Your group is required to identify and analyse a Business-to-Consumer

Question 1 Your group is required to identify and analyse a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) business which incorporates an environmentally sustainable approach as a key pillar of its business model and is feasible for launch in Singapore. For the purposes of this report, you and your group members will be the founders, and actively involved in the management, of this business. As part of your analysis, your group should:

 

(a) state the vision and mission statement for your business and provide a brief overview (including the features and value proposition) of the products and/or services to be offered; and (10 marks)

 

Those were the days when the horn of a karang guni echoed across the streets. Picking up recyclable items and giving them a second lease of life. We aim to do that, but on a bigger and better scale. Hence, our brainchild is named “Second home”. Our vision is to convert trash to cash. Our mission is to give items that are deemed surplus to requirements a second lease of life, by restoring and bettering them.

 

Recycling campaigns have always been present in society. But ever since Greta Thunberg’s speech in 2019 at the United Nations, climate change activism has gathered momentum and is now a major issue. Millennials are heavily supporting this movement and are willing to support recycling and green movements. That is what we aim to leverage on as millennials are willing to support this cause.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(b) explain and justify why your group selected this particular business. In particular, your group should conduct a detailed SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis and examine the key opportunities and threats from the external environment in Singapore and the key strengths and weaknesses of your business. Support your analysis with research data, including relevant data projections. (20 marks)

 

 

We selected this business because this is one of the best ways to drive environmental sustainability as a business. In general, a furniture factory negatively impacts the environment by cutting down trees, running machinery, and electricity to run the factories and packaging. Hence, our business helps to slow down the process of such practices. It is also relatively easy to sustain this business as we do not need raw materials but only a couple of manpower, some machinery, and a warehouse. We believe when we penetrate the market, we can also expand this business overseas.

Strengths ●     A business purpose that supports environmental sustainability ●     Versatility- We sell upcycled furniture and, provide refurbishing and restoration services for clients ●     Cost advantage- We can price our furniture at a lower cost than other furniture stores as we do not spend on raw materials ●     Customizable furniture- We are Open to clients’ ideas on how they want us to upcycle their furniture ●     Skillful talent- We hire experienced carpenter who is skillful, creative, and supports the sustainability-cause

Weaknesses ●     Unable to handle too many projects at one time- A small business thus, can only take a small amount of customization orders at a time ●     Not brand-new furniture ●     Only ship locally as of now as bulky goods are expensive to ship ●     Small team- Only 2 carpenters

Opportunities ●     Changing consumer preferences- More clients prefer customizable furniture at an affordable cost ●     Changing demographics- More Millennials and Gen-Z clients are environment conscious and live a lifestyle that supports sustainability ●     Global attention to environmental sustainability proves that we can upscale the business and ship furniture overseas as well ●     Moving forward we can also venture to B2B by purchasing rejected furniture from other stores such as IKEA, and refurbishing their furniture to sell

Threats ●     Existing superstitious Asian beliefs in Singapore- Potential consumers are sceptical about buying used furniture for their brand-new home ●     With a low barrier of entry in the upcycling of the furniture industry, new brands and existing competitors can mimic the business model ●     Difficulty to penetrate the market with current competitors such as Second Charm (Tan, 2020) ●     There may be an increase in delivery cost due to inflation

 

 

INTERNAL FACTORS
E X T E R N A L   F A C T O R S		Strengths	Weaknesses
	Opportunities	Maxi-Maxi Strategy   As there is a demographic change in new homeowners, there is a market for upcycled furniture as people are more environmentally conscious. We should focus on marketing our business on social media as the younger generations will be aware of our business cause. We can create a giveaway to lucky winners who share our post on their public page. Lucky winners will either win an upcycled mirror or a special price for our customisable furniture service. This will create brand awareness for us and eventually creates brand value. (Amato, 2019)	Mini-Maxi Strategy   Since we only have 2 carpenters it was assumed it will limit the number of customization orders that we can take. We can hire 1 part-time staff or hire contract staff when there are big projects. For example, if a client is shifting to a new home and would like to reuse their old furniture and restore it, we can hire a contract staff of 3 months to support the project
	Threats	Maxi-Mini Strategy   To give reassurance to all our clients regardless of their age that our restorations are done in detail. To create this reassurance, we will record our journey of inspecting the furnitures before purchasing from people and as well as the journey when restoring furniture. We will also issue a certificate to state that this furniture has been restored properly. A standard warranty of 1 year will be given to ensure that the furniture is not faulty too early, and also clients can add on up to a 2-year protection plan at an affordable cost. (McQuivey,2021)	Mini-Mini Strategy   Hold an opening sale by releasing a range of discounted upcycled furniture to potential clients to reduce the pressure from competitors. However, the cost for customizable furniture service will be the same as to create a brand image that it is a curated quality service for our clients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(b) Prepare a projected profit & loss (income) statement, balance sheet and cashflow statement, on a quarterly basis, for your proposed business over the three-year period. Note: These financial statements should be submitted in Excel using the appropriate link on Canvas. Name your file according to your GBA submission, i.e. CourseCode_AssignmentCode_UserID_FullName. Your GBA report will still be submitted in Word. For the purposes of the profit & loss (income) statement, balance sheet and cashflow statement, you can make the following assumptions:

 

(i) The initial three (3) months of operation is the gestation period of the new start-up related to, for example, staff recruitment, marketing, inventory and other business set-up matters. Revenues will be recorded from the fourth month onwards in the financial statements.

 

(ii) An average credit term of 30 days from suppliers.

(iii) The depreciation for capital investment (if any) is a straight line over three (3) years. You can make other reasonable assumptions, such as cost of goods and/or services, minimum order quantities, inventory turnover days, account receivables days, rental, utilities, interest for loans, inventory storage costs, sales and general administrative costs, salaries and insurance expenses, with supporting explanations and justifications. Remember to state your assumptions clearly in financial statements.

(30 marks)

 

(c) Using the graphical method, apply the break-even analysis and identify the break-even point (in terms of the number of units to be sold and the number of months) within the three-year period.

(5 marks)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Tan,J. (2020, Mar 19) Where to buy upcycled furniture and homeware in Singapore. Retrieved from:https://www.lifestyleasia.com/sg/living/design-and-interiors/upcycled-furniture-homeware-singapore/