broad ranges;
1. The low end, these are sold for between £0.35 to £1.25. These contain from
between zero to 19% Lycra. They have few extras such as having a fully shaped
leg, cotton gussets or reinforced toe. They are packed in simple boxes.
2. Middle range, these are sold for between £1.25 to £7.50. These contain on
average 15% Lycra. The higher end varieties have many extra features to add to
their quality. They are wrapped around card that is then inserted into a plastic bag
along with a cardboard insert. The insert has a picture and a description of the
product. Sara Lee has launched a new premium brand, the "Donna Karan" range
starting at £10 per pair.
3. High end, these are sold for anything up to £25. To the uninformed, there is little
to distinguish them from the middle range products. Well-known brands include
Wolford of Austria and Chantall Thomass of France.
The price of the tights seems therefore to be correlated to the quality. No market share
will be gained in drastically under-cutting traditional outlets since this will lower the
perceived quality of the product.
We consulted trade and business articles, Marketing Intelligence reports, and Economic
Intelligence Unit (EIU) reports highlighting recent trends in the hosiery industry.
According to the March 1995 Marketing Intelligence report "Stockings and Tights" that
studied the UK market trends, the hosiery market has been difficult over the last few
years but is expected to improve. With the introduction, and immediate success of Lycra
in 1989, total sales value increased, while volume decreased. Manufacturers were able to
charge higher prices for this innovative material, but fewer units were sold each year due
to its longer-lasting wear.
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Recent fashions have also adversely affected the total hosiery market. However the
extent to which it affected the professional market cannot be determined as such studies
do not separate professional use versus non-professional use. Specifically, high denier
(the industry measurement of tight density) hosiery was extremely popular in the early
90's as fashions emphasized heavy fabrications and monochromatic matte fashion looks.
These trends have now begun to swing back to lighter colours and more feminine styles.
For Autumn, skirts will be increasingly important. The fashion of wearing trousers will
decrease in both the professional and recreational contexts. Due to this, hosiery is
expected to increase in sales volume. Value, however will remain high, as women have
come to appreciate and mandate Lycra-based tights for both work and recreation.
The EIU has studied the hosiery sectors of each of our key markets: Hosiery in France,
November 1994; Hosiery in the US, January 1994; Knitted underwear, hosiery and
swimwear in Spain, November 1994. Their studies further support the Marketing
Intelligence report, and substantiated our primary data findings.
Various studies have been conducted on the mail-order industry, both at the Pan-
European level, as well as country specific. In 1993, The Euromonitor published a
complete Market Direction Report on Mail-order and Home Shopping highlighting the
following socio-demographic trends:
These three general trends support not only our chosen distribution channel, mail-order,
but also the specific product and market we have chosen to target.
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7.1 Competitors
There are currently no mail-order catalogues selling quality tights. In the United States
there are a number of companies that only sell slightly "irregular" tights, but these are all
imperfect. In Europe a number of catalogues offer tights as an accessory. However these
are not aimed at the professional woman, they are either thick tights for outdoor use
(L. L. Bean), or the lacy style sold in lingerie catalogues.
Our targeted customer currently buys her tights from department stores, groceries and
other convenience stores, and variety stores (for example, Marks & Spencer).
Department stores stock the whole range of quality and have a wide range of brands.
Floor space was divided fairly evenly between the two product categories. However, the
range is often too wide. This results in customers constantly changing brand and may be
confused by so many similar products. The main draw back of buying from a department
store is that a separate purchase needs to be made. Tights cannot be purchased along
with other necessities. In the UK, 7% of all tights were bought through department stores
in 1994. This represents 25 million pairs.
Groceries and convenience stores have the advantage that the customer dies not need to
make a separate purchase in order to buy tights. They can be purchased along with the
weekly shopping. Product packaging included both individual pairs and multi-packs.
The disadvantage is that the quality is not necessarily as high as she may wish. Groceries
are trying to combat this by selling better fitting and higher quality styles. The range is
from low to middle range. In the UK, 36% of all tights were bought through groceries'
stores in 1994.
Variety stores, like Marks & Spencer, have tried to address the above disadvantages.
They have a wider range of quality, a single brand (Marks & Spencer's own label), and
the ability to purchase tights along with either other clothing items or even food. In the
US, 8% of all tights were bought through variety stores in 1994. Marks & Spencer has
acknowledged the demand for high quality tights by launching the "Italian collection" at
£4 per pair.
