Poppi Designs is an Italian furniture importer serving New York. The original incorporation of the business in N.Y. was over 10 years back. It has been through many business strategies changes. The new model allows for the import of a wide variety of Italian furniture. It is sold primarily to designers as well as unfinished furniture retail shops. Two principals are Kate Jackson, located in New York, and Luca de Febonio, located in Rome, Italy.
The Concept
Poppi understands that good furniture is very competitive and will therefore target niches to reduce competition. Generally, they will concentrate on locations out of reach of larger furniture superstores. Poppi Designs can leverage Luca’s expertise and location in Italy to manage the entire importation process. Poppi Designs will be represented in Italy by Luca.
Poppi Designs has three keys to success. The first is establishing a high quality, high value relationship with its vendors and customers. It is also important to deliver their products on time and in a reliable manner. Reliable administration is the last requirement for success.
Poppi can be set up at home and has additional warehouse space. This arrangement will be the most economical, but it will also provide the necessary support and service.
The Market
Poppi Designs will target the following market segments. Their primary market segment is specialty retailers, which makes up around 80%. This segment is growing at just 2% and has 16 potential clients. Poppi will reduce their dependency on this niche by focusing its marketing efforts. This market is more competitive and Poppi will target targeted marketing to increase their reach. The second segment is designers, that also have a 2% annual growth, with 44 potential customers. The final targeted niche is the unfinished furniture retailer, with a potential 50 participant market and growing at 2%.
The market is based less on brand equity of the manufacturer and more on the actual product and the service provider. The customer should have the opportunity to touch and feel it. The salesperson can also play a significant role in the transaction. Poppi benefits from these realities as they are able pick and choose from multiple manufacturers instead of having to only sell products to one manufacturer.
The Sales Strategy
Direct sales calls to all segments of the market targeted by this plan are key to the success of the sales strategy, with the exception being interior designers. Kate Jackson, the owner of the company, must make these sales calls due to her knowledge and background about the products and the competitors. Experience has shown that the more time Kate Jackson devotes to selling, the greater the sales results. The search for a full-time team member should be made as soon and as quickly as possible. Kate is unable to sell if too much of her time is diverted by this person.
Poppi Designs, through its well-focused business strategy will achieve profitability by month two. Conservative forecasts suggest that sales will increase by almost two-thirds from year one to three. The ratio of net profits to sales will be comparable.
1.1 Objectives
The objectives of Poppi Designs are:
- In order to create an efficient and reliable administrative system that allows the owner to focus on selling and managing major accounts.
- To concentrate Poppi’s efforts on several selected market sectors that have been researched and found promising.
- To increase the reliability and timeliness in shipments from Italy.
1.2 Mission
Poppi’s mission, according to a variety reasons, is to fill certain market niches in chairs and other furniture items that are not being served by large domestic producers. Poppi Designs’s owner, Poppi Designs, draws upon her interior design expertise, as well her contacts in Italy, to tailor her products to meet these market needs.
1.3 Keys to Success
Poppi Designs’s key to success are:
- Offering products of high quality and value that aren’t available anywhere else. This is critical to maintain the niche markets mentioned by the mission statement.
- Reliable and timely deliveries. Poppi must deliver on its promises. Poppi must fulfill its delivery promises because of the nature and culture of Italian business.