SOLE-ACE

WEAR YOUR COMFORT!

Group Number 53
Tanishq Dedhia E 52
Jahnavi Pahuja B 16
Tanya Aggarwal C 51
Prachi Banka E 34
Malaika Wagh C 22
 INDEX
Sr. No. Topic Page no.
1. Executive Summary 5
1.1. Business Model Canvas 6

2. Industry Analysis
2.2. Industry Overview 7
2.3. Porter’s Five Force Model 9
2.4. PESTEL Analysis 10

3. Company Overview 11
3.1. Vision 11
3.2. Mission 11
3.3. Company Goals 11
3.4. Target Market 12
3.5. Legal structure 12
3.6. Management Team 13

4. Product
4.1. Our Offering and Features 14
4.2. Unique Value proposition 16
4.3. Customer Decision Making Process 17
4.4. Value Chain 18
4.5. VRIO Analysis 19
4.6. Pricing of the product 20
4.7. Process Flow 22
4.8. Application and Website 23

5. Market Opportunity
5.1. Market Overview 24
5.2. Customer Overview 25
5.3. Customer Research 27

6. Competition survey 31

7. Strategy And Implementation tools

7.1. SWOT Analysis 33
7.2. 5W 1H Model 34
7.3. Positioning Strategy 35

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7.4. Other Market entry Strategies 36

8. Marketing Plan
8.1. Promotion 37
8.2. Branding 40

9. Legalities
9.1 Registration as an LLP 43
9.2. Patent Filing 43
9.3. Logo/Trademark 43
9.4. MSME Registration 44
9.5. GST Registration 44

10. Customer Relationship Management

10.1 Pre-sales Support 45
10.2 On-Site Support 45
10.3. Post-sales Support 46

11. Financial Plan

11.1. Project Cost 47
11.2. Fundraising 49
11.3. Shareholding pattern 49
11.4. Revenue Model 49
11.5. Salary 50
11.6. Backup 50
11.7. Profit and Loss 50
11.8. Pessimistic Scenario Sales 51
11.9 Balance sheet 53
11.10 Cashflow Statement 53
11.11 Breakeven 53
11.12 Ratios 53
53
12. Business Expansion Plan
12.1. Offline Retail 58
12.2. Geographic expansion 58

13. Exit strategy 59

14. Conclusion 60

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 LIST OF GRAPHS
Sr. No. Topic Page no.
1. Top footwear consuming countries 8
2. Market Share in Footwear Industry 9
3. Retail eCommerce sales 25
4. Percentage of women who wear heels 27
5. Percentage of women who experience pain 27
after wearing heels
6. Profession 28
7. The price our consumers are willing to pay 28
for our product
8. The various heel heights Indian Ladies 28
Prefer
9. Consumer preference among both our 29
products
10. Number of Pair of heels our consumers 29
buy in a year
11. Occasion that women like wearing heels to 29
12. Gross Profit margin 50
13. Inventory turnover 50
14. Operating Expense Ratio 51
15. Operating profit Margin 51
16. Return On Assets 52
17. Return On fixed assets 52

LIST OF IMAGES
Sr. No. Topic Page no.
1. Interchangeable heels design 15
2. Telescopic Heel design 16
3. Website – About Us 23
4. Website and App interface 23

LIST OF TABLES
Sr. No. Topic Page no.
1. VRIO Analysis 20
2. Product pricing 21
3. Pricing of Components 21
4. Competition Analysis 31
5. 5W 1H Model 34
6. Non – recurring Costs 43
7. Recurring Fixed Costs 43
8. Recurring variable Costs 43
9. Miscellaneous Expenditure 44
10. Asset Lives 44
11. Shareholding pattern 45
12. Revenue Model 45
13. Yearly P&L 48
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 14. Ratios 49

LIST OF ANNEXURES
Sr. No. Topic Page no.
1. Website and application
1.1. Homepage 56
1.2. Return Policy 56
1.3. Collection 57
1.4. Quotation Confirmation – Felicity Media 57

2. Marketing plan
2.1. Costing 58
2.2. Instagram 59

3. Financial plan
3.1. Revenue Model - Interchangeable 59
Telescopic 60
3.2. Breakeven 60
3.3. Balance Sheet 61
3.4. Delivery Cost 61
3.5. Cashflow statement 62
3.6. Packaging quotations 62

4. Customer Survey 62

5. Confirmation from Co-Working Space 64

6. Letter of Intents 65

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Acknowledgement-
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our mentors Dr. Sovna Mohanty, Dr. Rimi Moitra and Mrs.
Nidhi Navalkha for encouraging us and giving us the right guidance throughout the course of the project. We
would also like to thank our professors Dr. Gomathy Thyagrajan and Dr. Max D’souza for their valuable
insights that they gave us by taking out time from their hectic schedules. We would like to thank our Dean,
Prof. Sangeeta Kher for giving us the opportunity to get an idea of how business is conducted in real life.
We would like to thank all the professors for their valuable contribution in our project.

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1. Executive summary-
Sole-ace is a brand that caters to the women and girls who wear heels. The main idea behind this brand is to
provide a comfortable product to its customers. Wearing heels all day long is not preferable from both comfort
and health perspectives. At sole-ace we aim to provide the best product that exactly matches to the needs of
our customers.
We offer two products- interchangeable heels and telescopic heels. The interchangeable heels help you change
the heel height by detaching and attaching the heels from the sole. Whereas, telescopic heel, just like a
telescope extends and retracts to adjust heel height when in pain leading to comfort.
Our target market consists mainly of busy women who wear heels on a regular basis or women who need to
wear them for prolonged hours like in parties, festivals etc. We cater to all women who wish to reduce heel
pain caused because of heels.
We sell directly to customers via our very own website, Amazon, Flipkart etc and also market our product via
social media and print ads in magazines and newspapers and also exhibitions.
Our short-term goals include expanding to cities in India other than metropolitan cities and also eventually
having a brick and mortar which would be our long- term goal.
Our direct competitor is Flip slide and indirect competitors are Tanya Heath Paris, Mime et moi and Mestrae.
Our main competition comes from the unorganised sector.
The factor that differentiates us from our competitors is the fact that we are priced way cheaper than companies
that produce interchangeable heels. Also, we get first mover advantage from telescopic heels.
• Tanishq Dedhia- CEO
• Jahnavi Pahuja- CFO
• Malaika Wagh- CMO
• Prachi Banka- Sales head
• Tanya Agarwal- COO

We need exactly Rs.1,52,60,105 for our project which would be brought in by our founders. The money we
raise will be divided into 3 parts- the first would be to procure all the shoe moulds, patents, trademarks required
to start the production. Secondly, we will need it for operations such as delivery marketing, etc. Lastly, we
need the fund for fixed costs like office rent, warehouse rent, etc.

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1.1. Business model canvas-
Key partners
•Manufacturer - Javed Ltd.
•Shoe designer - Richa
Jaisinghani Label
•Heel makers - AA Heel Works
Key Activities
•Building Website - Felicity
Media
•Develop heel lock and key
system and find appropriate
manufacturers - AA Heel
Works
•Create brand awareness
Key Resources
•Pre-launch
•Warehousing
•Patents
•Partial funding
•Research on Lock and key
system
•website development
•Efficient management
•Unique designs and Features
•Post-launch
•Brand recognition
•Create partnerships with
boggers, exhibitions, etc
Customer Segment
•Major customer segment -
women between 18 to 55
•Targeting women who wear
heels on a daily basis
•They pay for the comfort of
wearing a heel whose size they
can adjust.
•Boutique store reatailers looking
for expansion
•Sites ready to promote such
innovative products
Value proposition
•Trendy heels that offer both
comfort and convinience.
•Heels with:
•Different heights
•Defining comfort in a new way
•various designs
•customer pays for the solution
and style
Customer Relationship
•Conduct customer feedback
frequently.
•Justify the need.
•Word of mouth popularity.
•Provided repair and exchange
services
Channels
•Website
•Bloggers
•Exhibitions
•Social media platforms
•After a few years own stores
Cost Strcture
•Manufacturing and assembly of
shoe = ₹ 65,68,980.27
•Delivery Costs = ₹ 19,33,157.09
•Marketing = ₹ 5,40,000.00
•Website development =
₹1,75,000.00
•Total Cost of Project =
₹1,52,60,105.95
Revenue Streams
•Direct sales
•Telescopic = ₹ 98,65,696.79
•Interchangable = ₹ 75,85,070.58
•Selling extra heels separately (loose
heels) = ₹ 16,09,200.00
•Total Revenue = ₹ 1,90,59,967.38
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2. Industry Analysis-

2.1. Industry Overview-

The annual footwear production in India is over 22 billion pairs which amounts to almost 9.6% of the total
global footwear production per year. The footwear industry in India is one of the top employment sources
employing approximately 1.1 million employees. About 90% of the footwear produced in India is consumed
domestically which makes it the third largest footwear consumer after China and USA. The market is
dominated by male footwear contributing to 58% of the total footwear retail in India and is expected to grow
at 10% by 2020 whereas the women footwear segment is expected to grow at 20%.