7.2 Substitutes
There are no real substitutes for tights. Stockings could be considered but they represent
a decreasing percentage of hosiery. They represented 10% of all hosiery units sold in
1994, down from 15% in 1990. This trend is unlikely to be reversed given the
convenience of wearing tights and the requirements of current fashions (shorter less
bulky skirts). Hold-ups have never caught on due to technical difficulties of making
them stay up without being too tight.
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The main area of risk in this area is if women start wearing more trousers and more
casual clothes to work. This appeared to be happening in the late eighties, but the trend
has been reversed especially amongst professional women.
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8. Marketing Plan
First mailings posted. Until a mailing has actually been sent out, it is impossible to
predict the "hit-rate". We, therefore, sent out a total of 4,000 catalogues. Two thousand
names and addresses have been acquired through out network of friends and business
associates. We have rented 2,000 names to test the response rates from a rented mailing
list. The names have been selected using the following criteria; women, professionals or
senior management, earning over £25,000 and living in London.
Our promotional activities range from offering a free pair of tights, a special offer (buy
two and get one free), a gift (for example, a hosiery bag), to offering no incentives.
This test mailing will also allow us to gauge whether orders will be received by post,
telephone or fax. The fulfillment house can then adjust the number of telephone lines
and operators accordingly.
Assuming that the test proves that the business is viable, we will continue the earlier
discussions with potential investors in order to raise £110,000. Several potential
investors have already been identified and expressed interest.
Beautiful Legs by post will send out an 80,000 mail-shop in early November. The names
and addresses will be rented from a number of list houses. This is to test the different
sources and to maximize the spread across professions and companies. Potential sources
of mailing lists are; the professional bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants
and The Law Society. Alumnae from schools such as INSEAD, and Wellesley College,
names acquired through lifestyle interviews, subscriptions, department stores and
existing high-end mail-order customers.
In the first year we will concentrate on the British market. This is to allow us to perfect
our marketing and logistic experience before launching into other Northern European
countries, especially Germany.
Having built the client base we will encourage our clients to recommend Beautiful Legs
by post to their friends. We will achieve this through quality service, sending a new
catalogue and price list with every order and asking our clients to recommend Beautiful
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Legs by post to their friends. Open communication is vital to the success of this business.
In every delivery, our phone number and fax number will be included.
All our marketing material will emphasize the quality of our product and the convenience
of the distribution channel. We will encourage first time orders with free trials or special
offers, and guarantee to accept all returns without question and with refund of postage.
8.5 Pricing
Our product will be prices at the high end of the middle range. Thus it will be priced at
the top end of the mass market brands. This appeals to quality conscious mass market
consumers as well as value conscious up-market consumers. Our market surveys have
shown that consumers can differentiate between the quality of £7 pair as opposed to a £2
pair. More importantly, we have found that a significant percentage is willing to pay £7 a
pair.
We intend to have our own brand name, yet leverage the reputed quality of Doré Doré.
The potential draw backs of having our own brand name are brand recognition and a
minimum quantity order size required for private label. Brand recognition is unlikely to
be a problem. Our survey showed that only 15% of respondents chose brand as their
number one influencing decision. 19% of respondents used brand name as the second
criteria for choosing their tights. As our supplier is eager to build their British business,
minimum order quantities are at a mere 2,000 units per style.
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We will seek to minimize all fixed costs by contracting out wherever possible. Thus we
have contracted out catalogue fulfillment, order processing, data management, and order
fulfillment. Marketing, the key to our success will be handled in-house. Catalogue
design and product sourcing will remain totally under the founders control.
All fulfillment and order processing are contracted-out. We will use one fulfillment
house to cover all functions from the direct catalogue mailings, order processing, to
sending out the product. We have chosen a company called Marketline Marketing
Communications Limited (MMC). They are able to provide a very flexible fulfillment
service. They are able to staff up at short notice, using a number of experienced packers
who would work on a piecemeal basis. We will be using the Heathrow site.
9.2. Delivery
All deliveries will be via UK's Royal Post, as well as the respective national postal
carriers of our countries of business. Eventually, we anticipate organizing time-definite
deliveries through courier services once minimum parcel levels are met. Initially the
orders will be filled the day after the order is taken and delivery by post will take an
additional two to three days. Thus, the customer will receive the order in just three to
four days.
Since the work carried out by the company is limited, total staff employed directly will
be limited to the two founders. The offices for the short term will remain in one of the
founder's homes, though we are considering renting a small office.
