Part V: Product and Service Plan

Avant Gard’n is a furniture and home decor consignment shop owned by Marcia Bell. Some of
the products that she buys from individuals estates include living room furniture, dining room
furniture and home decor. The store also has small artists work such as hand stitched handbags
and pillows along with new products from vendors like candles and paint. The price points for
furniture vary from $250-$1500 while she also has products that are more reasonable and can
be used everyday such as a $25 candle. The new vendors that are sold include Howard
Restor-A-Finish products, Cheerful Giver Candles, CeCe Caldwall’s Paints, Inis of Ireland
Fragrances, and Churchills Coffee. These products are also offered on Facebook Marketplace.
When valuables such as jewelry, and any collectibles present themselves on their online store
through Ebay.

The target customer for this shop is a 35-54 year old individual that is typically a middle-class
worker. There are a lot of first time home buyers that come into the shop as well. These
customers come to the shop in order to find furniture at a more reasonable price and for the
unique decor. A lot of people come in to buy candles as well, and continue to shop around after.
Avant Gard’n also hosts paint classes that bring a lot of people into the store, and this attracts
more people because of the amount of cars in the parking lot.

This store is different compared to others because they are able to buy people’s estates and
hold their items for them before they sell. Then, they pay the customer 50% of the profit. They
also offer a variety of things such as paint classes, a space to rent, and they give back to charity
as well through events that they hold. Their niche is that the store has so many things to offer all
through one business owner.

Part VII: Marketing Plan

Potential customers include a wide range of individuals with the majority coming from
Springfield, Nixa, Republic, and Ozark Missouri. The customers can range anywhere from 19
year old college students to 90 year old individuals wanting to sell their estate. The population of
Springfield is 466,978 which is the largest population in the surrounding cities. There are
136,785 adults living in Springfield who would be most likely to purchase products from this
store, with an average age of 33 years old. Also the population is 52% female and 48% male.

The owner of Avant Gard’n is wanting to target a younger audience to come into her store. This
target customer would be a college student 19-25 years old that is most likely living off of a part
time job and only wanting to spend a certain amount of money on things that they want vs
things they need. These students live in the Springfield area typically in rental properties. There
are 4 major colleges in Springfield that account for thousands of students.

Part IV: Business Description

The market for these product categories is pretty steady. There are people that are searching
for more sustainable ways to live in the upcoming generations. Reusing furniture, and decor is a
great way to help the environment. Many of the fabrics and other materials that are used are not
biodegradable. This business concept has been around for a while, but it will continue to grow in
stores and become more innovative in the future. Right now, there are not many competition
stores for Avant Gard’n but we anticipate that more will open in the future.

The projected growth for this product category is continuing to rise. This concept is going to
come in handy for future generations that want to be more sustainable, as listed above. Also,
Marcia is booked up through the next couple months with people wanting her to come buy up
their estate. It is a great concept for people to get some extra cash for their items, and for
Marcia to be able to continue business.