Graph 1:Top footwear consuming countries

Casual footwear being the largest segment contributes to approximately 67% of the total retail market whereas
non-leather contributes to 56% of the market. The industry today is dominated by the SME’s and unorganized
sector, footwear products made by medium and large brands are expected to pull in more sales in the near
future. Major footwear producing states in India are – Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, etc.
Traditionally being a labor intensive sector the industry is shifting to a more technology and innovation based
sector. Today the footwear industry has become more specialized with machine production and a systematic

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labor flow. The Indian government has recently announced a special package of Rs. 2600 crore to boost up
the leather and footwear industry.
The rising fashion consciousness among the youth and growing customer preferences to their lifestyles is
expected to drive the Indian footwear market. Furthermore, the growing e-commerce market and the
improvement in footwear retail sector is expected to further improve the performance of the Indian footwear
industry in the near future.

Graph 2: Market Share in Footwear Industry

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2.2. Porter’s Five Force Model-

Barriers to entry (High)- Bargaining power of a

1) Access to inputs is buyer (Low)-
easy. 1) Brand identity- high
2) Access to distribution end brands set price
is limited points for their
3) Switching cost is low. products.
4) Government policies 2) Product
permitting and licenses differentiation is low.
are not that strict. 3) Buyer’s incentives-
5) Capital requirement is Seasonal sales
with regard to startup 4) Less concentration of
hence high buyers reduces their
6) Brand loyalty to buying power.
existing brands is high. 5) Buyers are more
price sensitive.
Threat of substitutes
(Moderate)-
1) Switching cost is low.
2) Substitutes available-
Except athletic,
orthopedic, dancing
shoes, all other types
can be substituted by
normal sandals.

Rivalry within industry

(High) Bargaining power of
1) Firms try to increase suppliers (Low)-
1) Major firms can
their range of products
switch suppliers
to capture the market.
quickly.
2) Brand image and
2) Threat to forward
customer loyalty is
integration- Low due
huge in this industry,
to high entry barriers.
which leads to a
3) Supplier
competition in the
concentration-
advertising of brands.
fragmented
3) Some brands merge
4) Any supplier that
with or acquire other
meets quality
brands.
standards for the
company will be able

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 2.3. PESTEL Analysis-
Political factors Currently the political scenario in India is conducive for our business.

2. Policies like Make in India and Start Up India will provide a boost for our 2
company and therefore our product.

Economic factors There has been an increase in the real per capita disposable income resulting in a
rise in demand for durables and luxury commodities.

2.Growth expectation in the Indian footwear industry from the year 2019-2023 is
12.6% CAGR which is higher than the previous years which was 7%.
3.The success of the product depends upon the value addition and differentiation
from the competition and providing people with their money’s worth.

Social factors A greater proportion of the population has preferences and attitudes favouring
branded accessories.

2.The influence of fashion figures and models and familiarity with fashion trends
has been on the rise.

3.The demographic structure of the country is favourable for our business

(Median age- 28.6 years female)

Technological The innovation in our product mainly complements comfort, activity and
factors endurance.
2.Increase in investment in R&D (has tripled in the last decade).

3.It is easier to find research funding in this industry today.

4.India occupies the 10th rank in resident patent filing.

Environmental Low production cost, availability of raw material and high demand provide a
factors favourable business environment.

2.Due to the government’s efforts, product manufacturing has become easier

thereby creating a healthy environment for businesses.

Legal factors Several legalities need to be considered such as labour laws, e-commerce
regulations, employment contract and registration of the company.
2.Any law should ideally not have a negative effect on our company as the
permissibility is simple.
3.The government has introduced regulations to help cultivate the Start-up
culture in the country by providing a tax exemption for the preceding three
years, self- certification consent and increased protection of Intellectual property
rights.

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3. Company Overview-
Women often complain about the pain they experience whilst wearing long heels for prolonged durations of
time. The way they solve this problem is either by removing the heel after a while and going barefoot or not
wearing a heel at all! Heel pain, also known as Achilles tendinitis is a very common problem amongst women.
As, in our society, women start wearing heels at an early stage in life it can lead to serious issues like arthritis,
autoimmune problems, trauma and neurological problems. But the most serious problem of them all is just
plain discomfort and we solve that!
At Sole-Ace, our aim is to if not eradicate at least lessen the pain caused by a considerable degree. We do so
by providing a heel that is different in its very core structure. Our design allows the person wearing the heel
to adjust its height according to their convenience!
The people we target are a vast group of women belonging to several age groups who wear heels on either
regular basis or on occasions.

3.1. Vision-
To bring about a complete revolution to the way heels are designed and worn by incorporating comfort
into heels.

3.2. Mission-
1) To make the experience of wearing heels more comfortable and also not compromise on the fashion
segment of the heel and also provide value for money.
2) To enter the market as a differentiator and slowly create a household name for specialized footwear.
3) To set a standard in the industry and ride along brands that are of high value i.e. attaining a sizeable
market share in the industry.
4) To be a company that is known for its work ethic, integrity, respect for people and be a long running
sustainable business.

3.3. Company goals-

Our main goal as stated above is to maintain a balance between fashion and comfort in a heel thus keeping
the customer satisfied in both the angles they look out for while buying a shoe.
As a start-up we would concentrate more on our short-term goals which would be important for us as
achieving them would lead to further growth. Some of them would be:
1. To expand our customer base to other cities in India apart from the metros.
2. Covering various costs efficiently over a period of time.
3. Building a strong brand proposition and spread brand awareness.

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Whereas our Long-term goals would involve
1. Setting up our own brick and mortar designer store having only our products.
2. Setting up our own production facility.

Milestones which we would aim to achieve in order to measure our progress in order to achieve the goals
would be:
1. Breaking even in 3-5 years from commencement of business.
2. To come up with new designs (25 a year).
3. To make our product available in 10-15 new stores every 3 months.

3.4. Target Market

Our target market in its very crux is women primarily between the ages of 15-45 who wear heels on a
regular or occasional basis. The target market among these women can be further segmented into several
categories such as women working in Corporate Houses, teachers, students, housewives. Basically, every
woman who has the need of wearing a heel.
(additions to be made)

3.5. Legal Structure

Our company (Sole-Ace) follows the structure of a Limited Liability Partnership. The basic reason is to
give everyone an equal say in the management of business. They also own the business jointly and there
is a proportionate sharing of profits and losses.

Why did we select a LLP?

As a start-up it would be easier for us to attract investors as partners as they would have limited liability
to the debts our business would have. Our business would not have to file its tax as the partners would file
their personal income tax returns. As a limited partner he would have a very limited liability on the
potential lawsuits and other losses. Our partners who are also new to the business would be liable to only
the capital each one has contributed.

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3.6 Management team
• Tanishq Dedhia- CEO
He is a perfect fit for the role given his various leadership experiences in the past. He is very creative
and has a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Has very good oratory skills and knows how to handle people
from various walks of life.
• Jahnavi Pahuja- CFO
Has a knack for numbers. She is fit for the role due to her organizational skills and attention to key
details.
• Malaika Wagh- CMO
She is fit for this role as she can think out of the box and design campaigns fit for the company. Is well
versed with all the innovative marketing strategies. Confident and an empathetic team player.
• Prachi Banka- Sales head
Is good in convincing people. Has played a key role in designing and making of the product and hence
is more confident in approaching different stakeholders important for the company.
• Tanya Agarwal- COO
Practical, focus – driven and knows how to get things done regardless of the circumstances. Good at
negotiations and building network.

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4. Product

4.1. Our offerings and features

• We offer exclusive and premium heels of two types- telescopic heels and interchangeable heels
• It is manufactured under the guidance of experts in the field for 10-20 years
• Our main channel of distribution is our Online website. Initially, we will also provide our products
through various exhibitions in the city and eventually expand pan India
• Our mechanisms involved in the production of both our items is unique and reliable.
1. The interchangeable heel is different from what our competitors offer. We have a fixed hollow
socket in the bottom of the heightened portion of the heel which enables different sizes of loose
heels to fit in perfectly. The entire mechanism is similar to that of a screw system. The upper part
of the heel is a ball shaped structure made with plastic filament wrapped with metallic rings. This
eases the process of changing your heel.
The Mechanism – Image 1: Interchangeable heel design

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2. The general heel available is by default hollow in nature. This helps in keeping the shoe light
weight and convenient. Our second idea (telescopic heel) capitalizes on this characteristic of a heel.
Much like its name, the heel is like a telescope which expands and contracts according to the heel
size you require. The center part of the hollow is a spiral of metallic substance. This helps in
keeping the lock system firm. The heel is tapering like a telescope and therefore when you push
the lower part upwards into the hollow heel there will be a gap left as the lower part is smaller in
size.
Thus, the base of the heel is a wide rubber substance so that when the lower part is pushed upwards
there is no gap left.
The Mechanism – Image 2: Telescopic heel design

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 3. Our extra revenue source will come from the sale of loose heels. They will be available in different
sizes, colors, patterns and textures for both pencil and block heels.

