Business Plan for One Stop Convenience Store Franchise (London)

This business plan outlines the strategy for establishing a One Stop convenience store franchise in London. It details the business's offerings, objectives (short, medium, and long-term), and how a start-up loan will be utilized to achieve them. The plan covers the owner's skills and experience, target customer demographics, market analysis, and competitive landscape. It also details marketing and sales strategies, operational plans, and pricing approaches, emphasizing a penetration pricing strategy to gain market share. The plan incorporates market research, including surveys and questionnaires, to understand customer needs and preferences, ensuring the store's offerings meet local demand. It also addresses potential gaps in skills and experience, detailing how these will be addressed to ensure the success of the franchise.

Business Plan
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Contents:
1. Your business and objectives
2. Your skills and experience
3. Your target customers
4. Your market and competition
5. Your marketing and sales plans
6. Your operational plans
7. Supporting evidence (if applicable)
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1. Your business and objectives
Briefly describe your business, outlining the different product(s) and/or service(s) you offer:
I am trying to open a convenience store franchise for One Stop. The business will offer a range of products
as well as services to the customers. One Stop is a retailer based in the United Kingdom that offers a
variety of grocery stores. The store will be open seven days a week and the products that will be offered will
include vegetables, ready to cook food etc. This means that the customers will find most of what they need
at one place (Andrian, 2018). The business will cater to the day to day needs of people in respect of food,
grocery etc. By fulfilling the needs of the customers, the business will be able to generate profit as well as
gain a goodwill in the industry.
Objectives:
Short term (current year):
 To establish a franchise for One Stop store in London within 4 months in order to gain attraction of
people by 15%.
 To generate awareness regarding the newly opened store by 10% to attract people.
Medium term (next 1 – 2 years):
 To open another franchise store of One Stop in the United Kingdom within the next one year in order to
increase overall sales by 25%.
 To reduce the overall turnover by 15% during the next two years in order to strengthen the brand name.
Long term (3 years and beyond):
 To increase the overall revenue by 30% in the coming 3 years in order to run the business successfully.
 To reduce the expenses related to production by 7% over the next three years.
Your Start Up Loan:
Describe how you will use your Start Up Loan and how it will help you achieve these objectives:
The start-up loan will be availed from a bank or a financial institution in order to raise funds for the business.
All the expenses will be planned beforehand so that once the loan is availed, the necessary things for the
business can be purchased. The first and the most important thing for which the loan will be used, will
include buying all the equipment and installing the latest technology in the store. Besides this, the start-up
loan will also be used to set up costs and deal with issues in the cashflow (Arana, 2018). The land, where
the convenience store has to be opened will also be bought with the money from the loan. When the basic
costs of the business will be in place and managed effectively, they will help in achieving the business
objectives. With the help of the start up loan, recruitment and selection process will be conducted and the
new employees who will join the business will be provided effective training and development. This will help
them to perform in the desired manner and also be able to help the customers with any issues or queries
without having to get in touch with a senior. Latest technology will also be implemented in the store to
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provide the customers with a good experience so that they consider visiting the store again.
2. Your skills and experience
Outline any previous experience, employment or other work that you have done that is relevant to
your business:
I have a previous experience of working in the food and beverage industry of 12 years as a hotel manager.
Outline any education or training you have had that is relevant to your business:
My educational background is that I have an MBA degree from Sunderland University. On the other hand,
my wife has 2 Master’s Degrees from Cardiff Metropolitan University. These are an MBA in Marketing as
well as MSC hospitality. She will be helping me in setting up, operating as well as managing the business.
Outline any transferable skills, talents or traits you have that are relevant to your business:
I am good at managing a team of people as I have done it earlier during my previous job as a hotel
manager for 12 years. Also, I am comfortable in working as part of a team and possess good
communication skills, bot written as well as verbal. My research and analytical skills are also strong which
will be one of the contributing factors for my business. I have helped one of my friends in setting up a
business so setting up a franchise of a convenience store will not be very difficult for me. Other transferable
skills or traits I possess are that I am able to make important decisions quickly without panicking.
Briefly outline any gaps in your skills, experience or qualifications and explain how you will address
these:
One of the gaps in my current skillset is that I have to work on my problem-solving skills. Although they are
good, but working on them will help me in improving the performance of my business being the owner of it.
