Shoe shop business plan template

Executive Summary

Business Overview

Chaussure À Son Pied will be a shoe shop located in downtown Caen. We'll offer a diverse range of women and men's shoes, whilst specialising in quality leather and original brands, with a special focus on products manufactured in France.

Compiled of leather and vegan leather shoes, sneakers, boots and sandals, our collections will move with the seasons to keep up with customer demand for the latest trends.

Chaussure A Son Pied will tie together its extensive shoe collection and the expertise of its sales staff to create a space where the people of Cognac can come to discover the perfect shoe for any occasion.

Our store will be located at Rue Froide in downtown Caen, a street perpendicular to the very lively Rue Saint-Pierre, an area famed for its attractive aesthetic and wide selection of shops.

Chaussure A Son Pied will meet the high-end expectations of its customers by offering a more deluxe range of shoes than other brands on the local market.

Chaussure à son Pied will be a limited company managed by Valentine C. and Alice V. with a share capital of €15,000. Valentine and Alice both have the requisite skills and experience for launching a shoe shop business.

Valentine holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from the University of Nancy and has 5 years of experience as a management assistant at a clothes store.

Alice, a Normandy native, has a Marketing degree from the University of Nancy. After her studies, she worked as a marketing assistant for a clothing brand for four years.

The two partners met and became friends at university. They stayed in touch after graduating and later decided to open a shoe shop together.

Market Overview

Domestic Market

With 7.5 pairs of shoes purchased per child, 6 for every woman and 3.5 per man annually, France is at the top-tier for shoe consumption in Europe.

It makes sense then that France is leading the way for shoe production, as around 5,000 people are employed in the footwear sector and 21.7 million shoes are produced each year. According to Chaussure de France, the footwear market saw a total turnover of over €8 billion.

While a large quantity of shoes are manufactured in France (there are around 80 companies and factories located within the country), a majority of the shoes made in France are exported.

As a result, shoes are then imported from other countries to meet the demand in France. In 2017, Italy was the top exporter of shoes to France, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom.

The French prefer to buy shoes in-store. Large, budget shoe stores such as Gémo and La Halle aux Chaussures, as well as sports shops such as Decathlon and Foot Locker, hold a 41% market share.

These are followed by independent and chain shoe shops, which account for 28.5% of sales.

Online shoe shops, such as Zalando, Sarenza, Spartoo, which entered the shoe scene in 2005, now hold a 12.5% market share.

Traditional market players, including shoe chains such as the Vivarte and Eram groups, are facing up well to the competition posed online shoe giants. This is mainly due to the consistent desire of consumers to be able to try shoes on before they buy. Such brands are also making their own mark on the online realm, with Eram and Vivarte setting up websites to complement their store network.

According to INSEE, shoe spending has increased by an average of 5.5% per year since the 1960s. This increase is mainly due to an increasing number of shoe sales by 1.6% each year.

The average French household will spend around €330 on shoes, compared to the €1,230 that's set aside for clothes.

According to Yougov.com, women are more likely to buy the most shoes with females between 25 - 44 years old spending around €207 on shoes, amounting to an average of 12-14 pairs in their dressing room.

To obtain the best prices possible, the French increasingly wait until sales or promotions are advertised to buy their shoes - with the amount of sales having doubled from 2000 to 2015.

While casual, everyday footwear is popular in France, sneakers remain the best-selling shoes and their market share is constantly increasing, explaining the overarching presence of sports shops in the shoe distribution circuit.

Local Market

Caen has a population of approximately 108,000, with several shopping districts that attract consumers from the city centre and beyond.

The city centre has renowned shopping streets that are part of the main shopping district and host a plethora of shoe shops.

The Caennais, like 74% of the French, feel proud of their heritage, thus are willing to pay more for products made within France. The establishment of a "Made in France" trade show in Normandy, similar to the existing Parisian trade show, has increased the desire for locally--made products amongst the consumers of Caen.

Financial Highlights

We expect to be profitable from the first year of operation, with sales of €223,120 and EBITDA of €8,234 (or 3.69% of margin).

Thereafter, we anticipate that the actions indicated in our marketing plan, as well as word-of-mouth will enable us to continue developing the business in years 2 and 3.

From year 1 to year 2, we expect an increase of 8.31% in our turnover. From year 2 to year 3, we expect sales growth of 4.44% with an EBITDA of €17,693 (or 5.09% of margin).

The improvement in EBITDA margin is mainly due to a better absorption of fixed costs as a result of the sales growth.

We expect positive cash generation over the entire plan. The cash flow generated by the company will cover loan repayments, while retaining sufficient leeway to deal with unforeseen events.

Our Ask

The opening of Chaussure A Son Pied will require an initial investment of €70,000. The founders will invest €35,000 (50%) and we would like to obtain a loan of €35,000 to fund the remaining amount.