• Our services include

1. Free product delivery to the customers (if you buy from our website)
2. For interchangeable heels, on buying a pair of heels we offer a complementary set of loose heels of a
different size.
• Most important features
1. You can change the heel size on your own at your own convenience.
2. Getting variety of heel sizes at the price of one
3. A variety of designs (trendy and upbeat designs to stay in the game)
4. Quality (metal rings are added to our products to avoid the wear off of plastic)
• Most important benefits
1. Comfort (since you have the liberty to change the size of the heel when in discomfort)
2. Telescopic heel allows you to reduce the size of the heel wherever, whenever.
3. After a prolonged period of time in case the heel wears out, you don’t have to incur the cost of a
new heel. You can rather just buy one interchangeable heel or just a loose heel from us.
4. Free delivery policy
5. Exchange Policy
• The two types of heels that we offer include
1. Stiletto heels- They are the highest and the most painful of all heel types due to its pointed shapes.
2. Block heels- They have a wider base that is typically square and are usually short to medium height.
They provide more stability than traditional high heels or stilettos.
Interchangeable heels will come in both stiletto and block heel form but the telescopic heel will be
made only in block heel format.

4.2. Unique value proposition-

The prospect that make our business unique and innovative is the idea of adjustable height shoes. The
idea is to promote the heel as an everyday wear contrary to its current image of a party accessory. We
want to create an uncompromising product that compliments your look at all times. Being a woman,
you play distinct roles in a single day. We allow you to do the same without inconvenience. You can
wear them as low heels while commuting or driving, but then, in a matter of seconds, you can convert
them into high heels in case of a professional call. It is really that easy.
The various heel heights that we are providing are 2-inch, 3 inches and 4-inch block heels and 2 inch,
3 inch, 4 inch and 5 inch stilettos.

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4.3. Customer Decision Making Process

NEED RECOGNITION:
Heel pain from wearing long heels for hours

INFORMATION SEARCH:
Commercial sources like advertisements and promotion campaigns (Online
and Offline), recommendations of family, friends, influences and past
customers

EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES:
Basic criterias for evaluation are:

1.Quality- Mettalic rings make our product

superior and stronger.

2.Pricing- 250-350% margin which is average

margin of industry but still cheaper than our
direct competitors. 3 heels at the price of
one.

3.Light weight and comfort as compared to

normal heels

PURCHASE DECISION

POST PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR

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4.4 Value Chain

• Shoe designer will make the top of the shoe.

• The heel manufacturer will manufacture different
Inbound sized (height) heels.
logistics

• Delivery of the heel and top of shoe to our manufacturer.

• Display of products online
Operations

• Delivery to customers who order online

Outbound
Logistics

• Based on target market

• Increased Branding, through online and offline marketing.
• Value Addition to customers
Marketing
• Product is cost efficient ( cheaper than direct competitors).
and Sales

• Online ordering therefor delivery service to customers.

• Exchange policy for customers.
Services

In the following Value chain we incur a cost advantage due to the following reasons:
1. Outsourcing a manufacturer to make the final product instead of having our own plant greatly reduces
the cost of making each shoe.
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2. The heel manufacturer and the final shoe manufacturer are in the same area (Byculla) thereby
eliminating the trasportation cost.
3. We have reduced the warehouse cost and transportation from manufacturing and warehouse as the
manufacuture is renting a small part of his warehouse to store our product.
4. As we are running an online retail store we save massive costs on an offline store rent and development.
5. We are working in a co working space which reduces the cost of of office rent and equipment.

4.5. VRIO Analysis

Resource Value Rarity Imitability Organization Impact on

Or Capability competitive
advantage

1. Product Yes Yes No Temporary

Competitive
advantage
2. Supply Yes No Competitive
Chain Parity

3. Innovation Yes Yes No Yes Temporary

Competitive
Advantage
Table 1: VIRO Analysis
1. The product of Sole-Ace- Interchangeable heels are sold only by Flip Slide in India whereas Telescopic
heel is not sold anywhere in the world. Our product is priced way cheaper as compared to Flip Slide’s.
It is possible to become a leader in this sector on account of the first mover advantage.
2. Supply Chain Management- As Sole-Ace is a startup; it is difficult for it to have very high efficiency
due to initial low demand as compared to competitors. Also, as the product is a premium heel it won’t
sell to the masses.
3. Innovation- Both our products are high on the characteristic of innovation.

4.6. Pricing of the product

Our most important component is deciding the selling price. We will initially sell through our own
website and exhibitions. After reaching a certain level of growth, we will open a brick and mortar
store.
We will sell our product for Rs.2299-Rs.2599 Per pair online (it consists of a margin of 20pprox..
300%).

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 Components Cost (Rs.)

Manufacturing heels 857 per unit

Delivery costs 175.225 per unit

Marketing costs 1636975

Table 2: Product pricing

Breakup of per unit cost-
Cost per unit
(interchangeable Cost per unit
Particular heels) (telescopic heels)
TAXON SHEET ₹ 8.33 ₹ 8.33
Cushioning ₹ 4.50 ₹ 4.50
Covering Material ₹ 10.00 ₹ 10.00
Lose Heel 1(4 inch)(pencil) ₹ 75.00
Lose heel block (2 inch block) ₹ 65.00
Basic lock ₹ 25.00
Rubber sheet ₹ 30.00 ₹ 30.00
PU SOLE READY MADE ₹ 150.00 ₹ 150.00
Synthetic material (fancy) ₹ 130.00 ₹ 130.00
Labour ₹ 110.00
cost(upperman,bottomman,finishman) ₹ 110.00
Power Grip (DULLAB) ₹ 8.50 ₹ 8.50
Milk(sticking material) ₹ 10.00 ₹ 10.00
PU dried (fevicol) ₹ 9.30 ₹ 9.30
BOX ₹ 20.00 ₹ 20.00
Stamping of brand ₹ 2.00 ₹ 2.00
IRON STRAP(GALLI) ₹ 10.00 ₹ 10.00
Nail ₹ 5.00 ₹ 5.00
Decorative Material ₹ 35.00 ₹ 35.00
FC charged per piece ₹ 150.00 ₹ 150.00
Total cost of production ₹ 857.63 ₹ 842.63
Table 3: Pricing of components
For interchangeable and telescopic heels, we will be increasing our selling price each year by 4.75% which
is the consumer inflation rate in the retail sector.
Thus, for interchangeable-

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Total cost of production ₹ 857.63 ₹ 898.37 ₹ 941.04

For telescopic heels-

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Total cost of production ₹ 842.63 ₹ 882.66 ₹ 924.58
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 Manufacturing costs include-
The interchangeable heel is priced lower than the telescopic as we can see more loose heels which will
add to our revenue whereas telescopic heels is kind of a one-time sale.

4.7. Process Flow-

1. Upper Man

In this stage the upper part of the shoe is designed, material is procured and stictched
according to the predermined sizes of the shoe

2. Bottom Man

This is where the sole is stuck to the base. Also, the cushioning of the sole is done in
this stage. Pasting of the sole is done with Dalab or Dudh (glue extracted from rubber
mixed with certain chemicals).

3. Finish Man

The upper, sole and the heel are assembled in this stage. Material sole on which the
brand name is printed is also done here.

4. Packaging

After the Shoe is ready they are labelled and packed into printed boxes which are
ready for delivery.

5. Tranfer and Storage

The heels are then transferred to our warehouse. We are subletting a part of a
manufacturers unit itself as a part of our warehouse. This helps us reduce cost we
would have to otherwise incur for a larger space.

6. Quality Check

The heels are then inspected for quality check and shipped to customers.

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 4.8. Application and Website-
About Us –

Image 3: Website – About Us

Desktop- Mobile-

Image 4: Website and App Interface

A reliable website should be eye catchy, grabs your attention and gives you easily what you want. We have
tried to keep the website crisp and clean. Some key features that differentiate our websites from other:
• Simple Navigation - Everything on the home page navigates you to the product. Our website menu is
simple and organized.
• Strong Content – Our content is fresh, and our product varieties will build the consumers interest.
• Design – We have tried to keep the website elegant and yet not devoid the use of color pop.

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5. Market Opportunity-

5.1. Market overview-

India is the second largest footwear producer globally, after China. India’s footwear production stands
close to 9% of the annual global production. In the past few years, its footwear industry has shown year
on year growth and is expected to sustain it for the upcoming years. Over the past decade, India has been
seeing a rising trend of consumer adaptation of health and wellbeing. Rapid urbanization is the reason
behind a hectic lifestyle which has led to a rise in the incidences of lifestyle diseases. This has caused an
increase in spending on comfortable footwear as well as sportswear in metro and larger cities in India.

Our target market, metros, would be a perfect place to operate in initially, starting from Mumbai. The size
of this industry is 40,000 crores to 50,000 crores and is expected to grow to 80,000 crore in next five years.
Urban India contributes to about 2/3rd of this market and the top 8 metro cities contribute to about 40% of
the urban footwear demand, followed by tier 2 and tier 3 with 35% contribution. In tier 1 cities the highest
contributors are Mumbai, Delhi with about 60% of tier 1 cities market and tier 2 cities Jaipur, Nagpur and
Indore are highest contributors with ₹3300 million combined.