Also, I should work on my current motivation skills as this is one of the main elements of a business to be
successful (Babatunde and etl al., 2020) I think that having more working experience would have been
more helpful as it would have allowed me to strengthen my organizing as well as planning skills. I need to
work on my gaps so that my business is able to attract a greater number of customers. Presentation skills
as well as organizing skills a5re some of the areas where I need to work on in order to ensure that the
business is able to perform in an effective manner.
3. Your target customers
Demographic details:
Delete any answers not applicable to you and provide some description as relevant.
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Age: Gender: Income: Types: Target regions:
 13 -
17yrs
 18 -
30yrs
 31 -
50yrs
 All genders  £0 - £25,000
 £26,000 - £99,000
 £100,000 +
 Individuals
 Businesses
 Families
 Other
 Local
How many potential customers do you estimate are in your target regions for this financial year?
For this financial year, estimated potential customers for the business are all the localites in the locality as
well as the people living in the nearby towns. The number of potential customers can be estimated to be
2000-3000. But there can also be other people who visit from other locations.
Briefly describe your target customers and any other distinguishing features, expanding on any of
the areas you have already highlighted above:
The target customers of the stores will be people in in the age groups of 13 to 50 years of age. This is
because they will be able to find the products based on their needs as well as preferences. Once the store is
set up and starts operating smoothly, more equipment as well as latest technology will be implemented
(Canfield, 2017). Also, in order to expand the business and create awareness about the same among
people, different online as well as social media platforms will be used to attract a greater number of people to
the store. Initially, the store will offer various offers as well as discounts to the people in order to create
awareness as well as attract them to the store. Currently, the business will operate locally and will gradually
expand to other areas as well. And in order to expand the business effectively to ensure that the needs as
well as preferences of all customers is met, a market research will be done in order to make sure that there is
a clarity regarding the needs of the people in that particular location.
What customer need or problem does your product(s) and/or service(s) address?
Customers need grocery products on a day to day basis and therefore, One Stop will be their destination for
any type of products or services. The products will be offered at low and affordable prices to ensure that they
are not very heavy on the pocket of customers and they are able to buy products easily. Besides this, the
availability of products will be kept high and this will be done with the help of effective inventory management.
Therefore, the main problem that the convenience store will try to solve is the availability of products as well
as services (Davidovic, 2020). This will help the store to attract a greater number of customers and also
address their needs in an effective way. Also, the convenience store will offer the products at affordable rates
in order to make sure that that customers are able to buy products that they need from time.
Explain your approach to pricing your product(s) and/or service(s):
Pricing plays an important role in the overall success of a business and helps it in attracting a greater
number of customers. In order to select the most appropriate pricing strategy for the business, different
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factors will be taken into account. It is required to have knowledge about the market. This will help in
identifying the competitors and thus, choose the best pricing technique. Since the business within the area
will be comparatively new, penetration pricing strategy will be used in order to gain the market share quickly.
Different new products will be offered to the customers in order to attract them as well as penetrate into the
market. The prices of the products will be initially set low in order to initiate a word of mouth in the business.
The rationale behind choosing this pricing strategy is mainly to capture the market, create a brand loyalty
among the customers. Currently, a lot of customers purchase products from the competitors (Eke, 2017),
thus the pricing strategy will help in driving competitors out of the market as well as switch customers from
the competitors. There are a lot of advantages of using penetration pricing approach, like it enables a
company to gets its products as well as services accepted in the market and at the same time, generate a
high sales quantity.
Basically, penetration pricing is when the products are priced at low rates as compared to the competitors to
drive sales during the initial period. In this case, the low price will help in penetrating the market and getting
the attention of an increased number of customers. Customers want low prices for products that are not too
expensive for them. This pricing strategy leads to a reduction in the overall competition so as to gain a
competitive advantage in the market. There is an improvement in the overall brand loyalty and if the products
that are offered by our business will be good, The customers would not show any resistance in buying the
products, even when there is an increase in their prices (Ezzeddine, 2018). Penetration pricing also results
in an increase in the goodwill of the brand which creates a positive word of mouth for the company. One of
the goals for us to choose this pricing strategy is to introduce the customers to a new brand or a product that
has been launched in the market. Therefore, by adopting this pricing approach, the newly set up convenience
store will not only be able to attract a greater number of customers, but also help in generating sales.
4. Your market and competition
What research have you conducted to understand your market, including your industry, regions,
customers, competitors?
Delete any answers not applicable to you and provide some description as relevant.
