Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Contents..................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 2
Product line description...........................................................................................2
Market segmentation.............................................................................................. 2
Product Description.................................................................................................... 3
Suppliers.....................................................................................................................6
Primary Suppliers.................................................................................................... 6
Secondary Suppliers................................................................................................7
Shippers...................................................................................................................... 8
Comparison of Shippers..............................................................................................8
Packaging...................................................................................................................9
Markets.....................................................................................................................11
Demographic segmentation (all information is from the CIA fact book of 2009.). .11
Population density ................................................................................................13
Race and Ethnicity.................................................................................................13
Religions:.............................................................................................................. 13
Economy overview................................................................................................14
Distribution of household and personal income in the US population..................15
Distribution of income by region...........................................................................15
Sales and Marketing.................................................................................................17
Competitors..............................................................................................................18
Barriers to Entry.......................................................................................................20
Present and Proposed Organization Structure..........................................................20
Present list of Shareholders and Proposed Financing Requirements........................21
Industry Outlook....................................................................................................... 22
Government Support................................................................................................22
Future Plans .............................................................................................................23
Introduction
As with all businesses, it is quite difficult to start a company from the ground up. Fortunately
with this product and market analysis we will be able to summarize who we are as a company
and what products we are considering to export. Our company name is Chiang Mai Links; we
chose this name because it seemed fitting to the location of the company and to the location from
which our products will be exported. Our product is what some would call modern but with a
twist of Thai artistry, as you read further into this analysis you will be able to get a better grasp
of our product.
The pieces use mostly wood, and occasionally some basic metals and mirrors in a rustic but neat
style. Most pieces range in size from approximately 10cm x 5cm x 20 cm to 20 cm x 20 cm x 30
cm and are priced between 250 and 300 baht a piece at production cost.
We feel that the product is an interesting opportunity for export as it uses the advantages of local
skills and talents with a low production cost while there is no, (or not many) similar products to
be found in the target countries market (as opposed to traditional Thai sculpted goods).
Market segmentation
The target market is America; the market was chosen because:
a) Two members of the team have familiarity with the culture, having lived there for some
time
The product is aiming at the middle to high income market segment. This has the advantage of
targeting a market who is both able and willing to purchase these products at a reasonable market
price, and a market that is also more likely spend additional money to decorate their homes (as
opposed to low income earners)
Product Description
Here are a sample of our products on offer. Please see the appendix for a larger
sample catalog.
Price: USD$45
Dimensions (Packed): 40cm x 40 cm x 10 cm
Weight: 0.3kh
Materials: Wood, metal
Comments: Modern wall lamp with use of
wood to give an organic feel. Bulb sold
separately.
Price: USD$45
Dimensions (Packed): 30cm x 30cm x 50cm
Weight: 0.5kg
Materials: Wood, metal, paper, plastic
Comments: Table lamp, warm and organic. Bulb sold
separately.
Price: Set of 3 USD$60
Dimensions (Packed): 40cm x 40cm x 60cm
Weight: 1.5kg
Materials: Wood
Comments: Simple minimalist style multi purpose vases.
Price: USD$35
Dimensions (Packed): 8cm x 10cm x 20cm
Weight: 0.2kg
Materials: Wood, glass
Comments: Glass wave design vases which can also be used as candle holders.
Primary Suppliers
The following suppliers have a product range directly in line with our market vision
and are actively involved in researching new designs for their products. They have
been highlighted as particular interest and value to the company and it will seek to
share information and improve relations primarily with these suppliers.
Products are small to medium sized tabletop home décor ranging from
10cmx10cmx20cm to 30cmx25cmx50cm in size such as statuettes and wall
hangings consisting of glass and wood materials. Designs are modern and very
unique and tend to vary quite rapidly. Prices ranging from 100B-350B.
Products are small to medium floor standing and tabletop home décor ranging from
5cmx5cmx20cm to 35cmx35cmx40cm in size with decorative bowls, candle stands
and vases consisting of mango wood, glass and rope materials. Designs are very
modern while retaining the quality of the wood used. Prices ranging from 100B-
200B for small products and 250B-400B for medium sized products.