The number of women joining the corporates as well as enrolling to colleges has been on the rise. This
population has a sense of independence and thus spend more on luxury items. Equality between men and
women has been a topic of discussion leading to a lot of people changing their perception about women
being inferior. Even in households, women have started getting more say than they did previously.

Due to rapid modernization and an increasing change in the family structure from joint to nuclear, there
has been a rise in the sense of freedom and self-expression. Thus, women have been increasingly stepping
out of their households for numerous occasions other than household chores.

Brands have now been able to expand to even smaller cities making fashionable footwear more accessible.
As awareness and acceptance of e commerce is increasing, it is now possible for women to order products
from brands online, that are not available in their hometown.

24
Graph 3: Retail eCommerce Sales
The most preferred product features were comfort, quality, fit, style and design. Other key features would
include price and functionality of footwear.

We at Sole- Ace aim to create a product that satisfies all these attributes by producing a heel that provides
comfort with superior design. Also, we aim to price the heel similarly to our luxury brand competitors.
Our selling point however is the utility provided in terms of various adjustable heel sizes.

5.2. Customer Overview-

• Geographic-
We have focused our target market to metropolitan cities due to a higher number of corporates, higher
standard of living (disposable income), more development in terms of infrastructure, more female
population, a good mix of cultures and clubbing and corporate trends. Majority of the production
units in India are situated in Mumbai, Chennai, Agra, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Kohzikode
which would make production more accessible to us. Also, big retail outlets such as Bata,
Metro, Shopper’s Stop, Reliance Footprint, etc. are present in higher numbers in metro cities
over other locations in India. These would include Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore,
Jaipur, Indore, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
Initially, we intent to start operations in Mumbai only and then expand to other metr o cities a
few years later.

We are subletting a manufacturers warehouse in Byculla. This location was chosen due to the
fact that rent turned out to be reasonable and also on account of its close proximity to

25
 maximum of manufacturing units. This would result in reduction in transportation cost and
higher efficiency.

• Demographic-
➢ Income- The women whom we are targeting belong to the upper middle and high class of the
society. We have chosen this segment because this sector would have a higher demand
compared to the lower middle class and also, they will be willing to pay for a product that is
priced between Rs. 2,000- Rs.4,000.
➢ Age- Our target market comprises of two ranges of age because our customers are women who
wear heels often.
16-26: - This range includes women who are college going and enjoy partying. These heels are
meant for them because these will be comfortable for them. Also, this age group is more into
fashion and style.
22-32: - Women who work in corporates are our target customer in this range. These women
would also be willing to wear heels in parties and other social gatherings.
• Psychographic-
We divided our target audience on basis of Lifestyle, personality traits, values and attitude,
activities, interests and opinions and social status.
➢ Lifestyle- The people we are targeting have a high standard of living for them to be
willing to invest Rs.2299- Rs.2599 in a pair of heels.
➢ Personality Traits- We aim to target women that are not too brand conscious and
therefore are utility buyers.
➢ Values and Attitude- Our target market is willing to spend on an innovative product
and not just stick to classics.
➢ Activities, Interests and Opinions- They are consciously aware of the trends in the
fashion industry and have interest in them. They are accept ing of the new trends in the
market.
➢ Social Status- Our target audience is middle class to high class.
• Behavioral-
➢ Usage frequency- The usage frequency for our product is high as we are targeting only those
women who wear heels very often.
➢ Brand loyalty- The target market for our product has a low brand loyalty and they keep shifting
from one brand to another if they get a better product or a better price.
➢ Benefits needed- The core benefit that our target market requires is comfort and convenience.
They would go for a product that offers them comfort with useful design.

26
 5.3. Customer research-

1. Method of Data collection:

• Questionnaire & Survey
• Ethnographies (examined women carrying heels of multiple heights (phenomenon) then used
combination of interviews and surveys to collect data and Quantitative analysis using numerical
values.

2. Research Methodology And Its Purpose :

• We conduct a descriptive research to gain knowledge about several attributes of women who in the
long run might be our target market. We aim to get quantitative data about them like age, number of
heels, price sensitivity, sizes of heels etc.
• Qualitative questions like what profession they belong from and about their behavior towards heels.

3. Sample Size :
• Our product is a solution for women. Based on our two survey responses, we got 513 responses.
• We conducted our survey in the city of Mumbai i.e. where the company is originating. In Mumbai, we
sent the survey across different colleges, malls, corporate place and other public places. We find our
major target group i.e. ladies are mostly present in such places. Ladies who have the most utility of
heels are either corporate or who are attending any event. Based on this we chose our locations
strategically, where we could get honest and quality responses

Graph 4:Percentage of women who wear heels.

This question is to understand how many

people from our sample size wear heels. It
will help us in getting a brief percentage of
our actual women audience. We saw almost
86% women wear heels.

Graph 5:Percentage of women who experience pain

after wearing heels.

Since our idea caters the main problem of

sore feet, it was important to know how
many women face this problem. Almost
95% experience pain from them.

27
Graph 6:Profession.

This question is to get a basic overview of

women from different fields. This will help
us to narrow down our target audience. Also
it will save our marketing costs and we can
build our plans around them. The major
target audience perceived were students
followed by women from the corporate
world. House makers were also seen taking
a keen interest.

Graph 7:The price our consumers are willing to pay

for our product.

This question has helped us understand the

spending attitude of Indians towards a new
and a unique brand. We saw more than 60%
women are willing to pay between Rs. 2000
to Rs. 3000. Based on the average, the
preferred cost came around Rs. 2800. But
being a new brand and a new mechanism, we
want to keep the price customer friendly.
Hence based on our cost structure we
decided to price our heels at Rs. 2399 and
Rs. 2599.

Graph 8:The various heel heights Indian Ladies

prefer.
In the heel industry, main cost borne by a heel
manufacturer is the cost of the mould. We
offer loose heels as a part of our revenue
system. Hence it was necessary to understand
the different heel heights preferred by our
customer base. Based on our report we
realized 14.6% women wear 2-inch heel,
27% prefer to wear 3 inches, 23.5 % prefer 5-
inch heel and 6.7% prefer 2-inch heel. This
plays a vital role in our product design.

28
Graph 9:Consumer preference among both our
products.

The survey showed 46.5% people prefer

interchangeable and 53.5 % prefer
Telescopic. This has helped us in determining
how many heels of both our prototypes will
our consumers wish to purchase.

Graph 10:Number of Pair of heels our consumers

buy in a year.

We realized most women opting for the

interchangeable idea would buy our pair of
detachable heels more than 3 times. This
helped us in determining how many loose
heels should be manufactured and designed
yearly basis.

Graph 11: Occasion that women like wearing heels to.

This question helped us in analysing

various events around which we need to
promote our product. Helped us in
understanding the maximum utility
provided by our product.

29
6. Competition Survey-
One successful company
Tanya Heath Paris
Every shoe and removable heel in the TANYA HEATH Paris collection merges innovation with expert
craftsmanship resulting in the ultimate shoe for the modern active woman.

When Forbes asked Tanya Heath about her journey, this is what she said, “I started looking for a solution to
hurting feet in January 2009. To make a long story short the entire R&D phase took 14 engineers and shoe
technicians and they had a proof of concept by July 2011. It took another 2 years to get the supply chain right
as in the early days they were struggling with quality, delivery times and style.” She considers their official
launch as a brand to be September 2013, but it was still a soft launch. At that time, they didn't have heel walls
or shelves to display shoes. Those came later, and nothing was obvious.

As of 2014 Tanya Heath had more than a 1 million Euro in sales and projected 400 million Euros sales over
the next decade.

As of 2018, they are in Paris, Toronto, Beirut, Beijing, Canada and the next one that will open is Hong Kong.
The firm has since shipped to 72 countries. Americans are their largest client group on the website and Tanya
Heath’s dream is to open a boutique in New York, San Francisco, Miami or any of the mega cities. Once she
opened her first store in Paris, Heath began to win awards, including the 2015 MAPIC Award for Best New
Retail Concept.

Failed Company
There are many failed footwear companies across the globe but an idea like this is comparatively new in the
footwear Industry. Hence it would be unfair to compare this idea with the previous unsuccessful companies.
The companies in the space of interchangeable heels are yet in their growth and maturity stage. So, it is difficult
to comment on the failure of any company in this industry as of today.

Start – Ups In This Field

Mime et Moi’s shoes

Mime et Moi, which was founded by four men from Munich, Germany. After a night out together, they noticed
that their partners had all gone home barefoot because their feet were sore from wearing high heels.

One of the men, a student of mechanical engineering and construction, then set about finding a solution. They
set up Mime et Moi in 2013, and sold their first shoe three years lain their Kickstarter campaign.

They are available for purchase in Europe, following a successful Kickstarter campaign. The company
had launched a follow-up fundraiser, with allowed them to debut their designs worldwide by winter
2017.

You can pre-order a pair of Mime et Moi heels on Kickstarter, or online if you live in Europe.
Kickstarter prices start at 175 € (about $137) for a package that includes a shoe bag, a pair of Mime
et Moi shoes, the flat heels as well as another pair of heels, and a heel bag.