 Surveys & questionnaires
 Focus groups
 Market testing
 Met with suppliers
 Personal experience
 Social media research
 Family and friends
Competitor 1:
Name, location, website: Average prices:
Sainsbury's, London, United Kingdom
www.sainsburys.co.uk
The average prices of products that are offered by
Sainsbury's is £100. Average prices of products can be
defined as the measurement of the average range of
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prices that that the customers pay for products and
services that are offered by the brand.
Strengths: Weaknesses:
 Sainsbury's is one of the top supermarket
chains in the United Kingdom. This is
because it caters the needs of almost all
types of customers. The promotional
strategies adopted by the brand are also
innovative and have helped it in attracting a
greater number of customers. The
strategies directly pitch the brand against
the competitors to the customers.
 One of the other strengths of the
company is that it has operations
across different geographic locations
along with a large and loyal base of
customers (Fotiadis, Mombeuil and
Valek, 2018). The employees of the
company are loyal to it and have
helped it in achieving its goals as well
as objectives. Sainsbury's markets
itself through various mediums that
include print ads, social media, online
campaigns etc.
 There is a high level of satisfaction among
customers as the workforce is highly skilled
and posses the required skills as well as
knowledge. As a result, they assist the
customers in making an effective buying
decision.
 Besides operating in a highly competitive
market, the respective company has been
able to maintain its position and attract a
considerable amount of customers from
different geographic locations, both online
as well as offline.
 There are some areas in which the respective
company, Sainsbury's can work upon in order to
ensure an efficient performance. For example, the
company lack effective research and development
and lately, has not been able to compete effectively
within the market. Besides this, the company is also
not very good at forecasting demand among
customers and as a result, it has lost various
opportunities.
 The constant increase in the prices of food products
have impacted the overall products prices that are
sold by the company. Also, with the growing
competition in the market as well as the entry of online
retailers, the company has been trying to cut its costs
down in order to beat the competition, which is no
longer proving to be successful.
 Sainsbury's has not implemented latest technology as
compared to the technological advancements. This
has affected its overall plan to expand in other
geographic areas.
 Also, despite of offering various loyalty programs
and conducting promotions, the company is not
being able to retain its existing customers
(França and et. al., 2017). This has impacted
its overall sales as well as profitability in the
market. There has also been a significant impact
on the overall productivity of the company, on the
whole.
Competitor 2:
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Name, location, website: Average prices:
Spar Limited, Amsterdam, Netherlands
www.spar.co.za/
The average prices of products that are offered by the
respective company range from £100 to £150. Due to the
pricing of its products, the company has been able to
attract a great number of customers.
Strengths: Weaknesses:
 One of the major strengths of Spar
Limited is that has presence across
various geographic locations
(Geissdoerfer, Savaget and Evans,
2017). This shows that the
organization has been able to reach
out to customers across different
locations and satisfy their needs.
Besides this, the company has been
able to expand its customer base due
to its wide product portfolio.
 Spar Limited has a significant online
presence on various social media platforms
like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc.
There is also effective social media
management which has helped the
company in maintaining engagement
among customers.
 Since Spar Limited is a part of Tesco Plc, it
has access to different suppliers. Thus, the
company can buy raw materials at lower
rates, thereby increasing its overall
efficiency. Apart from this, the quality of the
products that are offered by the company is
high.
 Respective company has staff members
who are passionate, well trained and have
a significant experience within the retail
industry. As a result, they are able to serve
the customers more effectively and help
them during the decision making process.
 The company has operations in many
different areas and thus has a strong
 The current inventory management practices of the
company are not efficient and it is important for the
firm to ensure that it is able to work effectively.
 Another weakness is that the company does not have
an effective budget. And due to this, it is not able to
manage its various expenses. Also, the project
management practices are weak and there is a need
to improve the same.
 The culture within the organization has become one of
the weak factors for the company. This is because it is
not aligned with the goals and objectives of the
company. The company is not able to manage all the
workload effectively, lately. This has resulted in an
impact on its overall productivity.
 Spar Limited operates in a highly dynamic as well as
competitive business environment. It is not being able to
tackle the challenges that are being raised within the
market (KAZEMI, 2019). Also, respective company is
significantly lagging behind in terms of research and
development. The product range that is sold by the
company has significant amount of gaps.
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brand name among customers. Therefore,
this can also be counted as one of the
strengths for the company. Besides this, a
wide range of products is what makes the
brand stand out.
Your business:
What sets your business apart from your competitors?