C&R Manufacturer
Products are small to large sized stand lamps and candle lamps ranging from
10cmx15cmx20cm to 30cmx30cmx100cm consisting of metal, electric wiring and
wood materials. Designs are rustic and modern, many using treated naturally
shaped tree trunks or branches uncut used as part of a stand base for lamps. Metal
is used as a base and frame to structurally reinforce the design. Prices range from
several hundred Baht for the smaller candle lamps up to 1,200B for the larger stand
lamps.
Secondary Suppliers
The following suppliers have some products that are suitable to our business model,
however we will focus most efforts on primary suppliers and the following suppliers
will be used as a source of supplementary products to the company.
Praphan Art
Products are mostly traditionally based carvings of animals and buddhas and other
traditional crafts, but there are some suitable small tabletop lamps and modern
style statuettes of approximate size 20cmx20cmx40cm consisting mostly of wood
materials and electrical for the lamps. Prices range from 150 to 350B.
By Parisara
Wide range of wood carved lamps mostly large sized about 30cmx30cmx150cm,
ceiling hanging lamps, and vases about 30cmx30cmx50cm in size. There are many
varying styles and only some will be suitable to our product range. Most products
consist entirely of wood except the lamps usually involve some electrical equipment
such as wiring. Prices are about 250B for vases and 500B to 1,500B for different
types of lamps.
1 in 100 Bamboo
There is a fairly wide range of small to large bamboo products from partitions, to
vases, to picture frames, but this company mostly produces furniture. Bamboo
products are not a core of our business model, but the supplier can be used for sale
of furniture to supplement our home décor business and can be ordered on
customer demand basis. Products prices range greatly depending on product.
Shippers
Nana Design
Provides door to door service including packing, loading, transport to port, export
documentation such as bill of lading and customs handling, fumigation, and other
related service charges. Gives quote of 41,200B per 20’ container and estimates
shipping charges to be an 135,000B in low season (February to September) to ship
to Los Angeles.
T.Y.L Shipping
Comparison of Shippers
T.Y.L has given a lower quote and directly focuses on the business of exporting,
while it is a secondary business for Nana Design. T.Y.L Shipping is a licensed DHL
exporter and so carries with it a reputation of higher reliability and accountability. It
is also familiar with shipping large loads and has options for Less-Than-Container-
Load shipments, which will be useful in the initial phases of the business. For these
reasons we have decided to use T.Y.L as our primary supplier.
Packaging
Along these goals, Chiangmai links, aware of the global warming issues, had
decided to take responsibility and use green alternatives to packaging instead of
the traditional system. The packaging will have a slightly higher cost than with the
traditional system but will allow a great economy of materials, enhance recycling
and will encourage the development of this new kind of logistics. We will primarily
use large sized rectangular boxes (41x28x24 inches at a unit price of (60 baht) as
well as smaller boxes (24x24x10 inches) at a unit price of (40 baht). All boxes are
made of recycled paper and 100% recyclable after usage. In order to enhance the
safety of our products we chose to use double and triple walled cardboard boxes, a
system that soften the shocks received during transportation.
41x28x24 inches 24x24x10 inches
Multi-walls system
The other main area of concern consist of the inside filling. For optimal use,
we will pack only a single type of product in a box, thus reducing the risk of
movement during the transportation. Chiangmai links will use three different
methods of inside filling:
- Inside filling will be made with brown crinkle cut, created by cutting used
cardboard, thus making this alternative one of the cheapest.
- 100% recycled plastic air pillow will be used for our most fragile products.
However either our company or the shipping company will have to invest in a
special machine that creates these pillows. In average the machine costs
25,000 baht but has a low cost of materials and reduces waste on the long
run.
Corrugated cardboard Brown crinkle cut Air pillow
machine
Markets
Chiang Mai Links will export its product to the United States of America, primarily to the east
and west coasts. In order to analyze our market and have a good projection of our customers, we
will do a demographic segmentation of the country, followed by an economic overview, for
finally attempt to identify our target market.
