Contents
The Company 1
The Market and the Target Customers 1
Industry Overview 1
Target Customers 1
The Competition 2
Meeting the Competition 2
Marketing Strategy 2
Business Goals 3
Year 1 Goals 3
Year 2 Goals 3
Years 3 – 5 3
Location 3
Management 4
Human Resources 4
Financials 4
Bibliography 5
The Company
Golden Eagle Clothing is a Sports Apparel company operating in Vancouver, British Columbia. It originated as a partnership between Charlene Jenkins, Tara Crouch, and Phyllis Wong in February of 2008. In October of 2008 Charlene Jenkins bought out the partners to become the sole owner of the company. Golden Eagle has spent the past year and a half designing and market testing sports apparel designed for extreme sports.
The new styles of clothing offered by Golden Eagle Clothing fills a void in the market, currently there are no Canadian companies designing extreme sports apparel for women. The design and durability of Golden Eagle Clothing is targeted at females and males in the age group 15 to 35 who participate in extreme sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding. Golden Eagle Clothing is unique in that the owner/designer is an experienced competitive skateboarder with knowledge of the industry trends and needs. The Market and the Target Customers
Industry Overview
Extreme sports such as skateboarding snowboarding have seen a recent increase in popularity in North America as witnessed by their national televised exposure in high profile events such as the annual “X Games” and at recent Olympic games. In North America, the skateboarding industry alone accounts for several billion dollars in sales per year for apparel, shoes and skateboards. In Canada the industry sees sales between $18-20 million per year ($11 million in clothing sales). While extreme sports have become accepted as legitimate sporting events, the major sporting-goods companies such as Nike Inc. have been unable to penetrate this market due to their lack of legitimacy with the extreme sports community.
Extreme sports apparel is typically sold through independent retailers. Although only 20% of total apparel sales are to skateboarders, and 80% to non-skateboarders, it is the skateboarders who set the trends for acceptance of new extreme apparel designs. For extreme sports apparel to be accepted by the consumer it must first be accepted by the core skateboarding community. One of the keys to success in the industry is involving competitive skateboarders in the design of the clothing. Golden Eagle Clothing stands out in the industry as the only business owned and operated by a competitive skateboarder.
Target Customers
Golden Eagle Clothing Company has conducted and year and a half of market research in North America. The majority of the research has been in British Columbia, Alberta and the west coast of the United States including Seattle, San Diego and San Francisco. Research included personal interviews with competitive skateboarders and independent retailers. For a more complete breakdown of the research please see Appendix A.
Golden Eagle Clothing’s primary target customers are females aged 15 – 35 who participate in aggressive sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding.
The secondary customers are males aged 15 – 35 who participate in aggressive sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding.
The Competition
There are three major competitors in the industry: Roxy, Volcom, and Bilibong. All three are based in the United States and sell primarily to the US and Canada. As a result of the exchange rate all three are at a disadvantage with a Canadian firm such as Golden Eagle Clothing. The following is a breakdown of the strengths and weaknesses of the major competitors and Golden Eagle Clothing.
Strengths And Weaknesses
Roxy
Volcom
Bilibong
Golden Eagle
Strengths
Capital
Management
Brand
Product Quality
Product Price
Legitimate skateboarding knowledge and experience
Weaknesses
Product Price