The business will initially be only based in the United Kingdom. The reasons are simple:
• The United Kingdom enjoys one of the lowest corporation tax rates in Europe
• Due to problems renting European mailing lists, initially a large percentage of our
client base will be in the United Kingdom and will be concentrated around
London.
• The postage rates are the low (due to the weaker purchasing power of the pound
against DM related currencies).
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As the business grows and we perfect the British "template", we will locate a subsidiary
in a country where foreign language speakers can be hired cheaply. Alternatively
satellite offices can be opened in each country in which we have a sufficient customer
base. The choice will depend on the cost effectiveness of re-routing regional toll-free
numbers against the extra overhead and administration costs of having satellite offices.
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Supplier price lists and publicly available market surveys (i.e., Mintel, and The Economic
Intelligence Reports) show that the hosiery business enjoys margins of 40%. This occurs
across brands, price ranges and distribution outlets. We will charge £7 for the standard
work tights (15 denier appearance), £6 for the 10 denier appearance ultra-sheer tights and
£11 for the microfiber 30 denier semi-opaque tights. We expect to have an average retail
price (including VAT) of £7.60, giving a revenue per unit in the UK of £6.47. The
revenue in the rest of Europe will depend on the prevailing VAT rate and whether we
have sufficient turnover to be registered for VAT.
Tights are lightweight and small. It is a perfect product for posting. They weigh
approximately 35 grams including packaging. A standard package is 16 cm by 0.5 cm.
Mailing and packaging costs will total approximately £2.50 per order. 50p for post and
£2.00 for order handling and packaging (this includes a new catalogue costing 25p,
which can be passed onto a colleague). We will charge an average of £2.00 for postage
and handling.
We expect to have an average order size of 4 units (the initial order size will be smaller at
3-units). Thus the gross margin per UK order will be £9.86.
The main advantage of supplying tights, rather than other products through mail-order, is
that tights are a repeat purchase item. Thus the business needs only to secure an initial
sale and repeat sales will naturally follow.
New customers can be acquired in two ways; using rented mailing lists and sending out a
catalogue, and through encouraging our client base to recommend Beautiful Legs by post
to a friend. Renting mailing lists can be very expensive if the "hit rate" is low. Thus, we
will target customers through fist renting the lists of professional bodies such as the
Institute of Chartered Accountants and The Law Society. Secondly, we will target
women living in urban areas that are likely to have a high concentration of professional
women. In London this will cover areas such as Knightsbridge, Belsize Park,
Hammersmith, Clapham and South Kensington.
"Word of mouth" is the most cost effective and credible method of acquiring new clients.
This assumes Beautiful Legs by post will have adequately satisfied a client in the first
place, but this is vital in order to secure a repeat purchase. We plan to encourage "word
of mouth" recommendations by periodically targeting our client base using incentives as
well as sending out catalogues with every order.
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Since over 75% of all orders will be by existing customers, orders will be placed without
us having had send out a mail shot. This significantly reduces the costs of obtaining a
sale. We are also supplying a necessity, rather than encouraging clients to buy a luxury,
thus the costs of encouraging clients to make repeat purchases are also reduced.
The cost of a mailing is £773 per 1,000 catalogues sent. (This is broken down as follows;
mailing list rent £120, fulfillment £141, catalogue £250, envelope £42, postage £220.)
Thus, if our "hit-rate" is 1.5%, the cost of acquiring one client is £51.53.
Since the margin per order is £9.86, we start to make money when our client places their
fifth full value order. (A customer is estimated to order on average over eight times per
year).
Below is an example of an active client who receives and inducement valued at £1.60 on
her first order of three pairs, and then subsequently buys in order lots of four pairs.
(Cost)/revenu
e per client Order 1 Order 2 Order 3 Order 4 Order 5 Order 6
acquired
Mailing (51.53) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Gross margin 5.67 9.86 9.86 9.86 9.86 9.86
Per order (45.86) 9.86 9.86 9.86 9.86 9.86
Cumulative (45.86) (36.00) (24.14) (16.28) (6.42) 4.44
The financial projections assume that each month 5% of the client base returns to
purchasing tights from other sources.
The business is seasonal. Sales will be the highest during the autumn and winter. They
will tail off during the spring and will be the lowest during the summer. Therefore,
Beautiful Legs by post must constantly seek to ensure that all its costs are variable and
that it has low fixed costs. This will allow the business to maintain its net margins
throughout the seasons.
Fulfillment (inserting of catalogues or tights into envelopes), data management and order
processing will be contracted out and thus variable.
