BLINDS TO GO

Arun Raj M Magesh Kumar C Siva Kumar A Koushik Bharath Nandhini K (Team 16)

BLINDS INDUSTRY
Other retailers in All window coverings relied on 3 tiered distribution retail outlet, fabricator & manufacturer Matured industry slow growth Customised blinds high price, 6-8 weeks waiting time Manufactured in Far east due to low cost

BLINDS TO GO
Shiller Family started in 1954 by selling bedding products from trunk of his familys Chevrolet Started to sell carpets, floor coverings, draperies and fabrics Mid 70s started selling blinds Headquarters Montreal, Canada, 120 locations in NE states During past 20 months revenue over US$100 million Producer of Made to order window coverings Retail Gross Margins were 45%

FABRICATION PROCESS
20,000 different combinations of blinds Valance, Slat, Cord, Wand, Bottom Rail

PROCESS OF SELLING
Bonding Select product Present price and close the sale Deduct a coupon Introduce customers to managers

MONTREAL PLANT
8-10 hour shifts 20,000 orders per week Maximum volume of 24,500 orders per week Training for first 4 weeks Employs 400 people Supply to 120 stores

LAKEWOOD PLANT
Handles 14,500 units per week Employs a total of 250 people During the initial stages defect rate was as high as 10% Currently defect rate is improving Supply to 80 stores

ISSUES
High defect rate at Lakewood plant High training costs (double of allotted budget) No formal instruction manual for new joinee Loss of experienced personnel Increasing number of shifts reduced efficiency

DILEMMA
Should the company go with a new factory to supply blinds to the Florida market?

FLORIDA DECISION
Florida market is worth $400-$500 million Capacity of atleast 40 BTG stores Each store has a capacity to earn atleast $1 million according to past data So yearly sales could be in the $40-$50 million region.

 Start to build the Florida plant while selling in Florida simultaneously. Partial supplies to the Florida stores through the Lakewood plant. Once Florida plant is up and running at maximum efficiency complete supplies to flow from the Florida plant.