Customers are a very important component of a business and can significantly affect its overall success. Our
business will primary focus on satisfying the needs of the target customers so as to gain their loyalty and
trust. This will help the business in being apart from the competitors and thereby, increase overall profitability.
There are other things that would set our business apart from the competitors and this includes offering
various products of high quality at low prices. Various mediums will be used in order to market and promote
the newly opened convenience store (Langan and et. al., 2019). These would include online marketing,
increased social media presence, offering discounts and offers. Well trained and experienced staff members
will be hired as this would ensure that extraordinary services are provided to the customers. Besides this, the
customers will also have an option of exchanging or returning products within a limited period of time frame.
A lot of importance will be laid on the branding of the convenience store, the needs as well as expectations of
the customers will be identified and then effective strategies will be developed in order to satisfy the same.
The One Stop convenience store will have a friendly culture, wherein the employees will be courteous and
helpful.
The customer service will be excellent and great discounts will be offered on different products. Since the
customers always lookout for products that not only satisfy their needs but are also less expensive, the offers
that will be provided to them will help the store in retaining them as well as attract new customers. So, low
prices, high quality along with effective customer service is what will make the convenience store stand out in
the market (Locati, 2017). This will lead to the growth of the store and also an increase in its overall
productivity. Pricing and promotions are other aspects that will contribute to the overall success of the store
and help it in standing out from competitors as well as gain a competitive edge in the market.
The customers will receive a complimentary gift on their first purchase which will also help in setting the
business apart. This is also because none of the competitors offer this deal to its competitors. Therefore, with
the help of this approach, new customers will be attracted to the store as well as the existing customers can
also be retained for a long duration of time.
Your strengths: Your weaknesses:
 One of the many strengths of the business
is that it will offer a wide range of products
as well as services that will be based on
the needs as well as preferences.
 One of the weaknesses of One Stop is that unlike
Tesco, One stop lacks implementation of innovative
and latest technology. Due to this, there has been an
impact on its overall performance.
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 Brand name will also act as one of the
strengths for the convenience store. This is
because One stop is a leading retail
companies within the United Kingdom. This
will help in attracting a greater number of
customers.
 The store will be a one stop shop for all
kinds of products that the customers need
on a day to day basis.
 Also, the supply chain of the company is
strong and thus, the products will always be
available for the customers and that too at
lowest prices. This will lead to an increase
in the overall profitability of the store.
 Besides this, there is a requirement for the company
to work on its existing marketing strategy across
different locations as the level of overall sales has
declined in comparison to previous years.
 One Stop is one of the subsidiaries of Tesco that has
been performing fairly in the market. But, it is still not
able to attract a greater number of customers.
 Also, the level of competition within the market is high
due to which it will not be able to perform in an
effective manner. Therefore, this can be counted as a
weakness.
Current or future opportunities: Current or future threats:
 The business will have the opportunity of
expanding to different areas within the local
area if we market our business well and are
able to retain existing customers.
 Besides this, there are also opportunities to
start producing products with the private
label (McKenzie and Sansone, 2019).
This will help in attracting a greater number
of customers.
 Emerging markets can also act as one of
the opportunities for the sore to grow in the
future. This way, the business will be able
to cater to the needs of customers in
different geographic locations.
 Increasing online presence is another
opportunity that will help the business in
reaching out to a greater number of
customers and understanding their
preferences as well as wants. Based on
this, new products can be launched at
reasonable prices.
 Intense competition from major as well as local
competitors can act as one of the threats that can
have an impact on the overall performance of the
business.
 The costs of labour as well as raw materials is
rising due to which the business might have to
increase the cost of the products in order to
sustain in the market (Patuk and Borowski,
2017.
 The wants as well as preferences of the customers
keep on changing and thus, it can act as one of the
threats because if the business fails to address theses
needs, the customers will switch to the competitors.
 Lastly, an increased pressure from the stakeholders
can also pose significant threat to the business. This
will affect the overall performance as well as
profitability of the business.
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5. Your sales and marketing plans
How do you or will you promote your business?
Delete any answers not applicable to you and provide some description as relevant.