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Payment will be made by credit card. Credit card companies will normally settle their
accounts within five working dates. However, for the first year, until we have a proven
track record, Midland Bank will pay us after thirty days. This gives them security in the
event that fraud is committed either by our customer or ourselves. This is standard
practice.
We have negotiated the following payment terms with our supplier. Standard terms are
60 days, however we will receive a 2.75% discount if we pay within 30 days. Since
stock can be ordered weekly and our stock-keeping-units are limited to 48, our stock
levels will be minimal.
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We believe that all potential investors should be aware of the following risk factors
relating to their investment in the Company. However, in should be noted that investors
are advised to conduct their own risk assessment of the Company’s prospects.
As in all mail-order businesses, the "hit rate" is probably the most crucial factor. A mail-
order house has no way of estimating this rate, until it actually sends out letters and starts
to receive orders. Our market survey generated a 33% response rate. 85% of these
respondents said that they were willing to try buying tights through mail-order.
We will target all mail shots carefully, initially aiming at the professional woman living
in the city centers. We will heavily target areas that have a high concentration of
professionals. We are looking for customers who would normally buy from department
stores or who buy the higher quality tights in groceries and variety stores.
In our financial model we assumed that 1.5% of recipients of a catalogue will place an
order and become regular customers.
A good service will generate referrals. On average women recommend good value
products or services to two other women. Beautiful Legs by post will be recommend by
satisfied customers of its service. Encouraging this will be our cheapest and most
effective way of generating new clients.
In our financial model we have assumed the following "friend of a friend rates". This is
the number of friends introduced per month by a client base of 100. In the first year the
rate is 15, the second year is 10 and the third year is 5. (To balance for the new clients
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being introduced we have assumed that our customer base will reduce through wastage
by 5% every month.)
Below is a table that shows the effect of different "friend of a friend rates". The hit rate
is assumed to be 1.5%.
There is a risk that a strong entrant such as Pretty Polly (a subsidiary of Sara Lee of
Chicago) will enter the market. This is likely if they believe that Beautiful Legs by post
is successful. All Sara Lee's hosiery subsidiaries constantly introduce new products in
order to gain market share. This is not detrimental to the investment since this will give
us the opportunity for an early exit route. Any entrant will want to purchase our list of
proven customers, thus saving them the expense and risk of starting a new direct mail
business themselves.
We plan to have a saleable business after three years of operation. A potential purchaser
would be a trade buyer wanting to purchase a new distribution channel, which has direct
contact with their customers. Given the Earnings before interest and tax for year 3 is
£196,000, we would expect a trade sale price of 7 times earnings before interest and
taxes, thus giving a total price of £372,000.
The risk is that a trade purchaser will prefer to start their own business rather than buy an
existing business. However, we believe that because we will have already identified
members of a valuable segment (Professional women buying quality products), they will
want to purchase our customer base in order to expand on our knowledge
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2 October, 1995
Dear
As a busy professional woman, I appreciate services that save time without compromising quality. This is precisely
why Beautiful Legs by Post has been created: to offer fellow working women only the highest quality department store
tights without the inconvenience of department store shopping. Our ultimate goal is to give you exceptional quality at
an exceptional value, with the service you deserve.
The perfect tight has as much to do with the way it fits and feels as it does with the way it looks. That is why each
style in our collection is completely sheer to waist and includes such features as double covered Lycra, reinforced toe,
flat-lock seams and full gusset.
Beautiful Legs by Post is supplied exclusively by Doré Doré of France. This family-run company has been in
operation since 1819 and is highly regarded for its unsurpassed quality. The subtle shades of colours available are
designed to perfectly complement your working wardrobe. Yet, the detailed workmanship means your tights will feel
as wonderful as they look. It is no wonder why so many French women choose Doré Doré as their favoured brand.
Purchasing by post means no more wasted time in the crowded tights section of your local department store.
Purchasing by post means finding your size in stock, even of that perfect shade of neutral, so especially important this
autumn. Purchasing by post means prompt and discreet deliveries to your office, or conveniently through you letter-
box at home. You can even create a customized order to be shipped free of charge each month when you become a
Monthly Order Program Member.
I hope you accept this invitation to try Beautiful Legs by Post. I feel confident that our tights will meet your
expectations. However, if they should not, we will certainly accept their immediate return and your account will be
fully credited.
Sincerely
Elizabeth Preis
Marketing Director
Beautiful Legs by Post Limited
Unit 15, Haslemere Heathrow Estate
The Parkeay, Hounslow
Middlesex W4 6NE
England
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