Libraries have been and will always be an important part of the society. There are evidences of functional libraries way back in 1900BC and the first public library came into existence in the year 1598. Since then the need to achieve and share the collective knowledge has helped concept of libraries grow leaps and bounds. However, with emergence of new technologies for information sharing like Internet and electronic media, besides increased time pressure on individual and reduced funding by government, has resulted in decay of public library systems. Reading is a beneficial habit for children and adults alike. Our mission is to bring about a radical change in the traditional library business and to provide services that are tailored to support ever-changing lifestyle. Our vision is to usher in the era of computers and make libraries go online.
They say that books are the quietest and most constant of friends. We want to provide our customers easy access to books without any hassles of going to the nearest store or library. Our customers can order and queue their choice of books online from the comforts of their home and the books will be delivered to them as per their conveniences.
Our specialties are:
The service will be initially targeted in the area of Thakur Village, Kandivali (East). It will be gradually expanded with time to nearby areas in Mumbai and also other cities. The reason for this choice is the opportunity present for this market in the area as well as a favorable customer community. The website will be created and updated regularly keeping up with the standards of internet.
An independent market research was carried out in the traditional libraries in the area and online. The survey was conducted in the targeted area. The survey consisted of various questions regarding the various aspects of a library- infrastructure, inventory, market and finance required. The observations of the survey are as follows:-
Knitos online library will provide quality books at rates that are affordable to the middle class families living in Thakur Village, Kandivali (East). Our customers will be given extra attention and the books as soon as possible. Our top priority is that the customers spend time with books, their best friends and not travelling to and fro to lay hands on their favorite books. Enough copies and categories will be stocked to satiate the needs of the book lovers.
Online library business is noticed to have brought a change in the existing market. It is still a novel idea and has plenty of opportunity for newcomers.
Our targeted customers are the middle age and youth as well as teens and kids (through their parents) who are well versed with usage of the internet. The customers can easily make a list of books as per their needs. The books will be delivered at their doorstep as per their conveniences. The target market is initially small, so as to provide optimum services to satisfy our customers 100%. We want to increase our target market eventually by gradually learning the tricks of the trade.
The marketing strategy will be based on targeted advertisements, appealing to the customer's sense of value and interests. The advertising campaign will stress on the thought “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”. The advertisements will be printed in leading local newspapers as well as magazines. Also Print media such as brochures, pamphlets will be used. Promotional news will be sent to regular customers and personalized logo, signage & design will be used in all the brochures, receipts and correspondences. We also believe in word-of-mouth publicity and hence we will spread the word of our new services high and low.
The strategy will be based on inspiring customers to inculcate a regular reading habit. We will stress on the beneficial effects of reading that any reader gets. To facilitate that, we will provide books as per their tastes, at affordable rates and at their doorstep. “Happy Reading” will be our motto and we will encourage it. By keeping to these simple, yet effective, customer satisfaction services, we expect the customers to make KNITOS online library their exclusive source for books. We want to make long-lasting relations with our customers and wish to have a loyal customer base, as books will be always an important element of a person’s life.
The Investment required for start-up of the business is INR 4, 50,900.00. The money will be elevated for project through loans or by investment from private investors.
The cost was arrived at by calculating the infrastructure set-up assumptions (INR 44,200), inventory setup assumptions (INR 3, 00,000), marketing, advertising and on-going expenses (INR 1, 01,200); a total of INR 4, 50,900 as investment.
The net income per year is expected to be [INR 23,400] for the first year and additional [INR 20000] more in the following years (due to increase in the target area and customers). The net present value of business was found to be [INR -44,839.56]. The terminal value of the business is expected to be [INR 533145.45] thereafter which the business is expected to be stable. The period for break-even point to be achieved is estimated to be in [year 6]. Year 8 cash on cash was expected to be [1.82]
The business will be expanded by flaring the size of the targeted location by progressively advertising in the nearby locations and then the city and so on. Also, CDs, DVDs of music as well as movies and also other merchandise will be sold online after the brand has made its mark in the market.
If the business does not prove to be a success, the inventory along with the domain charges of website can be sold and most of the cost incurred can be recovered. Around 3.5 lakhs INR assets can be recovered.
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