 Website (information only)
 Website (for e-commerce)
 Advertising (online)
 Advertising (print, radio, TV)
 Search engine marketing
 Social media
 Retail outlets
 PR
Pick three of your key promotional activities and describe how they currently (or will in the future)
help you meet your business objectives:
1. The first promotional activity that will be used in order to promote the business is advertising
through various mediums like print, radio, TV and online. This will be beneficial for the business as it
will help in introducing the convenience store to the customers in order to make them aware about
the same. Besides this, there will also be an increase in the overall sales of the business and
elimination of the middlemen. The customers will get to know about the different products as well as
services that are offered by the business (Sambodo, Morohosi and Oyama, 2017). As a result,
they will be attracted to visit the store and purchase products that will satisfy their need. The
goodwill of the business will also expand and a greater number of employment opportunities will be
created in the market. As a result, the business will be able to differentiate itself from other
competitors and also, communicate with the customers in an effective manner. Therefore, the
convenience store will be able to reach its business goals as well as objectives. Lastly, advertising
through various sources will also act as a source of information and enable the company to
enhance its overall business operations and attract the right customers.
2. Social media is another strategy that will be adopted by the business to promote itself as well as its
products in the market. The reason behind using social media as a promotional tool is that it will improve
the search engine ranking of the business and help in understanding the needs as well as preferences
of the customers in an effective way (10 Advantages of Social Media Marketing for Your Business.
2020). This is because the needs keep on changing from time to time. The brand awareness among
customers will increase and the level of user engagement will also increase. This will lead to an increase
in the overall sales of the company and as a result, the business will be able to achieve its goals and
objectives. Promoting products and service through social media will lead to an increase in the customer
satisfaction. Thus, the overall brand loyalty among the customers will increase. Besides this, social
media will help in generating leads for the business as it is new. Lead generation is important as it can
significantly contribute to building a sustainable business that is not only profitable but has a loyal base
of customers as well.
3. Lastly, retail outlet will also be used in order to promote the products as well as services of the
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business. This will help the business in achieving its goals as well as objectives currently as well as
in the future. Retail marketing will help in keeping the competitors aware about what the business is
charging for the same products. As a result, adjustments to the prices can be made. Also,
promoting business as well as products through the different retail outlets of One Stop will act as a
source of information for the customers as well as create a reason for them to visit the store and
buy the products (Tracey and et. Al, 2017). A competitive environment will be created so that the
main focus is on fulfilling the needs of the customers. The business will be able to focus on the
marketing as well as promotions aspect and thus, will be able to attain goals and objectives in the
future.
6. Your operational plans
Are there any suppliers or business relationships that
are critical to delivering your products/services or
otherwise running your business?
Detail as relevant in the boxes provided below.
Supplier / Relationship 1:
Organisation: Relationship status:
Delete any answers not applicable to you.
Booker  Contract or retainer in place
Service provided: Key terms of the relationship:
The organization is a whole sale supplier of products. It
offers both branded as well as labelled goods to a lot of
brands including various grocers, stores, restaurants as
well as convenience stores. Therefore, this will be one of
the suppliers that will supply products to the respective
convenience store.
A retainer in place can be defined as an open-
ended contract with a particular service provider.
Under this contract, an agreed fees is paid to the
supplier and the business can have an access to
the services that it provides as and when
required (Tran, 2019). One of the main features
of a retainer in place is that the business or the
employer will pay a certain amount in advance
for the services that will be accessed to in the
future.
Supplier / Relationship 2:
Organisation: Relationship status:
Delete any answers not applicable to you.
Kerry Foods  Contact under negotiation
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Service provided: Key terms of the relationship:
Kerry Foods is a public food company that is
headquartered in Ireland. The company is one of the
trusted suppliers of Tesco and provides various products
bakery products, speciality drink mixes, bakery and griddle
etc. Besides this, other grocery products are also offered by
the company include hot sauces, coconut flakes etc. All
these products will be offered to the customers at the One
Stop Convenience store.
Contract negotiation can be defined as the
process that is taken by two parties in order to
reach an agreement. Under this, both the parties
will have future elements like the business
sustainability. The agreement under this contract
will include an agreement on a set of different
binding terms. Although both the parties will seek
to attain the terms that are favourable to them.
Other operational considerations:
Do you currently employ staff?
Delete any answers not applicable to you and provide
some description as relevant.
 Not yet but I have plans to take on staff in the next 12-
months (proceed to question B)
There is no staff employed yet but new employees with
relevant skills as well as appropriate knowledge as well as
work experience will be hired in the next 12 months in order
to ensure that the customers needs as well as preferences
are satisfied effectively.
A. How many staff do you currently employ?
Full time:
Outline the key staff roles within your business (e.g.
job title, responsibilities, key skills):
B. How many staff do you intend to take on in the next
12-months?
Full time: 10
Describe the key responsibilities and skills you
anticipate giving to these new staff:
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