Their high prices have allowed them to earn good margins, but two years is not enough to breakeven or earn
enough profits. Hence Mime et Moe heels are yet in their development stage.
30
Flipslide
It is an Indian Start-up based in Delhi who came to existence in March 2018. Their pricing is at Rs.3999 for a
pair of heel with two different sizes of detachable heels available. Ever since they came in existence they have
been featured in BazaarIndia Magazine and have chosen the path of influencer marketing.

They are having their very first Public exhibition in Hyatt Regency, Delhi on 1st February 2019.Sales of
the company are unavailable.It is hard to comment on the company’s performance as of now. Their target
group is the same as ours, but our telescopic idea differentiates us from them.

In a year’s time they haven’t developed a well-connected website and has to work very hard in the product
awareness department. Their social media platforms have very poor engagement, with only 99 posts in a
years ‘time and no collaborations with fashion influencers. The company is yet to tap into various segment to
reach growth stage.

Competition Analysis Worksheet

Factor Sole-Ace Tanya Heath Mime et Moi FllipSlide Unorganised

Sector
Products
Interchangeable Changeable Detachable Flips and Basic heels.
heel, telescopic and loose heels and Slides.
heel, loose heels. heels. loose heels.

Price Rs. 2200-2500 Rs. 6000 to Rs. 16000 Rs. 4500 Varied
50000
Fixed base and Clipping Sole Gravity Nailed.
Technology screw mechanism. Based Lock.
mechanism, Mechanism.
Telescopic
mechanism.

Offline and Inactive

Advertising(Based Offline and Online Rolled out
presence on Mainly offline and
on awareness and
Online ( Stores in Youtube social media. and
Minimal online
platform) (Exhibitions more than videos and
No Offline presence.
and all social 5 city, Online presence.
media platforms). proper shipping marketing.
system across the
world)

Paris,
Location India( Mumbai ) Canada, Middle Europe. India Across the
East and Globe.
China. (Haryana)
Fancy Retail
Form of retail Online. stores and Only online. Online. Local Stores.
online
ordering
system.
Table 4: Competition Analysis

31
7. Strategy and Implementation Tools-
7.1. SWOT ANALYSIS-
Strengths
• We get an upper hand over the other
companies in the same product category on
account of innovation and diversity.
• The first mover advantage gives our product
an edge over other companies making the
product memorable.
• We will get protection from the competitors
through patent filing.
• Outsourcing the production will be
beneficial for us as we can then focus on
technological and design development and
also further diversification.
• We offer the cheapest product among all
direct competitors.
SWOT
Weaknesses
• Continuous upgradation of technology and
innovation can prove to be a weaknessas it
is not our core competency.
• High customer acquisition cost due to
advertising and marketing costs to spread
awareness about the product.
• Dependence on retail outlets to sell our
product in the initial stages.
• There is very high initial investment
especially due to high cost of technology
and innovation.
Opportunities
• The demand in the Indian footwear industry
has been on the rise and a lot of consumers
are demanding luxury items.
• Acceleration in the trend of festive and
social occasions will increase the overal
demand of our product.
• Increase in the number of women in the
corporate sector will give a boost to the
demand for our product.
• There is vast scope for growth after entry in
e-commerce.
Threats
• Unorganised sector can replicate our product
by making minor changes in the technology
on account of less regulations in the
industry.
• Brand conscious people may not be willing
to buy our product initially.
• High competition in the footwear industry
might prove to be pressurising.
32
7.2. 5W 1H model-

• Sole-Ace is a company bringing

differentiation to the footwear market
in the form of interchangeable heels.
• This is for the women in India who
need varied sizes of heels throughout
the day.
WHO? • This is done today by one Indian
company FlipSlide and global
companies like Tanya Heath and
Mime Et Moi but all of them have
different mechanisms and technology
as compared to our product.
• This makes our product difficult to
imitate.

• Sole-Ace offers a shoe which allows

the customer to change the height of
WHAT? the heel either through changing the
heel completely or changing the
length of the heel through our unique
telescope technology.

• This concept is highly valid in the

corporate world where women need
to wear heels all day and yet would
like some comfort during their respite
periods.
WHERE? • Our initial sales will start with
Mumbai city.
• This will further extend to cities like
Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad and Jaipur

• In today’s world where women have

taken an equal stand.
WHEN? • This concept will carry well into the
future as it solves the need of comfort
and convenience at any given point in
time.

33
 • This will provide more comfort to
the women who now don’t need to
carry different pairs of shoes with
WHY? them to work.
• This will work well in the metros due
to the large working and outgoing
women population.

• We are using 2 different mechanisms

• One is where the customer can
change the size of the heel with the
HOW? different sizes provided with the shoe
• The other being a single heel whose
height can be increased or decreased
with a quick twist like that of a
telescope.
Table 5: 5W 1H Model

7.3. Positioning strategy-

Our philosophy at Sole-Ace is- “Fashion now no longer begins at the end of your comfort zone”.
As our product is an innovation, we want to position it slightly differently in the market. We are
priced way cheaper than our direct competitors in the market and therefore want to emphasize on
the following features-
1.Comfortable and Convenient
2.Design
3.Exclusivity
4.Trendy

7.4. Other market entry Strategies-

We will collaborate with budding Indian Designers in order to get their designs while catering to their fan
base. We can also thus present our heels at various fashion shows and collaborating with these designers
will make it easy for us to enter the fashion show segment.

34
8. Marketing Plan-
8.1. Promotion-
1. Instagram- We ran a “Women’s Day Campaign” on 8 th March 2019 through Instagram. As
our product is completely new we wanted to spread awareness about it. We took interviews
of women asking them about the various side effects of wearing heels for long hours. The
stories of real women will have a connect with the audience over just posting pictures or
having models promote the brand. The purpose of this campaign was also to empower these
busy ladies by promoting comfort over fashion when in physical distress.
We want to run multiple campaigns explaining how our heel caters to women of all type like
working women, students or even the LGBT community.
Another campaign that we are working on is the DSLR campaign which again aims at
spreading awareness. We want to show the working of our telescopic by comparing it to the
lens of a DSLR camera which would make it easier for people to understand and grasp i t.
Our reach shall be 230000 people costing Rs.138000.
Since our product is totally new and we don’t have too many competitors (excep t Flipslide,
which has a price range higher than ours), we have assumed Steve Madden as our competitor
(as it is a luxury brand which has a price range similar to ours for Madden Girl which is one
of their premium products). We have assumed our reach as 10 % of their reach which is
2300000 people. The cost per click is Rs.0.6 and the reach being 230000, we arrive at the cost
of Rs.138000.

2. Facebook- We have planned to post a short-animated video on Facebook as it is currently the

most engaging form of digital content and is expected to have increased consumption. This video
will help us explain the structure of the heel and talk about its USP. We are also planning to add
a video about all the problems that our product can solve to actually change the need of a heel
pain solution from inactive to active. Videos help is better recall making it a more efficient
promotion technique. We will have to use Facebook features to select our target audience based
on their age, usage, gender, interests, etc. Other than this we will also be sharing posters as a
continuous reminder of our brand.
Our reach shall be 150000 people costing Rs.90000. The reach has been arrived by assuming our
Facebook reach to be 10% of their reach on Facebook which is 1500000. The cost per click is
Rs.0.6 of the reach and thus we arrive at the cost of Rs.90000.

3. Blogs- Blogs are a great source of upcoming fashion trends and are followed by a lot of youngsters.
As a new product, we want to collaborate with fashion bloggers like Shereen Lovebug, House of Misu,

35
 That bohogirl. These bloggers have a great reach in the masses being pan India and are a fast way for
us to make people aware of the product. Product reviews are highly trusted by people and the final
opinion is highly valued. As people feel connected to the blogger, it becomes a personal experience
and therefore induces trust in the company and the want to purchase the product.
The reach shall be 1356000 people costing Rs.420000. For calculating the reach, we would approach
6 bloggers in the first year, one of them being Shereen Lovebug. Her blog reach (followers) is 226000
people and assuming that all 6 bloggers would have about the same reach we have arrived to the reach
of 1356000 people. Her promotion cost for a single post is Rs.70000 and assuming all 6 bloggers will
have the same cost, we arrive at the cost of Rs.420000.

4. Twitter- Twitter is known to be a platform where discussions are carried out and personal opinions
are shared. This platform will help us increase audience engagement. Our plan is to have hashtags
which help explain our USP and goal like #GetYourHeelsOn and #ComfortableConfidence. We will
also host contests on current fashion trends.
Our reach shall be 101400 people (which has been found by assuming 10% of Steve Maddens twitter
followers).