2000 U.S. population density within each county, in persons per sq. mile (lower 48 states only):
Light to dark (yellow to blue): 1-4 (y), 5-9 (lt. green), 10-24 (teal), 25-49 (dk. teal), 50-99 (blue-
green), 100-249 (blue), 250-66,995 (black)
Religions:
Economy overview
GDP: $14.266 trillion
GDP growth: -2.4%
GDP per capita: $46,442
GDP by sector: agriculture: (1.2%), industry: (21.9%), services: (76.9%)
Inflation: 2.2%
Population below poverty line: 13.2% (2008)
Labor force: 154.5 million (includes unemployed)
Unemployment: 9.7%
Exports Imports
Working class (32%) Clerical, pink and blue collar workers with
often low job security; common household
incomes range from $16,000 to $30,000.
High school education
IKEA is a Swedish company that was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad who
decided to create a furniture shop with drastically lower prices than its competitors.
He reached his goal by an all new concept: The shop and the warehouse ate located
in the same place, the customers walk around one floor of exhibition where they
chose the products desired, they then go to the ground floor where cashiers and
warehouse are located, after payment the customers goes home with the materials
needed to then self-assemble their furniture. As of 2010, IKEA has 301 stores in a
total of 37 countries, and they translate their catalogs in 27 languages. The
company offers a range of more than 9,500 products, including tabletop decorations
and small furniture items that will compete with our company’s products.
In the USA, the first IKEA store was opened in 1985 and as of today, 37 stores
are spread across the country. These stores have different competitors’ advantages
over our company: very low prices and a much wider range of products. A family
trying to decorate their house will have a tendency to go to an IKEA shop where
they find all types of furniture and decoration for the entire house. However
Chiangmai links has a clear cultural and design advantage: IKEA’s products tend to
be based on a very sleek and pure design, often lacking personality and a touch of
culture. Below is an example of the same type of products in both companies:
Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen is an American company founded in 1932 and now has almost
300 stores in America, Canada and the UK. The company design themselves most of
their catalog; they also manufacture most of their products in America to reach high
customer satisfaction by top-notch quality. The current catalog offers products from
a vast number of style, modern art, ancient Greek vases, Asian handicrafts… The
company defines itself has “A strong American brand with global reach. A design
authority with a modern attitude. A high-quality manufacturer. An innovative
retailer. A destination for the one-stop shopper. A full-service Design Center staffed
by design professionals who make house calls.” In order to ensure all this services,
Ethan Allen’s products are expensive and therefore are aimed at America’s higher
social classes. Chiangmai links will have the advantage of offering some similar
products for a much smaller price.
Pier 1 Import
Pier 1 Import was founded in 1962 in Texas. They import home décor and
light furniture from different parts of the world, depending on the current trend.
Most of their 1,000 stores are located in America and Canada, as well as Mexico.
The company attempted to enter the European market in the early 1990’s but was
forced to withdraw less than a decade later. The company used to offer cheap
products with rather poor quality and usually a lack of real design which didn’t
correspond to the European’s market sophistication. However in America the
company is quite successful and has made real efforts on the quality of their
products, doubled by a significant raise in their prices. Pier 1 import will have a
much better exposition to customers than ChiangMai links due to the extensive
number of shops, but our company does not aim at the exact same market: Pier 1
Import mainly targets middle classes while our company will aim at higher classes
of revenues and usually more educated and globally knowledged customers.
However Pier 1 Import will become a more serious competitor when our company
will enter its expansion of targeted market in the next few years.
Based in Illinois, Crate and Barrel is very similar to IKEA in their products and
their prices. Most products have a very modern style, sleek and often in basic colors
such as black, white or gray. They offer mostly ceramic and glass objects. However
Crate and Barrel differs from IKEA by having a large number of much smaller stores
(more than 170 stores in America while IKEA only has 37 stores). Thus the company
benefits from a close relation to their customers while Chiangmai links will have
smaller exposition when entering the market. However, as with IKEA, Chiangmai
links offers more cultural products with a clear personality.
Rooms to go
A growing number of online shop offer Thai decorative items for very
attractive prices. These companies are all based in Thailand; the customer can
access pictures and description of the products on the website, then place an order
and pay by credit card. The product is then shipped directly from Thailand for a
reasonable price. Examples of this type of companies are Eastern serenity
(http://www.easternserenity.com/), Narai Phand (http://www.naraiphand.com/). Even
if the products offered are very similar and cheaper than the one proposed by our
company, we have the advantage of being on location, the customer can actually
see and hold the products to make an accurate decision, furthermore there is no
shipping delay, when the customer desires an item they can own the object in a few
instants instead of waiting two weeks for the shipment from Thailand.
