Introduction

Flyleaf Books a small, start-up bookstore in Cleveland, Ohio. The goal of the company is to grow its local market share through low prices, a strong selection of products, and a wide range of services. This includes a buyback/trade programme and hard-to-find book searching.

Company

Flyleaf LLC will be an Ohio limited liability corporation. Mr. James Vinck, an ex-head librarian of Philadelphia City Library, will co-own the company with his wife Aracela.

Vinck plans to establish this company to grow his business, meet others with similar interests and leave a legacy to his children. Flyleaf Books, a suburb of Cleveland, will open a store in the busy area of Brecksville. This area is known for its high-quality establishments and upscale residents. Our warehouse is an ex-furniture store measuring approximately 8,000 square feet. This allows us to stock a lot of inventory.

Products/Services

Flyleaf Books offers a variety of magazine, book, and music selections. This covers nearly every category of fiction, nonfiction and science. The CD’s will be the main focus of our music selection, as they are the most widely used and take up least floor space. To help reduce inventory acquisition costs, and make our store more attractive to customers, we will offer a buy and trade service. In addition, we offer a search and order service for customer seeking to find hard to get items. Flyleaf Books’ reading area will be relaxed and will include couches, chairs, and others.

Market

Our market has experienced a decrease in growth in the past two year. This is due to the economy’s overall weakness. Book store industry sales rose only 3.6% for last year whereas overall U.S. retail sales grew by 4.3%. However, management believes that this may be an advantage to the used bookstore industry. Customers will cut down on their purchases, making used bookstores more attractive to those who still want books. Management believes that this is a great time to enter the market and increase your market share.

The bookstore industry as a whole is going through a large consolidation. The market was previously dominated by small, local stores and regional chains. The ‘#8220’superstore, created by Barnes & Noble has allowed the market’s largest players to gain significant market share. This has driven many independent booksellers from the market.

The used book segment is where independent booksellers could still make a living in the market. Because the concept of a’superstore’ is difficult to replicate in a market that has such low profit margins, this segment does not attract large companies. The used book market is a favorable segment for independent booksellers, so long as they have the ability to purchase a sufficient amount of space to accommodate an attractive inventory while still being competitive with national chains.

Financial Considerations

Our start-up expenses come to $178,000, which are single time fees associated with opening the store. These expenses are funded by private investors as well as SBA loans. We expect to operate at a loss the first few months of advertising before we can attract customers. Flyleaf Books will be receiving periodic influxes of cash to cover operating expenses during the first two years as it strives toward sustainable profitability. Funding has been arranged through lending institutions and private investors already. We do not anticipate any cashflow problems in the next 3 years.

1.1 Objectives

These are the goals for the next three years for Flyleaf Books:

• Get to profitability by July Year 2.
• By Year 3, you can make approximately $200,000 in sales
• Profit-oriented owners receive a competitive salary.

1.2 Keys to Success

Flyleaf Books should keep these points in mind in order to survive, and expand.

• We need to be visible through billboards, advertising and media.

1.3 Mission

Flyleaf Book aims to provide high quality literature at low prices in the Cleveland area. The company additionally seeks to provide a comfortable atmosphere for its clients that promotes browsing, relaxation, and an enjoyable environment to spend extend time in. Flyleaf’s attractiveness to its customers will come from our large selections of books, magazines, CD&#8217s, and our buying/buyback options, which lower our book acquisition cost and allow our customers to exchange unwanted books/CD&#8217 for cash.