5. Website- Our website will emphasize on the utility of our products and list down all the products that
we will offer along with their prices and heel sizes. This will be helpful for us as the customers will
come to know about the product through picture and video demonstrations thereby attracting,
engaging, and converting more leads over time.
An integrated website marketing strategy with an effective website and SEO strategy can prove to be
fruitful as about 40% of consumers head to the search engines in order to get more information while
making their purchasing decisions.
Reach shall be 19200 people costing Rs.12250. We have assumed the traffic that our website gets in
one week is 400 people and thus for a year we arrive at 19200 people. Since we are taking a low
demand scenario of just 400 website visitors a week, we have taken the least cost of website marketing
which is $175 which is approximately Rs.12250. (Domain name- $10 per year, Hosting (providing
server space)- $30 per month and since website marketing will be done by Sole-Ace itself, we have
decided on a budget of $175 for email marketing as it is company specific.

6. Magazine – We plan on advertising our product in Femina. Femina is one of the most popular Women
English Magazine featuring articles on diverse topics like health, beauty, lifestyle, fashion, etc. Over
60% readers of Femina lie between the ages of 25-45 which is the age bracket of our target audience.
A large population trusts this magazine for brand recommendation and therefore shall help boost sales
and goodwill.
36
 Our reach shall be 1345000 people costing Rs.200000. Femina has a subscription of 1345000 people
thus forming our reach and the price you have to pay to occupy a single page on Femina is Rs.200000.

7. Billboards- In print media, we also chose to promote our product via billboards. The location we have
chosen for our billboard is Juhu, Bandra, Worli and South Mumbai as these are the places where
maximum students pass by to go to college and also many luxury restaurants are situated in this area.
The people residing in these areas are also upper middle class or high class thus forming the perfect
place to have a billboard. While driving it is very natural to glance at billboards. This shall also increase
our brand recall.
Our approximate reach is 969000 people costing about Rs.600000. The reach has to be assumed to be
the number of cars that pass through the billboard. This number has been assumed to be the same as
number of cars passing Bandra Worli Sealink on one day, thus making a yearly reach of 969000 people.
The cost of one billboard is Rs.150000 thus for 4 billboards we arrive at the cost of Rs.600000.

8. Exhibition- Exhibitions act as brand activation. They are a powerful marketing tool for our product
as they engage active, highly motivated and like-minded audience that is interested in learning about
different products and purchasing them. Also, as our product is pure innovation it would be more
efficient to spread awareness in a face to face environment.Our reach is approximately 858000 people
costing Rs.105000. The reach has been actually calculated by making a list of 8 future exhibitions and
their expected visitors mentioned by these exhibitions on their website themselves (Wedding and
lifestyle exhibition (Parle west), Metro bazaar (saki naka), The Lokhandwala Festival, etc). The cost
has been calculated based on the cost of occupying a stall in these exhibitions which is varied from
Rs.3000 to Rs.45000. The expected visitors range from 3000 people to 500000 people for these 8
exhibitions.

9. Google ads- Google gets over 100 billion searches each month. Google Adwords targets audience on
the Search network and the Display network. By selecting keywords related to our product we will be
able to efficiently reach our target audience that is interested in a similar category of products. The
keywords we will choose are- Interchangeable, heels, comfortable, shoes, etc. Our reach is 240000
people costing Rs.120000. The reach for google ads for a start-up is assumed to be 20000 per month
thus forming 240000 people in the first year. The cost of reach taken by Google Ads of one person is
Rs.2.

10. Email- Effective marketing emails help convert prospects to customers and also one-time buyers into
loyals. At least 91% people check their emails every day. Also, customers that buy through email

37
 marketing spend 138% more than through other channels and this channel has an ROI of 3800%. It is
thus a very scalable way to make sales, deepen existing relationships and increase brand recall.
Our reach shall be 1200000 people costing Rs.45600. The number of people targeted by the medium
of emails is assumed to be 100000 per month (forming 1200000 people in first year). The package of
email marketing by Brainpulse E- mail marketing solutions for getting a monthly reach of 100000
people is Rs.3800 (Rs.0.038 per mail) thus forming yearly cost of Rs.45600.

8.2. Branding-

The branding of the product has been done under the name “Sole-ace”. Solace means comfort and that is the
USP of the product. The word has been spelt differently to depict the “sole” of a shoe and the word is
pronounced as solace which means comfort and soothe. We also wish to brand ourselves as stylish, sleek,
innovative and liberal. The brand name depicts what our customers can expect from us.

6 MONTHS:
The projected sales for the first year are 7727 units. We took a realistic scenario and an optimistic scenario
with higher conversion rates and reach. The realistic scenario resulted in a reach of 6468600 people and
optimistic scenario gave us a reach of 8245200. The projected sales were 6478 units and 8976 units
respectively. The projected marketing budget was Rs.1880850 and Rs.2493100. We took an average for all 3
parameters to arrive at a reach of 7356900 people and sales of 7727 units. Marketing budget has been kept
constant at Rs.25 lacs in the first year to be on the higher end. The process of calculation is as follows-
We calculated the total reach by summating reach on social and print media, then estimated engagement rates
(most taken by industry averages), then finding industry average conversion rates on the number of people
engaged, which finally gave us converted customers (sales).
We have divided this into the ratio of 40:60 (as in first 6 months sales will be lower than in last 6 months).
Thus, sales for first 6 months will be 3091 units. In order to make these sales, we will have to have a reach of
2942760 people.

Advertising and Marketing plan-

We will initially be selling our product via our Website to procure maximum margins. For the first 6 months,
our main focus shall be on brand activation. As the concept of our brand doesn’t exist in the market, our main
point of scrutiny shall be to make people aware of the utility. We will set up Billboards for this purpose and
the location we have chosen for our billboards is Juhu, Bandra, South Mumbai and Worli. These are places
where maximum students pass by to go to college and also many luxury restaurants are situated in these areas.
The people residing here are also upper middle class or high class thus forming the perfect place to have a

38
billboard. We intend on doing Blogger Tie Ups during this phase to use their followers that are fashion
conscious, to generate sales. Continuous advertisements on social media using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
will be conducted where we will post informative posters and videos. In order to slightly reduce the marketing
spend, we plan on undertaking-

1. Providing coupons or promotional offers for initial customers to generate word of mouth sales.
2. Free loose heels of a different height with each pair of heels (interchangeable) sold.
Our main source for spreading product awareness is Exhibitions as they engage active, highly
motivated and like-minded audience that is interested in learning about different products and
purchasing them. We will also advertise via Google Ads to make the most of the web space.

1st YEAR:
Our projected sales in the second half of the first year are 4636 units with a reach of 4414140 people. During
this phase, we will still be undertaking brand awareness campaigns in order to completely change customer
perception surrounding heels which requires a greater tenure than 6 months. Thus, total marketing expense
for the first year is Rs. 1636975.

Advertising and Marketing plan-

We will continue with our website only but increase the reach thereby increasing conversion. For exhibitions,
we will place a stall in places where the projected visitors will be higher than usual exhibitions. At this stage,
we will be able to incur that kind of cost. We are planning on having an article in Femina magazine as it is
one of the most popular Women’s English Magazine with a reach of 1345000 women. We will also distribute
pamphlets in newspapers (Bombay Times) to spread awareness amongst people not reading magazines.
As this concept is new (telescopic heel), we will get the first mover advantage. For interchangeable heels, the
only direct competitor available is Flip Slide whose product is priced much higher than ours. So, we get both
cost and differentiation advantage.

Sales and distribution-

As most of today’s generation has internet access, we choose to sell through our website. We have a free
delivery service and easy returns for our product. The customers can choose to pay via cash, card or e wallets.
The customer can get in touch with us via the website itself. They can call or send a mail to get clearance on
a query related to the product, find out where their delivery has reached or just simply give us a feedback. We
will anyways be sending them promotional emails which will also make them aware of the offers and send
genuine feedback or rating too.

39
2nd YEAR:
Once people actually become aware of the product and Sole- Ace generates brand value, we will be expanding
to other online shopping sites like Amazon and Flipkart. As these two sites are the most popular shopping
sites, we will see the response to our product on these sites before expanding to other online shopping sites.
After doing extensive research, Sole-Ace can also come up with better designs, diversify to heel types different
from stilettos and block heels and do product development.
There are a lot of people that prefer heels with greater support than what stilettos and block heels provide and
are not so conscious of the look of the heel but focus more on the comfort factor. This shall help our customer
segment expand.
But to make sure that there is enough demand in the market for this product portfolio expansion, Sole-Ace
will need to conduct extensive research and development. If the response is not too great then it shall just
continue with expanding to other Online Shopping Websites.
As we will be expanding our reach to 8019021 people we will need to advertise extensively. Campaigns on
social media and promotional campaigns in newspapers and fashion magazines can be made. Google ads will
help increase brand recall.
The number of free loose heels we will be selling will also give us an idea about the popularity and usage of
our product.