Barriers to Entry
The barriers to entry for a furniture and home décor exporter are very low and
should be considered one of the major threats to operating in the business. Once a
supplier is found and shipping is arranged, the main barrier to entry is the cost of a
container load, and with some services offering less-than-container shipping, the
barriers have come lower. Thus we determine it is important to build an open and
trusting relationship with our suppliers and develop unique products by working
together.
The main non-tarrif barriers to entry are materials requirements, assuring that
fumigation of wood products are correctly handled. With Thailand as a well
established international furniture export origin country, there are many
experienced companies and individuals working in metal, glass and wood inspection
and materials treatment, so this does not pose a problem.
Thailand also benefits from a significant number of Free Trade Agreements and as a
result many exports are not subject to tariffs except a relatively low customs duty.
The Export logistics Manager is responsible for analyzing and accurately forecasting
consumer demand at the destination site. The responsibilities include arranging for
export with shipping companies and following up on delivery, maintaining good
relations with export end customers and liasing with the design and marketing
manager when seeking potential new buyers in the destination country.
The Design and Marketing Manager is responsible for marketing the product to
overseas buyers and creating new designs based on current fashions. The
responsibilities include maintaining the company website and catalog and keeping it
up to date, creating new design ideas on paper or on computer aided design
programs and liasing with suppliers and the Supplier relations co-ordinator to put
new design ideas into production if possible, and liaising with the Export logistics
manager in seeking new buyers and markets in the destination country.
The Finance and Human resources Manager is responsible for employee pay and
benefits and arranging payments from and receiving payments to the company. The
responsibilities include correct forecasting of cash flows and arranging of a line of
credit, correct and timely payment of suppliers, confirmation of payment from
buyers in liaison with the Export logistics manager, accurate and timely pay of all
staff, managing corporate and individual taxes, and arranging non pay benefits and
corporate events.
Finally, the General Manager is responsible for the co-ordination of all business units
and needs to be available to assist in each of the business functions as needed.
Given the sporadic nature of the business, the general manager may at times need
to focus attention on suppliers to meet production schedule and liaise with the
shippers and customs in times of shipment. During tax times the GM will help
arrange the data and paperwork necessary for correct filing and in the absence of
other duties should focus on acquiring new markets and developing advertising and
promotional campaigns.
At this stage it has agreed financing will be provided by an equal buy in of 5 parts,
600,000 baht each. Profits will be kept as retained earnings and reinvested into the
business for the first year, after which 50% of profits will be distributed to the
owners based on percentage of stock owned (which if there is no change, translates
to a 10% total profit per person). This is in addition to a standard salaray paid.
Industry Outlook
Home décor and furniture are commodities at their base. There will always be a
demand for these goods because there is always a need for them. As stated
previously, the demand for furniture and home décor has been slowly and steady
increasing in the United States for the most part of the past few decades and there
is no indication that this will decrease. Also, the number of imported furniture is
increasing at a faster rate than US domestic products due to increased quality of
overseas providers.
Thailand is well known for the quality of its wood and skilled artisans and has a good
reputation in the domain of quality produced furniture. By seeking new designs and
ways to differentiate our products, the company seeks to capitalize on a growing
trend for niche products, as home décor, particularly in the more affluent areas of
the west and east coasts of the US, are becoming more of a fashion statement.
Government Support
The business is designed as a private venture of 4 foreign nationals and one
national of Thai citizenship and is not intending to use government subsidy or
support in its business model.
Future Plans
The future plans consist of establishing a solid and reliable overseas market slowly
but surely, growing to a point where are consistently shipping a minimum of one
container load per month to our markets in the US. This is estimated to take 2 to 3
years maximum at which point the current business processes and organizational
structure should still be sufficient.
Future growth models are subject to revision over time. The current growth model
will be to find openings in other regional markets in the US, expanding from the
more affluent west and eastern coasts into the Midwest and South.