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9. Legalities-
9.1. Registering as an LLP
• Obtaining DIN and DCN by filing Form DIR -3.
• Registration of name after checking for availability.
• Formation of LLP agreement outlining the mutual rights and duties of the partners. This will
be done by filing Form 3 on the MCA portal.
• Apply for LLP Incorporation Certificate with the Registrar by filling the form FiLLiP.
• On getting the Incorporation Certificate, we will apply for the company PAN & TAN with the
NSDL. Cost of forming an LLP - ₹8,300

9.2. Patent Filing

• The heel design and product will be patented.
• Application for patent using: -
o Form 1 - Application for grant of a patent.
o Form 2 - Provisional/Complete specification).
o Form 5 - Declaration as to inventorship (only to be filed along with the complete
application).
o Form 28 - To be submitted by start-up or small entity (only required if you are claiming
start-up or small entity status).
o Form 26(optional) - Form for authorization of a patent agent (only required if you are
using a patent agent to help you file the application).
• Any person or company that tries to imitate our product will be sued for breach of patent.
• Assuming status of small entity:
o Cost of patent - ₹65,000

9.3. Logo/Trademark
• Preparing trademark application – trademark class 25 – footwear (ladies footwear).
• Filing brand name application.
• Publication in Indian trademark journals.
• Trademark certificate registration issuance. The trademark will be valid for 10 years hence.
• Cost – ₹4,500 for e-filing.

9.4. MSME registration

• A single form has to be filled online.
• The Udyog Aadhar will be issued giving us tax rebates and reducing the cost of patents.

9.5. GST Registration

• Documents required:
o PAN of the business.
o Identity and address proof of the designated partners.
o Business registration document - incorporation certificate.
o Address proof for place of business.
o Digital signature of the designated partners.

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10.Customer Relationship Management-
10.1. Pre-Sales Support-
The products which we offer in the market i.e. our unique interchangeable and telescope heels are new
concepts. Therefore, to attain customers we must provide them value which our competitors aren’t
able to. This might involve a change in consumer behaviour as required for them to switch our product.
Therefore, the first step as a customer acquisition strategy was to spread awareness of our product and
why does the need for it exist. To explain why the need existed we conducted and plan to conduct
several drives and informative sessions about the ill effects of wearing longer heels for prolonged
periods and how women of today need such a product in today’s busy world. Once we start converting
this inactive need to an active need we promote our brand on both offline and online platforms. Online
platforms would include social media posts, remarketing, SEM and keywords. Whereas we split the
offline promotions into ATL and BT. Heavy promotions not only increase our brand reach but also
play an important in increasing our brand recall. Most importantly the focus is on helping customers
understand in depth about what value we offer. To display how our product functions, we also show
them initial animated videos and tutorial sessions via bloggers.

10.2. On-site support-

Our main source of revenue is the online retail of our three products. Therefore, we concentrate on
making our customer shopping experience on our website and application a smooth one!
We make a very basic easy to use website and application for starters. There is a wide variety for our
customer to choose from and not only designs but a variety of heel heights to choose from! A live
chatbox and helpbox with almost immediate replies so that our customer does not leave our website
with doubts.
We provide speedy delivery within 2 days as we use delivery forums by air. More payment methods
like Cash/Card on delivery, Net Banking, UPI, Cards etc. Creation of secure payment gateways, faster
checkouts add to customer satisfaction and development. A developed feedback system wherein our
customers interact and share their feelings for our product and us using their recommendations for
product development helps build a stronger relationship with our customers.

10.3. Post-Sales Support-

The basis of post-sales support is how do you retain a customer and make him an enabler to promote
our sales. Our products come with a yearlong warranty for gluing and a 6-month warranty for our lock
systems. Meaning our products can be repaired for free within these stipulated periods. We provide an
exchange policy as well. Once a customer is registered with us we follow up with him regarding his
reviews on the product and what scope of improvements that exist for us. This would make the
customer feel valued and would increase his loyalty towards us, thus wanting him to purchase again.

42
11.Financial Plan-
11.1. Project Cost- The cost of our project is the start-up cost that we project in the first year of
our operations. These are the basic costs that our company would require for starting its operations.
To determine the cost of our project we divide the several costs we are supposed to incur into four
parts
1. Non-Recurring costs: These are the one-time costs which are required for the initiation of our
business. Without incurring these basic costs, we would not be able to get on our toes and start off.
These costs for example involve purchase of specially designed heel moulds (the crux of our product),
filing for a patent and several other costs as shown in the below figure.

Table 6: Non - recurring costs

2. Recurring Fixed costs: These are the costs that occur monthly and do not depend upon the number of
units produced. These are the costs which our business would require for its day to day running and
our business will incur them irrespective of the number of units we produce. For example, the office
rent we would pay to our office is a type of such a cost.

Table 7:Recurring Fixed costs

3. Recurring Variable costs: These are the costs that which increase with the increase in number of
units we manufacture.

Table 8:Recurring Variable costs

43
 4. Miscellaneous expenditures: These are the expenditures which may or may not occur and generally
do not depend on the number of units. The organisation generally can function without them.

Table 9:Miscellaneous expenditures

The total project cost is Rs. 1,32,03,739.55 plus 15% of contingency fund which makes the total cost
of project equal to Rs.1,51,84,300.48.

Assumptions Taken-
1) The non-recurring costs occur only at the business initiation and never recur within our forecasted
periods.
2) Asset lives:
Particulars Number of Years

Heel moulds 10 years

Stamp Die 5 years

Computers 7 years

Patent 10 years

Trademark 10 years

Designs 3 years

Table 10:Asset Lives

3) Tangible Assets are depreciated throughout their lives at the Straight-Line method.
4) Intangible assets are amortized throughout their lives at a constant rate.
5) Recurring fixed costs are constant throughout the first year.
6) We require cost of one year of stock as our requirement of funds to operate through the year.
7) Marketing expenses are variable costs as they would increase if we wish to sell a greater amount.
8) All expenses after the first year (fixed and variable) are a part of operation budget after the first year.
9) Contingency of 15% extra is included in the project cost.

44
 11.2. Fund raising- Sole-Ace has a well differentiated product with immense potential in the
market. It is a new product with a very little competition in the country. With this potential we
have expectations of becoming a popular multinational brand and multiplying our revenues in the
forthcoming years. Our founders have great faith in the product and have spent 6 months and gone
up to great extent for developing this unique product. They believe in the future growth prospects
of this idea and hence have invested their valuable time and resources invested in it. They would
like to invest their own money initially as to not dilute their share and execute their future plans
without much hindrance. Also, our industry overview statistics prove for a fact that the shoe
industry in our country hasn’t tapped the entire potential and has an upward scope. Therefore, each
of our founders bring in the money as paid up capital to fund their brainchild.

11.3. Share Holding Pattern- Each of our founder is an equal partner in the LLP being formed.
The capital, risks liabilities and rewards shall be equally shared.

Name Position Contribution Ownership

Tanishq Dedhia CEO ₹30,52,021 18%

Jahnavi Pahuja CFO ₹30,52,021 18%

Malaika Wagh CMO ₹30,52,021 18%

Tanya Aggarwal COO ₹30,52,021 18%

Prachi Banka Sales Head ₹30,52,021 18%

Richa Jaisinghani Label Design Partner Design 10%

Table 11:Share Holding pattern

11.4. Revenue Model - Sole-Ace has three products available in different designs priced
standardly. We sell our products through or own website (online retail) and exhibitions.

Product Cost of manufacturing (showed Selling Price

in detailed later)

Interchangeable ₹857 ₹2299

Telescope ₹842 ₹2599

Loose Heel ₹72 ₹149

Table 12:Revenue model

45
We predict our sales using the marketing reach approach and it turns to be 7727 units of combined
interchangeable and telescopic heel.
Using our customer research of 360 people, we split the number of telescopic heels and interchangeable
heels sold in the ratio 53.5: 46.5 respectively.
The number of loose heels sold is derived as 3 per person as the percentage of people who buy the
interchangeable heel and turns out to be 2700 units.

Our selling price is close to the market research range obtained by us. Also, we price it in such a way
so that we can sustain future inflation, maintain our brand value to an extent.

11.5. Salary- Salary component is divided in two parts. The first part of salary is devoted to the
employees and interns. Since our product is manufactured in collaboration with manufacturers in
Byculla we do not need any employees for production. Logistics is outsourced and hence no
particular employees devoted to that segment as well. We plan to work in a co working space and
hence no office staff would be required. All our partners work fulltime and currently have the work
segmented well and hence do not plan to hire employees for the next three years. Our partners will
take an equal salary of 30000₹ per month. Salaries will remain constant for the first three years.

11.6. Backup- Sole-Ace is a shoe making company might face demand fluctuations and hence
might experience phases with low sales. Also, there might be circumstances which would lead to
losses. Therefore, while bringing in the capital an extra amount of our first-year costs (15%) was
bought in by our partners amounting up to Rs.16 lakhs was introduced. In case of any unforeseen
contingencies this amount would be used.

11.7. Profit and Loss-

Notes
1) Using the marketing reach we calculate the sales as 7727 in the first year and we divide into
the four quarters equally (1932). Owing to our customer research we also assume that we do
not sell our entire production in the first quarter and sell only 1300 units of heels. The ratio of
telescopic: interchangeable would be 53.5: 46.5.
2) The loose heels sold would be 3 per person of the total people who purchase interchangeable
heels.
3) The sales of the heels and the shoe grow by 9% which is the industry growth rate.
4) The cost of manufacturing the products increases at the consumer inflation rate which is 4.75%.
5) The closing inventory of the previous quarter gets sold first and we produce according to our
expectations. Hence our closing inventory remains constant throughout.

46
 6) The Warehouse, Logistics from manufacturing to warehouse, Stationary, Office supplies,
Telephone bills, Delivery, Marketing management and Travelling at consumer inflation rate of
4.75%
7) Office rent, and Marketing and advertisements inflated at 10%
8) Tangible and Intangible assets are depreciated/amortized throughout their life using SLM
method.
9) Tax rate taken to be 30%.
10) Other taxes such as GST ignored.
11) Pricing of the product as per the revenue model.
12) One-time expenditures occurred in the first quarter of fist year.

11.8. Pessimistic scenario of sales-

Since we are a newly started company we might not achieve the desired level of sales as we have
predicted in our scenario. Therefore we simulate a scenario wherein we predict a lower level of
sales which is equal to 60% of the predicted sales. Also we decrease the growth rate of sales by
7% instead of 9%. The pessimistic sales scenario reduces or profit and also puts us in a loss in our
fourth quarter other quarters being profitable. We present our first year P&L divided into four
quarters, balance sheet, cash flow and change in cash inflow (cash book) in our annexures.

There are three revenue streams in the P&L. The interchangeable heel, the telescopic heel and
loose heels. Expenses consist of Cost of the goods sold, Manufacturing expenses, Office and
administration and Selling and Distribution expenses.

47
Table 13:Yearly P&L

48
 11.9. Balance Sheet-
The balance sheet which is split into assets and liabilities is made for three years similar to the other
financial statements. The partners’ capital remains constant through the years. Profits which are annual in
nature are transferred to the Reserves and surplus which along with the Partners Capital add to the Net-
Worth. There is no debt taken by the company. The company has no creditors and since it is a B2C there
are no debtors as well. Inventory and cash are major current assets whereas the other assets, tangible and
intangible form the gross block. Each partners Capital is RS 30,52,021.

11.10. Cash flow statement-

Cash flow statement involves cash flow from operations. Here we adjust our profits before interests and
taxes for the depreciation paid and other non-cash adjustments. Depreciation and amortisation charged for
our assets (patent, trademark, designs, moulds, computers, stamp die) are added back to enhance the cash
in hand. Inventory attained in the first year remains constant and hence no change in current assets takes
place in the 2nd and 3rd year. Sole-Ace as a company purchases assets only in the first year and that is an
outflow in the cash flow from investment activities. We do not make any other investments and do not
purchase extra assets in our first three years of functioning. The partners bring in their own money and no
other financing is used.

11.11. Breakeven-
We breakeven within our first quarter and make a small profit as well. Owing to our predicted demand
and heavy cost cutting measures in our fixed costs (low rent in co-working space which is all inclusive,
sub renting a warehouse etc.) we break even at a good rate.

11.12. Ratios-

Table 14:Ratios

49
Graphs-
1) Gross Profit Margin-

This ratio holds importance in our analysis as gross profit is derived from the Cost of goods sold, which is
probably the most important component involving the cost of manufacturing the heel. Since we hold a heavy
margin we tend to have a high Gross profit Margin (64.28% in 2019-2020). Since we have assumed our
inflation in the manufacturing of our heel greater than our sales growth we can see our gross profit margin to
be falling marginally (64.28→63.91→63.47%) which is not a matter of concern for us.

Gross Profit margin

64.40%
64.28%
64.20%

64.00%
63.91%
63.80%

63.60% Gross Profit margin

63.47%
63.40%

63.20%

63.00%
2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022

Graph 12: Gross profit margin

2) Inventory Turnover-

Being a product based company, inventory forms an integral part of our assets. This ratio signifies the speed
with which we sell our product with respect to the inventory hold. The unsold product in our firm amounts up
to some what near 5 lakh rupees and does not change drastically over the three years as our sales efficiency
increases. A lower first year figure of 6.34 rising to 7.08 and 7.33 in the following two years is a positive sign
that we sell more of our product within the year in correspondence to the closing inventory.

Inventory turnover
7.5
7.330644094
7 7.08600318

6.5
6.341362266 Inventory turnover
6

5.5
2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022

Graph 13: Inventory Turnover

50
 3) Operating Profit Margin & Operating Expense Ratio-

Our business involves lot of expenditures which enable our company’s day to day operations. Operating
expenses should be minimised to increase the operating profit. An increasing and a highly positive operating
profit margin (18.03% →21.44% →21.09%) is a good element meaning that our business is a sustainable one.
Greater efficiency is denoted by the falling Operating expense ratio (46.26 → 42.47→42.38).

Operating expense ratio

47.00%

46.00% 46.26%

45.00%

44.00%

43.00% Operating expense ratio

42.47% 42.38%
42.00%

41.00%

40.00%
2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022

Graph 14: Operating Expense ratio

Operating Profit Margin

22.00%
21.44%
21.00% 21.09%

20.00%

19.00%
Operating Profit Margin
18.00% 18.03%

17.00%

16.00%
2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022

Graph 15: Operating Profit Margin

4) Return on Assets & Return of fixed assets-

With capital investments and other assets we hold determining the return we hold on our assets is of
significance. We see that the figures here are as small as (0.13 in FY). Looking back in the balance sheet we
notice that cash is a major component and we should focus on the return more on the fixed assets used. A
51
rising figure as we do not purchase new assets every year and our sales grow (4.42→7.55→9.25) indicates
greater utilisation over the years.

ROA
0.18
0.168071105
0.16
0.148709097
0.14 0.136163843
0.12
0.1
0.08 ROA
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022

Graph 16: Return On Assets

Return on Fixed Assets

10.00
9.00
8.00
7.00
6.00
5.00
Return on Fixed Assets
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
-
2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022

Graph 17: Return on fixed Assets

52
12.Business Expansion Plan-

The rise of online shopping and ecommerce in India has mainly due to the young and increasingly
technology savvy population. Studies show that the number of people using online shopping will
continue to grow at a steady pace in the coming years.

This is the reason Sole-Ace will initially start with a online retail portal. Here the consumers can select
their product with interchangeable heels or telescopic heels from a range of designs available at their
disposal.

After 3 years of steady sales we will then expand in the following ways: -

12.1. Offline retail:

To keep engaging with our customer base long term it is important to have an offline presence. By
combining online and offline channels we can be there for our customers at their convenience.
Consumers also tend to have a feeling of trust and reassurance of a product they buy offline. The touch
and feel effect go a long way in convincing the customer of the product utility. Hence increasing the
sales.
As we will be moving on to the maturity stage our sales will stable out in turn increasing our demand
as customers are now aware of our product and the value that it gives
Seeing that our operations start with only online retail, our first step to expansion will be moving to
offline retail. We will open brand specific brick and mortar stores in prime locations of major malls
and shopping centres of the city for maximum footfalls. This will also give the existing customers an
added benefit for post-sales support or to check out new designs by actually trying them on.

12.2. Geographic expansion:

Being an online store initially gives us the advantage of being available to customers all around India.
We expect major sales form initially Mumbai and then other metropolitan cities like Delhi, Hyderabad,
Bangalore, Ahmedabad, etc.
Sole-Ace has a unique concept and technology will be a major benefit to women not only to India but
all around the world. Hence, we plan to expand our business globally by exporting our product to
foreign markets.

53
13.Exit Strategy
Acquisition
Sole-Ace is a profit-making venture from the very start. After a point in time if the partners want to
exit the business we can do so by selling the company to a bigger or global competitor, making a good
amount of profit that we can then invest in starting a new and fresh venture.
One of the best competitors to acquire our company would be Tanya Heath. Tanya Heath started two
years ago and has been expanding continuously throughout the world. Recently they have started
expanding in Asia. Keeping this in mind, Sole-Ace being a profitable venture in India, providing a
similar product for the same problem becomes perfect way for Tanya Heath to enter the Indian market
which is growing tremendously.

54
14.Conclusion-

We have come up with this business idea on the grounds that women are getting more concerned about their
comfort while wearing heels i.e. they now focus on the design but equally care about their comfort levels.
They have become more aware about the problems that long heels can cause and want to take efforts to avoid
them. Owing to this uprising health consciousness in India, Sole-Ace shall see an increase in demand in near
future. We hope to make Indian Women pain free!

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ANNEXURES-
Website and Application – Felicity Media
Home Page

Return Policy
Desktop Mobile

56
Collection-

Quotation confirmation – Felicity Media

57
Marketing Plan-
Costing-

58
Instagram-

Financial Plan-
Revenue Model - Interchangeable

59
Telescopic-

Breakeven Analysis-

60
Balance Sheet-

Delivery Costs-

61
Cashflow Statement-

Packaging Quotation-

Customer Survey
Current expenditure on heels. Frequency of women buying heels.

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Brands women currently own. ( National Offline High end brands women currently shop at.
Brands).

Multi Fashion Brands that women prefer for heels. Online shopping sites for heels.

Preference for Local Shopping. Reasons why women don’t wear heels.

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Qualities of a good Footwear.
Comfort: Colour:

Design: Quality:

Confirmation from Co-Working Space

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